I Love the Beach
Beach Vacations on the East coast

I love the beach and Martha's Vineyard has great options for beach vacations on the East coast.

Being an island, it has alot of coastline and there are beaches that suit families, young singles and romantic couples.

We have been to many of these beaches and provide our comments and photos below...I Love the Beach !

Joseph Sylvia State Beach

Great for families. This beach is easy to get to, you can simply pull off the road and park within 50 yards of the water - perfect if you have young children and/or lots of gear.

TIP: The Memorial Bridge at this beach is a popular jumping spot.

Kids, and some older folks, line up along the railing and wait their turn to leap into the water below. It's only about a 15 foot drop but it's tons of fun...yes my daughters begged me to do the jump and I had to protect my reputation !

This is a good beach for swimming. The water remains shallow and calm near the beach. Waves are non-existent, or very small. You'll likely see kayaks, wind-surfers and wave runners playing offshore.

The sand here is not spectacular, tends to be on the medium brown and rough side as opposed to fine, white sand. However, there are lots of great shells to sift through. Our kids filled buckets and had a great time.

This is also a good beach area for cruising on a waverunner

This beach is located on Beach Road between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown on the northeast side of Martha's Vineyard. It's very convenient to both towns.

Menemsha Public Beach

Great for families and romantic couples. Menemsha is a charming fishing village about 20-30 minutes from Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs. The beach here is steps from the parking lot but take note the parking is limited.

This is a very picturesque area. The harbor has beautiful boats and there are often sailboats moored offshore. I love the beach but ... the waves are calm so one would think the swimming is fun, unfortunately, there are many medium size rocks as you enter the water, making walking difficult and painful.

Although the water is rocky, the magnificent sunsets, charming boat docks, fresh seafood and starfish and crab hunting area make this a great spot for family beach vacations.

TIPS:
For Romance: crowds gather here for the spectacular sunsets
For Kids: kids can find starfish, crabs and jellyfish by the boat docks

South Beach State Park

Popular with teens and college folks. This beach is easily accessed from Edgartown either by car, moped or bicycle. The bike path runs from Edgartown to the beach.

This beach reminds me of Nauset Beach on Cape Cod and Plum Island Beach in Newburyport, MA. There are beautiful, large sand dunes and the beach drops off quickly in the surf. The waves here are also larger than those at the Joseph Sylvia State Beach or Menemsha Beach.

These factors make this beach a bit more dangerous for young children. There are lifeguards at this beach, but if you have average or weak swimmers, you'll need to be much more vigilant in watching them here.

Many 13 - 25 year olds prefer this beach for their Martha's Vineyard beach vacations.

TIP: If you have a 4 x 4 vehicle, you can drive into the sand dunes here and venture into less crowded areas

As the name suggests, this beach is located on the southern part of the island, just south of Edgartown.

South Beach Marthas Vineyard

Wasque Beach - Cape Poge

This is a very remote beach, located on Chappaquiddick, which requires a ride on the Chappy Ferry...but it's worth it ! The beach stretches and stretches in both directions and you will likely see few other people...this is not a beach where folks sit right next to your towel ! The area is extremely scenic, situated in 250 acres of conservation land, and is also the location of the famous Chappaquiddick incident

Wasque Beach Marthas Vineyard

Moshup Beach - Aquinnah

This is another remote beach, located on the westernmost edge of the Vineyard in Aquinnah. Surf here can be heavy so it may not be the best beach for kids for swimming (try Joseph Sylvia State Beach). However, this is where the famous clay cliffs are so it's a very scenic and unique beach. You're also likely to find stone towers, stacks of beach stones balanced on one another. This is a very unique beach and worth the drive. See our personal photos of Moshup Beach