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.

Great instruction, well-kept equipment, have done both surf and stand up paddle and very satisfied…read morewith the experience. Great access to beautiful parts of the island otherwise inaccessible, and not crowded. Highly recommended!

What an amazing feeling... Floating hundreds of feet above the ocean and an island! I felt very…read moresafe the whole time, and Captain Mark was a pleasure to interact with. He raved about his experience and it showed. It was a great value. My 12 year old daughter was a bit freaked out about going in the water at all, but Captain Mark said he would just dip her toes. He had so much control, he literally just dipped her toes. Great sites, great experience and great staff. I would recommend this to any one going to the Vineyard or anyone looking for a real experience.

A great family run small business that will make you feel like old friends. We had a mixed group of…read morethose who had done this elsewhere and those new to it. Mark and his son made us feel at ease. After our parasailing we rented jet skis and spent an hour in the surf. A great way to spend some time on a warm day.

I fished on the Starfish boat in Cape Cod Bay, out of Barnstable yesterday morning . We had good…read moreweather/sea conditions. The boat was full at 12 anglers. A lot of them were newbies.The target was winter flounder (was Memorial Day weekend), but the listing for the trip said they would target tautog upon achieving a boat limit on the flounder. Capt Mike was very helpful with pointing out the basics to everyone and pointed out safety features on the boat. Mate Jeff was attentive with help with the bait, untangling lines, re-tying lines lost to break offs, and unhooking fish/bleeding them for best table fare. Though I caught my 8 fish limit on flounder, not everyone did. So we didn't go elsewhere looking for tautog. The guy fishing next to me said he's fished that boat a fair bit and never seen them target tog, even if the boat limit on flounder was caught. That's BS to list the tog option if they never pursue it. They didn't have crabs for bait to try for tog even if we wanted to. I'd say this is a good, clean, safe boat, run by a good crew (Capt Mike and Mate Jeff) if you want to chase winter flounder on a headboat setting in Cape Cod Bay. But don't plan on trying for tog like they list as a possible option.

My family has held an annual trip to cape cod and fishing in the Helen H is the heart of this trip…read more This year is our 10th and we couldn't be happier with the staff, service and safety of the vessels! Love you guys!

We waited 1.5 hours at the Washington St rental shack and no one came to rent us a kayak. I called…read morethe number on the sign 4 times and only got voicemail. Sign said open 9-5. The kayak bins and all were open and it was clear someone had opened the place and left. We were there late morning through early afternoon. We even swung back by at 230 in case the person had gone to lunch. Gotta be honest: My daughter and I were on the island for two days and we spent the second day explicitly to go kayaking. The weather was calm and dry. We wasted hours of our time at a business that couldn't be bothered to answer their phone or have a person on duty. I wish I could put zero stars. Don't bother to have a business if this is how you operate. I will spread the word that everyone I know on the island should steer clear. Atrocious.

Great place to rent a kayak. The staff is super friendly and answered all of our questions. Good…read moreequipment and not crazy expensive. They have a good location, not far from town, and there are plenty of places to explore. The best part is rowing through all the docked boars and seeing how the other half of a half percent live ;)

I used to come here with my dad to go fishing so many MANY years ago so when we came back for my "…read moreomg I'm old" birthday I had to stop by. I lost my dad 7 years ago but as I was standing on the pier I could hear him yelling at me as if I were purposely catching puffer fish that he had to fight off the hook. Yes, I admit to getting teary eyed with nostalgia. It is a really cute beach with a nice jetty. The pier is great for high tide fishing and low tide viewing. The water is super clear with no snags or rocks to catch your line.

If I am to rate this beach it's simple, out of all the open ocean facing South Yarmouth beaches…read morethis is the one as a child I called the new beach because it was created last on this strip of beaches roughly a mile or so long. It sits at the opposite end from the free "first" beach and in between is what we always called the "swing" beach for obvious reason. This beach sits next to the Smugglers Beach motel which I think was changed to condos many years ago. The beach has a large boat ramp for launching boats and the ramp used to be free but now the town charges to launch. The beach itself also charges to park. Overall the largest beach and it sits at the mouth of Bass River and has a pier to fish from.

This was a great trip! I was having a celebration for a big birthday and booked The Magic Carpet…read more It WAS magic. My entire immediate family and a couple of friends joined me on our trip. It's a beautiful boat! Lee and Todd were great hosts! Everyone agreed that it was the perfect way to celebrate.

RUDE! RUDE! RUDE! We made a reservation for a sunset cruise and unfortunately, it was cancelled…read morebecause of too much wind. Always thought sailing was about wind, but what do I know. When we inquired about rescheduling "The Boss" said we were the only ones inquiring about a certain night. That being said, we said great, what about one of your private cruises you advertise? She then had the audacity in her words to say "I don't think you can afford that type of cruise." Really? Do you know anything about us and to insinuate that we can't afford it? How about this: F You. I would expect an outfit like this to want the business. Oh well, hope you're so busy that you can turn business down, or with that attitude, you'll go the way of the previous sailing outfits on the Vineyard: Sunk.

Great experience!!!!! My sons caught more fish than I could count!!!! We took nine fish home and…read moreate well! The captain and first mate were patient and extremely helpful!!!!! I strongly recommend them!!!!

John and Garreth were the best skippers ever!!! The boat trip was so fun and we caught so many fish…read moreto bring home. They were so helpful and cleaned the fish for us after. I couldn't recommend this experience any higher!!!