My tour group stopped at Aquinnah Cliff and this lighthouse is right next to it. $6 to be able to…read morego to the top, unfortunately I didn't have the time to go up and check that out, but form what I did experience this brick lighthouse was quite the site. For me, at least, the lighthouse ended up popping more than the Cliffs.

Bottom Line: 168+ year old brick, conical lighthouse nestled amongst beautiful scenery…read more Gay Head Lighthouse, as we see it today, was built in 1855 and first lit in 1856. The brick lighthouse is a conical shape and 52 feet in height. Although it may be considered short as far as lighthouses go, it is perched above the Aquinnah Cliffs. In 2015 it was moved back 134 feet to safeguard the historic structure from the erosion of the cliffs. My husband and I visited in early May and the lighthouse was not open for climbing yet but we still enjoyed visiting the grounds. The upside to visiting in the shoulder season is that we were the only ones at the lighthouse and we were able to enjoy the grassy lawn and nifty brick structure in peace. We were easily able to get a parking spot and then it was a short walk through some brush and trees to the lighthouse. As I understand it, the lighthouse is open for climbing between Memorial Day and Labor Day and the views from the top are lovely.

The torn is beautiful but what is going on with the ferry dock, the area where the Island Queen…read moreboards? It's a mess,with no shade,no facilities, and rotting, splintery old benches. What a dump. This is a very wealthy town, and this area is the first and last thing many visitors see. Is that what you want?

Good spot to check out and nice bus system. Aquinnah is definitely worth the trip even though it is…read morea little out of town.

I fondly refer to Cuttyhunk as "The Land Before Time". Everything about it is simple. There's…read morenothing pretentious about this beautiful island. The residents are extremely friendly, quite literally "salt of the earth". Although most places on the island only accept cash, my husband and I met business owners willing to accept Venmo. Cuttyhunk is a dry island so be prepared to bring your own booze. There's plenty of free things to do there from going to the beach, hiking, biking, or exploring. I love this little island!

Cuttyhunk. It's a Wampanoag word that means the end of…read moreland. Splendid isolation is what a woman I know who lives there calls it. Cuttyhunk is about 12 miles from New Bedford but feels much, much farther away from civilization. It does feel like the end of the world. Even though if you look really hard you can make out the Gayhead lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard to the east, Cuttyhunk feels so totally alone. So alone that the neighboring island Penikese was once used for a leper colony. I usually go out there a couple of times a year. The island never really changes. Sure the weather does but the feel of the island is always the same. No real restaurants unless you call a guy selling food from a cart or from an oven in his garage a restaurant. No cars, no malls, few paved roads, one store and a school with 2 students. And always dogs. Lots of big, dumb, stinky and very friendly dogs I have heard people complain there is nothing to do on Cuttyhunk. Well, that's the point, You have to amuse yourself, there is nothing you have to do . You can do what you want. Swim, hike, watch the ocean, sail or bike around the island. If you swim watch out the strong rips on the south side don't sweep you away to Europe and if you bike make sure you bring a good mountain bike, a road or hybrid is going to get annihilated in this terrain. You can even see if you can make it out to the very bizarre Bartholomew Gosnold monument, but that's fodder for another review. I'm always bruised, cut, burned and bitten when I return from Cuttyhunk. It doesn't matter, I've been to the end of land. There are few places around that can offer such splendid isolation.

It was very nice, but it would have been nice to have access to it. There is a dirt trail that…read moreleads to this site, but the water prevents access. Unfortunately, the area that may hav better access is private.

The Bartholomew Gosnold Monument is not an easy place to visit…read more Bike through swamp and thick woods. Hike along very rocky beach Then swim through a marsh. Climb up on Gosnold Island. And there it is. Gosnold discover the island of Cuttyhunk in 1602 and then went on to visit Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and eventually up to Maine. Many historians say that when he landed on Cuttyhunk he was the first European to build a house in New England. Also had the first settlement, but that lasted only a few weeks. Like Adrien Block, not much is really known about Gosnold but but by all accounts he was an extremely eccentric, bizarre, but adventurous individual. 1902 marked the three hundredth anniversary of his landing so some nice, but obviously loony folks on the island decided to build him a monument. It's just a rough stone tower about seventy feet high with a few windows and door. It was sealed long ago and you can no longer enter it. The question is, why did they decide to built the monument on an island, in a swamp, in the most inaccessible part of Cuttyhunk where no one can get to it? I have heard various stories. One local guy told me it was because the spot was a sacred and haunted spot for the local Wampanoags. Maybe. Another story I heard was that the monument was actually much higher but sunk into the ground. Unlikely. And yet another story I got was that this god forsaken spot was the conjectured location of Gosnold's first house or fort. That one sounds like it might be true. To visit the monument you have to first get out to the island of Cuttyhunk. Then mountain bike through miles of small, steep trails. Then hike along a very rocky beach. And lastly swim the finally hundred yards through a marsh, climb up a small hill filled with poison ivy, thorns and infested with ticks, and there it is. You then get to see what is basically a pile of stones. Is the effort worth it ? Definitely.

A tiny but mighty secret oasis amongst otherwise East Chop housing. Thus, it's empty, almost…read morealways, and double thus, it's so peaceful. No dogs, no idling, park your bikes along the single rack. The proceed through the gate for nothing more than a plot of land and a lighthouse that charges a modest admission fee to rise the flight and make a great view even better. Feeling cheap? Left the wallet in your other jorts? Worry not, pally - the park is free. So, pull up a bench and a grinder, and picnic to East Chop views. You'll be the only ones there. Trust.

This is a great place to visit. While you can't go in (at least, I couldn't at the time), there is…read morea nice seating area to rest and take in the views of the ocean. The walk up to this place is also beautiful as you are right by the cliff but the other side are these stunning mansions. Sure makes you jealous of the old money on this island. It was a lot of fun to hike over there and very easy to do (flat ground, pavement). Give it a try!

Visited here with my family on Monday July 15th 2024 as part of our sightseeing martha's vineyard…read moretrip to see the filming location of Jaws! Got to this bridge via Oak Bluffs, and the Transit authority, which runs buses every 20 minutes to all the stops and locations. We started with the beach of the Jaws bridge! People were actually jumping in the water too, and i guess that's a thing! Nice views of the water and beautiful waters and scenic views!

Monument by the ferry where my tour group had to meet. Has some water bowls/containers on the…read moresides, I guess for dogs. Well maintained, no pigeon dung on it like other statues and no noticeable erosion or wear on it. I'm not an overly philosophical person so the statue didn't affect me as much as it probably should've, but it's a nice welcome to the island, and a good spot for tours to gather as its easily identifiable.

well priced, several floors of artifacts, amazing shipwreck items and settler items from people…read morethat lived here centuries ago, staff is nice, and great campus

I'm a museum person and this one definitely didn't disappoint. I appreciated the grounds which were…read moreabsolutely stunning and opened up directly to the water. All of the staff there were amazing as well. The museum had a small but serviceable section on Jaws and I appreciated the movie clips that they had. As a history teacher I appreciated the sections on the history of the island and the shipwrecks around the area. Overall we spend about a little over an hour there. It was a nice time but for $21 for adults I did find it to be on the higher end of museums I've been to. But if you're in the area and have the time I do recommend stopping by.