If you're visiting Martha's Vineyard, this is one of the island's hidden gems. It's about a…read more25-minute drive from Oak Bluffs, but absolutely worth the ride. This is where the locals gather to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the night I went was a bit overcast, but the vibe was still perfect--calm, laid-back, and relaxing. Pro tip: arrive around 6 p.m. if you want to snag a parking spot since space is limited. Bring your chairs and blankets, settle in, and enjoy the evening. What really makes Menemsha special is the food. There are about five or six clam shacks/seafood spots right nearby where you can grab fresh lobster and other treats to enjoy right on the beach. Bonus points: they have enclosed bathrooms (no dreaded port-a-potties). Whether you're planning a romantic evening with your sweetheart or a family night making s'mores on the sand, Menemsha Beach is a can't-miss Vineyard experience. I eat. I judge. The fork stops with me.

This is a great place to watch the sunset. Grab a bite to eat at one of the fresh fish markets a…read morefew feet away from the beach, and eat on the beach. Parking is very limited but there is some street parking but will require you to walk a bit. Great place foe families and there is also a place to fish. There arw some large rocks near the shoreline so be careful. Unfortunately a marine layer rolled in about an hour before sunset so we weren't able to see the sunset, but we still had a great time eating lobster on the beach.

Beautiful beach that abuts the red cliffs of Aquinnah. We spent about 2 hours here in the late July…read moreafternoon and it was pretty empty. Nice big swath of soft sand, some rocks in the water. Easy parking - $30/day with a well groomed path to the beach.

Go on a cloudy day mid week by car. Parked at lookout and walked down path to beach. It was low…read moretide and we could walk far under the cliffs. The beach and views are beautiful. Shore is rocky but we did see a couple of people swimming. Need to scout out a place with no rocks to swim. Love finding the path and walking the beach where very few people know you can go.

This beach is open to residents only. It is beautiful and clean, with parking. If you can find a…read moreway to come here, do it!

This beach has officially spoiled me for any other. This is a beach open only to Chilmark…read moreresidents, their family members and guests or renters. At the risk of sounding like a snob, the beach road doesn't have a sign for a reason. Do not take the car, bus, or bike here thinking you are just going to get in. I am not being an elitist. I'm just saying you will be wasting your time. Also, I'm sick of seeing reviewers on other sites trash this beach just because they rode their bike onto the ferry and expected to cycle across the Island to swim here. Don't be a dumbass and crash through the tick-infested hillside trying to sneak in, either. Park Rangers guard this beach, so if the ticks don't get you, they will. If you are fortunate enough to get your hands on a beach sticker, I highly recommend it. Aside from being flanked by the Vineyard's only nude shoreline, this beach is one-of-a-kind. Gorgeous clear water, waves that can get absolutely humongous, clay cliffs, and the long stretch of sparsely-populated sand that comes with the exclusivity of resident-only beach rights.

John was an amazing guide. He took us to some spectacular beaches on Chappy Island. Really…read moreknowledgeable, giving us some great advice on what to look for in order to get on the fish. A really excellent day, we'll be contacting John again when we get back to Martha's Vineyard - Highly recommended.

Exceptional Vineyard experience! We caught 2 sharks + 2 bluefish with Captain John out on Chappy…read more Very professional + communicative...easy booking process on the website. John met us at the Chappy ferry + drove us out to a secret beach location. He brought all the supplies + bait...the whole beach was captivated watching him reel in the sharks -- we will definitely book again! Highly recommend!

Before our visit to Martha's Vineyard, I did a little research on-line to determine what is worth…read moredoing during our 4-day stay. Hiking and biking are our main activities, with possibly a day of kayaking thrown in. I decided that one day of hiking would consist of hiking both the Great Rock Bight and the Menemsha Hills Reservation. I wish I had put as much time and effort into researching HOW to do the hikes as I did in selecting which hikes to do, as these trails are not so easy to find. We asked at our hotel (Pequot) for maps of hiking trails and found that they didn't have any. I drove west on N Road assuming that there would be signs for these popular hiking trails, but there were none. We made it all the way to the Menemsha Beach and parked. As we knew that the hiking trail ends at the beach, we figured it would be just as nice of a hike to start at the beach and end on the hilltop. There is a Texaco Station across the road from the end of the hiking trail and I asked them for a trail map. Can you believe not only did they not have maps, they didn't know about the hiking trail or so they said. So we winged it and began hiking from the statue of the man spearing a swordfish across the marsh and up the hill until we somehow lost the unmarked trail. We eventually came out to N Road and asked several people until we finally got lucky and asked a local on a bicycle. He directed us to take Prospect Hill Road saying it leads to the hill and the trail to the beach. We never would have guessed because of the signs that said "private property" and "no trespassing". Apparently the locals want to discourage the tourists enjoyment of this natural beauty. Once on this road we never saw any signs in English for trails, but we did see one tree that had a series of trail markers, which were useless without a map showing the key. We hiked all the way to Gosnold's Way as far as we could go. We saw some trails meandering here or there off the road, but none seemed to call to us, "this must be it". So we turned back toward N Road. Less than a quarter of a mile before we reached N Road, we noticed a steep incline on our right leading to a hilltop. It turned out to be Prospect Hill which is one of the highlights of this trail. We had unwittingly hiked miles past it. There were no signs, just one lonely bench at the summit. We rest there an hour or so and then retraced our steps back to the beach. As for beauty, the place is excellent. But the only signs are to discourage rather than help hikers. Plus I don't recall seeing anyplace on Prospect Hill Road or Gosnold's Way you can park. If you do this hike I strongly advise you to do your homework.

