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Sunset from West Chop in Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard: the view over Vineyard Sound and the harbor from a quiet spot at the point.
West Chop is a quiet residential area on Martha’s Vineyard, in the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts. The peninsula sits between Vineyard Sound and Vineyard Haven Harbor, with water on both sides.
The benches and the flagpole at the West Chop overlook, the Sound flat and blue below.
The West Chop Light marks the northern boundary. In the late 19th century, West Chop was a busy summer resort that drew notable visitors and residents from engineering, academia, and the arts. Back then it had hotels, a steamboat wharf, and sports facilities; today it is much quieter, almost entirely residential, with little commercial activity.
A few private clubs and recreation spots still serve the neighborhood, and the area has kept its exclusive, low-key character. Between the resort-era history and the setting on the water, West Chop is a distinctive corner of Martha’s Vineyard: busy once, quiet now.
Filmed February 2024The island moves on: shops, signs and prices may differ from what you see here. The text of this guide was checked September 2026.
Sunset from the West Chop shore, jetty rocks in the foreground and the Sound gone gold.
The West Chop beach at dusk, footprints in the sand and the last light on the water.
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Exploring the town? Start with our complete Vineyard Haven guide: food, beaches, parking and the local rhythm, all in one place.
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Island tip of the day Food No. 19 of 86 New tip at midnight, island time
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Joshua Slocum, first to sail alone around the world, spent his last years farming in West Tisbury and vanished from Vineyard Haven harbor in November 1909. The voyage, the farm called Fag End, the last departure, and what a visitor can actually see: the harbor, a marker stone by a country road, the museum's Slocum papers, and the book itself.
The red bus that gets the loudest cheer in the Edgartown Fourth of July parade belongs to Camp Jabberwocky, a tuition-free summer camp for people with disabilities that has run on the Vineyard since 1953. An islander's account of where it came from and what it is. For anything official, the camp's own site is the source.
Martha's Vineyard after dark: where the full moon rises out of the ocean, the darkest spots for stars (Aquinnah, Lobsterville, South Beach), full-moon and meteor dates through 2027, the honest word on bioluminescence in the ponds, the three towns after the shops close, and the practical side of deer, dark roads, parking lots and night swimming.
Where to photograph Martha's Vineyard, by subject and by light: the five lighthouses and their best hours, the working harbors, the ferries, the gingerbread cottages, the Aquinnah cliffs and the rules that protect them, the up-island stone walls, the Jaws bridge, Mytoi and Menemsha Hills, seasons and weather, and the drone, cliff and private-beach rules, illustrated with our own photographs.
Lake Tashmoo in Vineyard Haven hides a century of stories: the 1887 waterworks that watered the town, a golf course where a bull was a hazard, town baseball and the frozen winters when islanders raced ice boats.
Best sunset spots on Martha's Vineyard: Menemsha, Aquinnah Cliffs, East Chop, sunset cruises, monthly times and restaurants with views.
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