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New Woods Hole terminal, fare-free buses, new restaurants in Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, a reopened lighthouse and more: everything that changed on the island in 2026.
Fact-checked August 20, 2026, with an update August 21. A few openings were still in flux then, and the page says so where that's the case.
Every island season brings a shuffle: a familiar space changes hands, a new name goes up over an old doorway, a ferry terminal that spent two years behind plywood finally opens. If you last visited Martha's Vineyard in 2024 or 2025, this is what changed, and what it means for your trip.
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The Steamship Authority's new Woods Hole terminal opened June 25, 2026, ending a 21-month construction project. The building is designed for a rising sea (elevated, storm-resistant, geothermal heating) and the mainland side of the crossing finally has a proper waiting room. Ticketing and boarding work the same as before; it is a much better place to wait. Routes, fares and booking are in our complete ferry guide. One thing has not changed: car travel on the Woods Hole route is still reservation-only, and on October 20, 2026 the Steamship Authority board voted not to bring back the standby line.
On the island, VTA buses remain fare-free through June 30, 2027, funded by the state's Fair Share Amendment, and live bus times are at vta.mytransitride.com. Between the free buses, the bike paths and the taxis, most visitors do not need a car. Since August 23 some late-evening bus runs go only on Fridays and Saturdays, and the fall schedule takes over on October 4, so re-check times if you ride late in the season.
The Chappy Ferry also changed hands this summer (the town approved the license transfer in May and new owner Brian Scall took over on June 25), its first new owner in about two decades. The 90-second crossing to Chappaquiddick runs exactly as it always has.
More restaurants changed this year than usual, mostly in Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven.
The Wave (Vineyard Haven) opened on the harbor in mid-May and was the new place to try in town this summer. Esh (Circuit Avenue, Oak Bluffs) is the March rebrand of Dos Mas, now progressive American. Inkwell Beach Club, a restaurant and event venue, took over the former Chowder Company space on Oak Bluffs Avenue this summer; it was approved in April as Inkwell Beach House and renamed in June after a trademark lawsuit from the Inkwell Beach House hotel nearby, so the two are easy to mix up. The Chowder Company itself is in its new, smaller room at 14 Kennebec Avenue, the former Red Cat Kitchen space, open since spring. Jetty Beach House moved into the former Lobsterville Bar and Grille space. And the Black Dog family opened The Black Dog Pub this summer, downstairs at 6 Circuit Avenue, serving daily from breakfast through dinner (7 AM to 10 PM).
The Chowder Company’s new front at 14 Kennebec Avenue, benches outside and the sandwich board asking whether it is the best lobster roll in New England.
Jetty Beach House, raw bar, grill and cocktails in the old Lobsterville spot, with its new sign hanging off the porch.
The Black Dog Pub sign in Oak Bluffs.
As for old favorites, Murdick's Fudge Closed In October 2026 the company announced that its three island shops are closed; the fudge is still sold online. kept its three island shops shut all summer, and in October 2026 the company announced that they are closed (the fudge is still sold online), and the Homeport in Menemsha continues its second act as an upscale seafood house and oyster bar, with a takeout Back Door Temporarily closed Closed for the 2026 season; back in 2027, per its own site window at lunch. Up-island, the Orange Peel Bakery Closed Closed for good in September 2026 in Aquinnah closed for good in September. Our restaurant guide tracks the full picture.
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In Oak Bluffs, the Inkwell Beach House hotel, which has used that name for years, is a separate business from the new Inkwell Beach Club (see the restaurant note above for why the names were confusing this year). The Vineyard Harbor Motel picked up Martha's Vineyard Magazine's Best Budget-Friendly Lodging nod for 2026, no surprise to anyone here: it has been the island's budget bed for years. And the island's only campground changed hands, sold to an off-island resort operator, with camping continuing as usual this season. Every option, by town and price band, is in our Where to Stay guide.
Inside the Flying Horses in Oak Bluffs, the carousel that turned 150 this summer.
The Gay Head Lighthouse opened for the 2026 season on Memorial Day weekend, with its lantern deck repaired and a new beacon (the town of Aquinnah has owned the light since 2015). It ran on long weekends until June 29, then daily through Labor Day weekend, 10 AM to 4 PM, at $6 to climb, and on Friday-to-Monday weekends through Indigenous Peoples' Day, October 12. It is now closed until the 2027 season, and the view over the cliffs is worth the wait. The cliffs themselves are protected Wampanoag tribal land, so climbing them and touching the clay are off limits.
