Starting off my tour of Martha's Vineyard from my friend's house in Tisbury, I visited a few places before going on my first hike at
Phillips Preserve.
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Tashmoo Spring Building,
~730 State Road |
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Island Cove Adventures Mini-Golf,
386 State Road |
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| Drew Cove, ~730 State Road |
The parking area to the Phillips Preserve can be found along Army Road, which is a one lane, one-way dirt road. The route I took, the Margaret Lindsay Memorial Trail, to get to Rhoda Pond, a branch of Lake Tashmoo, is highlighted below in pink.
The views of Rhoda Pond was pretty decent, although there were much better scenery at the various beaches to come later.
From here, I walked back down the other path, and when I reached back to Army Road, I decided to just end my hike here and walk along Army Road back to my car.
From here, my next hike was at
Hillman's Point Preserve. The parking area can be found near the end of Hillamn's Point Way, and the route I took here is highlighted below in pink.
After walking a short distance through the woods, I emerged on the shores of Lake Tashmoo, where there is a little but beautiful beach area here with north-south views. Pictures of the lake, the beach and the surrounding area follow. Some interesting things I found here include a live snail and a beautiful scallop shell I decided to keep for myself.
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| Scallop Shell |
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| Living Snail |
The next place I went to was
Lake Tashmoo Beach, found at the end of Herring Creek Drive. It is a bit of a drive down dirt roads to get here, but it is well worth it to see the lake and its entrance to Vineyard Sound, the open sea. It was high tide at this time of morning, and pictures I took here follow.
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| Lake Tashmoo |
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| Herring Creek Road Entrance |
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| The channel leading to the sea |
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| Vineyard Sound, the Open Ocean |
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| Black Vulture |
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| Bird footprints |
The next place I went to was very nearby, at
Wilfrid's Pond Preserve. The route I took to get to the shore of Vineyard Sound is shown below in pink. There is a side trail that leads to a bench looking out on Wilfrid's Pond, but the view is blocked by trees.
When I got to Vineyard Sound, the view of the ocean was pretty fantastic, on this stretch of pebbly beach. Some wildlife I saw were some sandpipers and albatrosses, and even an old horseshoe crab shell.
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| Vineyard Sound |
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| Sandpipers |
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| Albatross |
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| Horseshoe crab shell |
Here's a secret though; hidden behind a wall of sand, is Wilfrid's Pond, which had a lot of water birds when I first saw it after scaling the wall, and they flew away before I could get my picture.
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| Wilfrid's Pond |
Heading back to my car, I decided to go find the
West Chop Lighthouse. Views from the area follow
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| West Chop Lighthouse |
From here, I headed to the
Tisbury Town Beach at the end of Owen Little Way. Along the way, I passed by the West Chop Meadow at about 762 Main Street, which has views of Vineyard Haven Harbor.
Tisbury Town Beach is easterly facing beach, with really pristine waters and beautiful views of Vineyard Haven Harbor. There were a couple of Pale-bellied Brent Geese swimming here as well.
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| Clear waters |
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| Pale Bellied Brent Geese |
Owen Park Beach was next on the list, found at the end of Owen Park Way, and it is actually very close to the Tisbury Town Beach. The Steamship Authority Harbor from which I arrived onto this island is also nearby here. A lot of yachts are also anchored here. Views follow.
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| Woods Hole-Vineyard Haven Ferry |
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| View from Owen Park |
From Owen Park, I headed to the
Ramble Trail Preserve, located along Weaver Lane on the shores of Lagoon Pond. Along the way, I caught a few views of Lagoon Pond.
The trail I took at the Ramble Trail Preserve is highlighted below in pink.
I walked a very short distance from the parking area to the shore of Lagoon Pond, and took nice pictures of the pond from here.
Next, I went to the
Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs, where I parked to go to my true destination, the
Weahtaqua Springs Preserve. There were a few interesting sculptures outside the facility that took my notice.
