The only beach on the island with a lighthouse standing on it. The sand wraps around the tower, the harbor traffic runs past on one side and Chappaquiddick sits across the water on the other.
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Lighthouse Beach is the small, free town beach around Edgartown Harbor Light, at the bottom of North Water Street in Edgartown. It is the closest sand to the center of town: five minutes on foot from Main Street, past the captains’ houses, across the little causeway and you are on it. The beach faces the harbor mouth, with Chappaquiddick a few hundred yards across the water and the On Time ferry crossing behind you all day.
This guide was written and photographed by MV Vacation, from years of walking out to the light in every season.
The water here is harbor water, not surf: calm on most days, but with a real tidal current where the harbor empties into Nantucket Sound. It is a beach for a walk, a sit, a quick swim close to shore and the best free view in Edgartown, more than a beach for a long day of swimming.
Know Before You Go
Before you go in the water
This is the mouth of Edgartown Harbor. The tide runs hard past the light, especially on the ebb, and the bottom drops off toward the channel. Swim close in, keep children within reach and stay well away from the channel and the ferry track.
There are no lifeguards at Lighthouse Beach at any time. Bend in the Road and South Beach are the Edgartown beaches with guards in season.
The Chappy ferry crosses just south of the beach. Never swim toward it, and keep paddleboards and kayaks out of its lane.
Finding Lighthouse Beach
Getting There
How to reach the beach
04 WAYSWalk down North Water Street past the Harbor View Hotel; the path to the light leaves the road at the end of the street. About five minutes from the center of town.
A few street spaces on North Water Street and nothing at the beach itself. Use the town lots downtown and walk.
Every Edgartown route ends at Church Street, about fifteen minutes on foot from the light. Free through June 30, 2027.
The sand runs north from the light along Starbuck’s Neck to Fuller Street Beach, the town’s year-round dog beach.
A 
B 
C A: the bench above the beach with the harbor view; B: the light seen from the deck of the Chappy ferry; C: the tower after dark, its red light on.
The Lighthouse
The cast-iron tower standing on the beach today is not the original. The first Edgartown light was a wooden house on a pier off the point, built in 1828 and reached by a long walkway islanders called the Bridge of Sighs. That structure was wrecked by the 1938 hurricane, and in 1939 the Coast Guard floated this tower over from Ipswich, where it had stood at Crane Beach since 1875. The sand around it built up over the decades, which is why a light that once stood in the water now stands on a beach.
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum keeps the light and opens the tower in season, seven days a week from 10 to 4 when the weather allows, with a keeper on site; admission in 2026 is $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under. At the foot of the tower is the Children’s Memorial, created in 2001: the names of children who have died, carved into granite cobblestones around the foundation, with a Ceremony of Remembrance each September. Read the stones, and give people standing there their space.
On the Sand
What Lighthouse Beach is good for
04 WAYSThe reason most people come: the walk from Main Street to the tower and back, with the harbor on both sides of the path.
Calm on most summer afternoons; stay inside the beach, away from the channel, and expect the current to pull along the shore rather than out.
Yachts on their moorings, the ferry, the Chappy shore across the mouth. The best free view of the harbor in town.
The tower catches first light from the east and evening color from the west; the sunset guide covers the timing.
Last light on the tower, with the Harbor View behind it. Nobody charges for this.
Know Before You Go
Tips for visiting Lighthouse Beach
Free, no sticker, no gate. It is a town beach open to everyone.
The town’s dog rules for Lighthouse Beach are posted at the path and change by season; Fuller Street Beach, a few minutes north along the sand, is the beach Edgartown treats as its dog beach, on a leash. South Beach and Bend in the Road allow none at any time.
None at the beach: no restrooms, no showers, no concessions. The nearest public restrooms are downtown.
Water and shade. The beach is open and there is no cover once you are out at the light.
Early morning for an empty beach and the light on the water; late afternoon for the view across to Chappy in the sun.
Questions
Questions about Lighthouse Beach
Is Lighthouse Beach free?
Yes. It is a Town of Edgartown beach with no sticker, fee or gate.
Can you swim at Lighthouse Beach?
Close to shore on calm days, yes. There are no lifeguards, and the current at the harbor mouth is strong, so stay well away from the channel and the ferry lane.
Can you climb the lighthouse?
Yes, in season. The Martha’s Vineyard Museum opens it daily from 10 to 4, weather permitting; $5 for adults, free for children 12 and under in 2026.
Where do you park?
There is no parking at the beach. Park downtown or at the Church Street lots and walk North Water Street; it takes about five minutes from Main Street.
Are dogs allowed?
Check the sign at the path; the rules change by season. Fuller Street Beach, a short walk north along the sand, is the town’s dog beach, leashed.
The Record
Fun Facts about Lighthouse Beach
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