In Oak Bluffs, the Flying Horses Carousel celebrated its 150th birthday on July 25: built in 1876, the oldest operating platform carousel in the country, brass ring and all.
The Martha's Vineyard Museum is running "Jaws at 50: An Island Story" through December 31, 2026, the exhibit built around last year's 50th anniversary of the movie that made the island Amity. Our filming locations guide covers the rest of the Jaws trail.
Oak Bluffs canceled its August fireworks entirely for 2026, both the Friday, August 21 show and the Saturday rain date, citing rough seas and the safe loading of the fireworks barge. The town announced the decision on the morning of the show, Friday, August 21, in a post that said "See You in 2027." Grand Illumination went ahead as planned two nights earlier.
The island's mini golf course is back. Jesse Steere III, the owner of Shirley's Hardware, bought the former Island Cove course on State Road in Vineyard Haven in January and reopened it this summer as Steere the Course Mini Golf and Grille, with eighteen holes plus food and live music. The course has been in the middle of Vineyard Haven for more than three decades.
Harbor View Hotel launched a voluntary 1 percent "MV Community Fee" on guest bills in August, with every dollar going to the Martha's Vineyard Community Fund for island nonprofits; guests can ask to have it removed. The long-shuttered Island Theatre in Oak Bluffs remains closed (since 2012), though in April town voters approved borrowing up to $5 million to buy it or take it by eminent domain, and a town committee is now weighing what it could become, so that may change. And on the health front, alpha-gal syndrome became a reportable condition in Massachusetts on April 1, 2026, which shows how seriously the lone star tick is now taken here. Long pants and permethrin are still the cheapest protection.
The rest hasn't changed: six towns, no traffic lights, hardly a chain store, and a ferry ride that still slows you down somewhere off West Chop. Our events calendar and island FAQ stay current for the rest.
The Steamship Authority’s new Woods Hole terminal opened June 25, 2026 after 21 months, elevated and storm-resistant with a proper waiting room. VTA buses stay fare-free through June 30, 2027 with a real-time tracker at vta.mytransitride.com, and the Chappy Ferry changed hands, with Brian Scall as owner since June 25.
Most visitors do not: free buses, the bike paths and taxis cover the down-island towns. Re-check bus times late in the season; the fall schedule starts October 4.
Fact-checked August 20, 2026 with an update on August 21. Where an opening is still in flux, the page says so rather than guessing.
No. Ticketing and boarding are the same as before; it is a much better place to wait.
Section by section on this page; our year-round guide keeps the running list.
Where Martha's Vineyard is, with our own maps: an island in Dukes County, Massachusetts, under four miles across Vineyard Sound from Woods Hole on Cape Cod, 75 miles from Boston and 70 from Providence by road. How big it is, the six towns, up-island and down-island, every way to get there and where the name comes from.
Martha's Vineyard in December 2026: First Friday on December 4, Light Up Oak Bluffs on December 5, Christmas in Edgartown December 10 to 13, 4:15 sunsets, one ferry into Vineyard Haven, and what stays open through Christmas.
All six town libraries on Martha's Vineyard, checked October 2026: hours and addresses, how visitors get a library card, free Wi-Fi, the concerts, art shows and programs, the Libraries of Things with beach chairs and stargazing kits, museum and beach parking passes, and a short history of each building.
Cell service on Martha's Vineyard town by town: towers down-island, no tower in Chilmark or Aquinnah and the named dead spots, what each carrier reports to the FCC, free Wi-Fi at all six libraries and on the ferry, the $10 xfinitywifi pass, prepaid plans and 911 when you have no bars.
The twelve things that catch first-timers on Martha's Vineyard, from car reservations and the two ferry terminals to resident-only beaches, the last bus from Aquinnah and cash for the Chappy Ferry, each with an easy fix, plus the fall and winter dates.
EV charging on Martha's Vineyard: about 34 public stations, nearly all Level 2, listed town by town with ports and prices (the Edgartown Park and Ride, town halls, libraries, the airport, the Aquinnah cliffs), two fast-charging ports at the VTA, the Chilmark plans, no Supercharger, the ferry's EV rules, and how to run an electric week on a 20-mile island.
Island tip of the day Timing No. 61 of 79 New tip at midnight, island time
Visit Edgartown on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Same beautiful town, maybe 30% of the weekend crowds. Most restaurants have availability without reservations.
The free island library · 2026
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