Martha's Vineyard Blog

Which Martha's Vineyard tour is worth it, by the trip you are on: the Edgartown walking and Jaws tours, the three-hour island bus tour, private charters, the MV Skipper party boat, Felix Neck kayak tours and the all-in day trip from Boston, with 2026 prices from the operators.

East Chop Lighthouse in Oak Bluffs: the 1878 cast-iron tower on Telegraph Hill, the Sunday sunset openings run by the Martha's Vineyard Museum, the semaphore and Chocolate Lighthouse history, and the bus stop and parking below the hill.

The Hallmark Martha's Vineyard Mysteries are not filmed on Martha's Vineyard: Victoria, British Columbia plays the island on screen. But the books behind the movies are pure Vineyard, and the real places are better than the set.

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.

Dates, the lighthouse lighting, the Main Street parade, winter ferries and who is open: a fact-checked local guide to the island's biggest December weekend (Dec 10-13, 2026).

A reader planning a trip for May 2027 asked us what would actually be open. The honest year-round map: restaurants, cafes, trails, museums and services that never close, town by town, plus the calendar of when everything else reopens.

The Gay Head Cliffs are sacred Wampanoag land, not just a viewpoint. What visitors are welcome to in Aquinnah, what the rules protect, and how to be a good guest.

Shearer Cottage, Dorothy West, the Inkwell and 30 marked sites across the island: how to walk or tour the African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard.

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.

Which Martha's Vineyard beaches are open to visitors, which need stickers or permits, and what everything costs in 2026: town by town, gate by gate.

On August 19, 1991, Hurricane Bob hit Martha's Vineyard at the height of the season: 98 mph winds, 84 boats wrecked in Edgartown Harbor alone, a sloop in the Harborside Inn pool, and a false autumn by Labor Day. The story of the storm, told through an original Vineyard Gazette storm edition we found in an island thrift shop.

Fall 2026 on Martha's Vineyard: the September 10 and October 12 deadlines, beaches that open to everyone September 16, the Derby, scalloping by town, foliage timing and honest closing dates.