Around the Vineyard

The Hostel Staff is there to make your stay at Martha's Vineyard the best it can be. They can help you with any questions you may have and are also a good source of information about the best spots on the island. Make sure you reserve space in far enough advance to ensure that you will not miss out on all this Hostel has to offer to you, and to be sure that you will have a great time on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard!

Back by popular demand! - FREE Watercolor Workshops.
By Artist Deborah Stone. Contact the hostel for details.

Events

There's so much to do right up to the end of the season! Visit our events page to find out more.

Bring or Rent a Bike!

With advance notice, you can get a bike waiting for you at the hostel - for about $17 a day! Call us about this Special Bike Deal!!

Mountain Bike Ride

Mountain bike ride with the Vineyard Off-Road Bicycling Association begins every Sunday at 9 a.m. from the Grange Hall in West Tisbury. This ride is for adults, and is strenuous. Bring at least two water bottles and wear a helmet.

Hit The Water on a Kayak!!!

No previous experience is required! Many of our guests are first time paddlers. Tours are designed to accommodate all levels of skill and ability. We ask only that you bring your spirit of adventure and a healthy sense of humor. Before each kayak tour there is an instructional session to familiarize you with paddling techniques and the equipment you will be using. Then you'll get the chance to try out your new skills in a sheltered area. Sea kayaks are stable and easy to control, with a foot-operated rudder system.

Try the Sunset or Full Moon Paddle!
Call or email Chick at Island Spirit at 508-693-9727 for "hostel" prices and info on full moon paddling. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.

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Oak Bluffs and its Gingerbread Cottages

In 1835 this community served as the site for annual summer camp meetings for Methodist church groups. Wesleyan Grove, as the Oak Bluffs Camp Ground was called, rode the crest of the religious revival movement. By the mid-1850s, the Sabbath meetings here were drawing congregations of 12,000 people. They came for the sunshine and sermonizing in hundreds of individual church groups. Each group had its own communal tent where the contingent bedded down in straw purchased from local farmers. But the vacation urge could not be checked. Family tents turned into wooden cottages designed to look like tents. And the cottages multiplied, trying to out-do each other in brightly painted fantasies of gingerbread. A new, all-steel Tabernacle structure replaced the big central tent in 1879. It stands today as a fine memento of the age of ironwork architecture.

Menemsha

For an authentic slice of the classic Vineyard fishing village, leave the shoppers down-island and take the winding roads up-island to the incredibly picturesque Menemsha, one of the few remaining fishing villages in New England. You can take the bus or the bike ferry from Aquinnah. Riding your bike here is spectacularly scenic but exhausting. In Menemsha you'll find a colorful harbor, a commercial fishing fleet, the sportfishing vessels and the pleasure boats. Wander around and watch the fishermen unload their catches--lobsters, tuna and swordfish. There's a town beach, but the water here can be chilly. A fresh seafood lunch can be bought, as well as sandwiches and snacks.

Getting Around

The Hostel is located in West Tisbury, on the #6 bus line (ask the driver). one day and three day passes are available on the bus, or it is $1. per bus ride. getting around MV is easy!

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The Lighthouses of Martha's Vineyard

The five lighthouses on the Island of Martha's Vineyard represent the most diverse group in a small, contained area in the country, according to lighthouse buffs. All of the lighthouses are on the north side of the Island. They look out over Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sound, and over the entrance to Edgartown Harbor and Cape Poge.

The Cape Poge Lighthouse is by far the Island's most remote, built in 1801. The original lighthouse was made of wood and had a small caretaker's cottage. By 1838, the building was destroyed by the ravaging sea and rebuilt farther inland. It lasted only 50 years before the sea again claimed it and it was rebuilt, with a change from reflector lamps to red and white revolving prisms. The sea would not be denied, and reclaimed the lighthouse in 1892. It was rebuilt as a 33-foot-tall tower that lasted only another 35 years.

The present white wooden structure was built in 1922, 55 feet high with a light visible for a distance of 12 miles. In 1985 it gained the distinction of being the first entire lighthouse to be moved by helicopter; in 1997 the lantern was again moved by helicopter for repairs. The lighthouse's present site is 300 feet from the ever-hungry sea. All of the Island's lighthouses, except the Cape Poge Lighthouse, are easily accessible by road....fortunately, the Trustees of Reservation offers an Oversand Lighthouse Tour that is well worth it!

Farmers market

In West Tisbury every Saturday and free Band Concerts every Sunday.

The Beaches!!!

The unspoiled charm of Martha's Vineyard is probably best exemplified by the many scenic beaches located here - too numerous to list! The beaches vary from protected, shallow, clear-water stretches on the northern and eastern sides of the Island to expanses of rumbling surf along the south side. The Travel Channel recently voted Moshup beach as one of America's Top Ten Beaches! It ranked first as Best Walking Beach and 6th overall as best beach.

Mytoi

Mytoi ("my-toy") is a small Japanese-style garden set within an open pine forest. In 1991, Hurricane Bob left the garden a tangle of uprooted trees and shrubs. Mytoi was redesigned and restored with mixed plantings of native and exotic trees and shrubs, some rare. The garden's signature feature is a small pond with an island that is reached by walking over an arched bridge. Winding footpaths take visitors through a birch walk, camellia dell, stone garden, and hillside garden. A rustic shelter offers broad views of the garden and a chance to become immersed in the meditative qualities of the landscape.

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More Links:

• Beaches
• Bike Paths
• Ferry Schedules
• Peter Pan Bus Schedule (Plug in Woods Hole, MA as your desination city)

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