The route I took to get to the Weahtaqua Springs Preserve and on to view Upper Lagoon Pond is shown below in pink.
From the parking area at the Featherstone Center for the Arts, I headed to the yellow trail and followed it to Barnes Road, crossing it to head into the Weahtaqua Springs Preserve. At the intersection with the white trail, I turned into it to head all the way to the viewing area at the tip of Upper Lagoon Pond. There was not a very extensive view of the pond here, however.
Heading back the way I came, I turned left onto Barnes Road when I came to it, walking along it till I reached the junction with Featherstone Lane. Here, I turned left onto another white trail that led me to the shores of Upper Lagoon Pond in Oak Bluffs with much better views here.
Finally reaching the other end of the trail where it meets up with Barnes Road, I headed back down Barnes Road to Featherstone Lane, turning onto it to get back to my car. To newcomers, I recommend just walking straight to the Oak Bluffs portion of Upper Pond Lagoon instead of going into the woods at the Weahtaqua Springs Preserve.
Done with the town of Tisbury, I decided to head for lunch at
The Net Result. This place is actually a fish market, with live lobsters in the shop, but they do have take out.
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| Live Lobsters |
I decided to grab a lobster roll and a lobster bisque, and I went to the benches outside to enjoy my delicious lunch, with the weather being so warm and all.
I enjoyed my relaxing lunch break thoroughly, taking in views of Vineyard Haven Harbor from where I sat on Beach Road.
Before heading across the bridge into Oak Bluffs, there is a small parking area on the Lagoon Pond side, and I stopped here to take a few last pictures of it and the ocean on the other side of Beach Road before saying goodbye to Tisbury, for now.
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| The bridge into Oak Bluffs |
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| Lagoon Pond |
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| Vineyard Haven Harbor |
Finally crossing the bridge into Oak Bluffs, the northerly facing
Eastville Point Beach was immediately to my left on Beach Road close to Hospital Road. Beautiful views from this sandy beach on the shores of Vineyard Haven Harbor follow.
Next, I visited
Island Alpaca, the
Martha's Vineyard Hospital and the
East Chop Lighthouse, the latter having a view of.
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| Martha's Vineyard Hospital |
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| Vineyard Sound from East Chop Lighthouse |
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| East Chop Lighthouse |
From here, I headed to the Trinity Park Circle area, which is the heart of the historic gingerbread cottages, with the
Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association Tabernacle right in the middle of it with the
Trinity United Methodist Church nearby
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| Under the Tabernacle |
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| Trinity United Methodist Church |
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| Gingerbread Cottages |
The
Oak Bluffs Inn,
Our Lady Star of the Sea Church and
Union Chapel are also in this area.
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| Oak Bluffs Inn |
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| Union Chapel |
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| Our Lady Star of the Sea Church |
Next, I headed to the
Ocean Park area bounded by Ocean Avenue and Seaview Avenue. Besides the park itself, which is quite big and has a few monuments on it, but also other interesting places, definitely not forgetting to mention the
Oak Bluffs Town Beach, with easterly views of Vineyard Sound.
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| Ocean Park |
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Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority Dock,
1 Seaview Avenue |
I took a stroll along the entire stretch of the Oak Bluffs Town Beach as the sun continued to set, allowing me beautiful views of the rising moon, and there were also very nice residential properties along Seaview Avenue. Pictures follow.
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The Steamship Authority Dock from
Oak Bluffs Town Beach |
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| Nice House along Seaview Avenue |
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| Barnacles on the Rocks |
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| The rising moon |
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| Looking back |
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| Looking forward |
Finally, I left the area and headed to the corner of Seaview Avenue and Circuit Avenue Extension, where there are lovely views of Oak Bluffs Harbor as well.
With that, I headed home to cook dinner with my friend. We had an enjoyable night, and I'm looking forward to more sightseeing in Martha's Vineyard tomorrow.
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