136. Ferry To Chappaquiddick
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 627-9427
Description: We don’t know if you would actually consider this a point of interest, but it does meet the criteria of a must-see when visiting Edgartown. Two simple ferries, On Time II and On Time III, make the daily runs between downtown Edgartown and Chappy, transporting you and your car, bicycle, or moped in the process. By the way, the ferries have never been late, thus earning their names. Round-trip fares are $10 for a car and driver, $3 for each passenger, and $6 for a bicycle and rider. Open daily from June to mid-Oct, the on-time ferry runs from 7 a.m. to midnight.
137. Old Whaling Church
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 627-8017, (508) 627-4440
Address: 89 Main St.
Description: This is an absolutely massive structure, with six gigantic wooden columns supporting the weight of the centuries and a 92-foot clock tower whose four-pointed spires seem to challenge the heavens. Since 1843, this soaring tower has been a landmark for sailors approaching Edgartown by sea. Built as sturdy as the old whaling ships, with 50-foot hand-hewn pine beams joined with wooden pegs, today the church is a 500-seat performing arts center. Summer church service is still held here on Sundays, as are weddings and receptions.
138. Pagoda Tree
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Description: A visit to Edgartown would not be complete without a visit to the famous Pagoda tree along South Water Street. The tree was planted during the mid-19th century by Capt. Thomas Milton, who carried it as a seedling from China. It is considered perhaps the oldest and largest specimen of its kind in America.
139. The Vincent House Museum
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 627-4440
Description: This gem of a full Cape was built in 1672 and is considered to be Martha’s Vineyard’s oldest residence. It is behind the Old Whaling Church and the Fisher House. Interestingly sections of the interior walls of this museum have been left open and unfinished so you can observe its original colonial construction. Individual or combined tours are offered. Call for current rates. Tours are held at 11 a.m., noon, 1 and 2 p.m. Mon through Sat.
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 59 School St.
141. Whale Memorial
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Description: A fitting memorial to the whales and the whalers is the Whale Memorial located down near the harbor in Edgartown. The memorial features a sculptured whale diving into the ground with its flukes raised and a whaleboat in pursuit. It was erected in 1995 and says it is “Dedicated to the whales and the whalers who pursued them.”
142. Aquinnah Lighthouse
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Description: High atop the Aquinnah Cliffs is the red brick Aquinnah Lighthouse, built in 1844 to replace its wooden sister. The original lighthouse was built by order of President John Adams. Due to a mingling of two tides, one from the north and one from the west, this stretch of ocean is considered to be very treacherous. Devil’s Bridge off Aquinnah has wrecked many a ship over the centuries, including the City of Columbus in 1884, with the loss of 120 lives. The Fresnel lens of the second lighthouse, which for the better part of a century warned sea captains of the hazardous cliffs, was removed in 1952 and is now on display at the Vineyard Museum in Edgartown.
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
144. Mayhew Chapel And Indian Burial Ground
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Description: This area known as Christiantown, known to the Wampanoag Indians as Manitouwattotan, can be found off Indian Hill Road in West Tisbury. You follow a dirt road to this historic site hidden deep in the woods. Here stands the small Mayhew Chapel, built in 1829, and the adjoining Indian Burial Ground. The chapel is scarcely 20 feet by 15 feet, and yet it contains a dozen pews and a small altar. Early settler and minister Thomas Mayhew Jr. preached here, converting many native inhabitants in this area to Christianity. In the nearby cemetery nameless stones, perhaps as many as a hundred, mark Indian graves. It is a unique historical location, moving in its simplicity.
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
146. The Arabella
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 645-3511
Description: This 50-foot catamaran sails out of Menemsha Harbor twice a day in season. Captain Hugh Taylor will take you to Cuttyhunk (or the town of Gosnold)—the only public island in the isolated Elizabeth Islands chain. Or you can take a sunset cruise to the Aquinnah Cliffs. The day sail to Cuttyhunk leaves at 10:30 a.m. and returns by 4 p.m. It costs $75 per adult or teen, $40 for children younger than 12. The sunset sail leaves at 6 p.m. (or thereabouts) and returns after the sun has totally set. The sunset cruise costs $50.
147. Ayuthia Charters Inc.
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 693-7245
Description: This truly classic 48-foot Gaff Ketch yacht sails out of Coastwise Harbor offering half- and full-day sails and overnight trips to Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands. Master Captain Tom Grew offers one trip a day from 1 to 4 p.m. It’s well worth packing a picnic, perhaps a bottle, and joining him as the experienced captain takes you on a traditional sailing experience.
148. Mad Max
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 627-7500
Description: Mad Max leaves Edgartown to cruise along Chappaquiddick and past Oak Bluffs. A 60-foot-long by 25-foot-wide catamaran, it departs twice a day at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. daily. Rates are $55, with children under 10 paying $50. An Insiders’ tip: You get $5 off per person with a cash payment.
149. The Black Dog Tall Ships: Shenandoah And Alabama
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 693-1699
Description: Now affiliated with the Black Dog Tavern (and sailing from the newly named Black Dock Wharf, just steps from the iconic restaurant), this pair of towering schooners offers children, young adults, and more seasoned sailors an immersion course in the “thrilling power of sail.” From day and sunset sails to kids’ cruises and private charters, the Alabama and Shenandoah aim to initiate guests to the challenges and camaraderie of schooner sailing.
150. Lake Tashmoo Beach
City: Cape Cod, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Description: Sunbathers, swimmers, surf casters, and shellfish seekers flock to this beach on the island’s north shore, where the lake meets the ocean. This teeny stretch of sand is also known as Herring Creek Beach. You’ll find lifeguards here, but no bathhouses or concessions.