A hidden jewel…read more Prospect Hill in Menemsha Hills is either the highest or second highest point on the Vineyard. I'm not sure because I have heard both. It's only 300 feet high, yep it's not exactly a mountain but since the whole island is basically a glacial moraine, not bad. Heard all kinds of tales about people putting dirt and rocks on the top to keep it the highest point. As with most island tales I am somewhat skeptical but there are a bunch of boulders on the summit that do look like someone took the trouble to move them there. The entire reservation is over 200 acres and a absolutely fantastic place to hike. Anyone interesting in nature will love this place, ancient oaks, cherry trees, maples and a lot of shrubs and plants with names I'm not familiar with. Plus tons of obvious glacial evidence and debris. The whole trail is probably a little over four miles but with a lot of ups and downs. Two hills to negotiate and lots of curves and rocks to go over. Not very many flat places so the four miles is longer than it seems. Bring tick repellent because the nasty little things always seem to appreciate cool places like this. At the eastern most part of the trail you arrive at the magnificent Great Sands Cliffs, with incredible views in every direction. You can then climb or more likely slide down the slope to the beach. A great place to swim if you respect the water and don't get yourself killed. Menemsha Reservation and Prospect Hill are hidden jewels, even in the busy tourist season virtually no one goes here. The best places on the island always seem to be the ones least frequented.

Cute little area in gay head close to the light house. Little shops with jewelry and items made by…read morenative Americans. It was raining today so everyone raced in for shelter. The clam chowder was really good.

Nice stop for a pretty view of the ocean and the Gayhead Lighthouse. We stopped and got some ice…read morecream at the little shop on the hill. Ladies there were super sweet! If you have to go to the restroom, take 50 cents with you or go before you get there! There is a woman sitting there collecting your entrance fee....

My family took a charter out for a sunset trip, and absolutely loved it! Our captain Jessie was…read morewonderful. Friendly, knowledgeable, and would highly recommend this experience.

Worst boat rental experience ever. I rented a Sunfish over the phone, and instead of simply…read moretelling me a GPS location of the drop-off point -- the owner went into a confusing list of roads and turns. I made her aware that I was not from the area, and not familiar with the road names she was listing. Nonetheless, she refused to provide basic GPS info. We managed to narrow down the location from her description (using GPS), but there was nobody there. Nor did she respond to texts or phone calls. Over an hour later, we receive a phone call from Book-a-Boat apologizing for the no-show. I asked if we could reschedule the following day, which we did. The next day, as I'm about to leave the shore on the Sunfish, two of her staff are helping me rig the boat. She begins to berate them for the orientation of the boat on shore. She then asked about my sailing experience. I responded that my experience is limited, at which point she said asks, "Who rented this boat to him?" Apparently she'd forgotten that it was *she* who'd made the rental, and at no point did she inquire about my experience level. So I was surprised to hear her exclaim, "You're not using this boat. Absolutely not!" The whole ordeal was a waste of time. This was the worst boat rental experience ever, so we went down the street and rented elsewhere.

SKIP THIS COMPANY! we got misled from the website on google,…read moreit shows 25usd/ 35 usd with equipment for a rise and shine class but it was pretty tricky because it shows the rate without a schedule so we called and texted Nicole to figure how do we book a class, but she told us it's all booked for summer, then she said it's actually 65usd per person for a class at a private beach. She also stopped replying to us after we just mentioned what we saw online, after awhile, she told us because it seemed like we were not ok with the price so she took another client. we absolutely don't appreciate the false advertising, and what Nicole did, made us feel disrespected.

I gave this five stars because the scenery can't be beat here. It's so peaceful and serene where I…read morepaddled. Nichole took me on a private morning paddle and it was great! She's super nice too.

This reminds me of going to my grandmas 100+ year old farmhouse if it were on an island. Up island,…read moreAquinnah (formerly Gay Head area) is nice and quiet in comparison to the rest of the island and Oak Bluffs where the ferry drops off. Elise is just a wonderful person and made the trip special. She makes a breakfast out of this world and the inn has some great animal life. A few bobcats and she has nursed some wildlife back to health. Walk to the rural more private beach is less than ten minutes. We will most certainly be back!

This is my sanctuary from the world; quiet, serene, listening to the crickets & ocean waves at…read morenight. The breakfasts! OMG carry me though to dinner. Aquinnah is far from the other towns (30 min drive) so plan accordingly. The liquor stores do deliver with enough advance notice, and there are a few restaurants not so far away, but you are out in the country. Love sitting in the hot tub at night watching the stars. This is an old house so you might hear noise from other rooms or when breakfast gets going, but I travel with earplugs & a mask so not a thing for me. Elise is welcoming & has tips for everything you can think of. Free wifi, amazing water & sunset views (except from the downstairs stone-wall room) and blissful calm. There is no AC but mostly it's not needed, and mini fridges in many rooms, bring a small cooler for a day at the beach, a beach towel, good walking shoes, and de-com-press.