 |
 |
| Edgartown Light | East Chop Light |
See the Martha's Vineyard lighthouses in ease and comfort in our private 14 passenger A/C vans. Enjoy the Island with a narrated private island tour while you visit the historic and still working Gay Head lighthouse, Climb to the top (see Lighthouse schedule below), and enjoy what may be the best coastal view from Massachusetts to Florida. See the panoramic view of the west end of Martha's Vineyard, from the majestic cliffs of Aquinnah to the beautiful Vineyard Sound, until 1914 the main shipping thorofare between Boston and NYC. Just below the light you overlook the sites of famous shipwrecks and world renowned fishing grounds.
BEST of All, you can stop when and where YOU want whether it's a shop of interest, an overlook or one of our many parks and historic points of interest.
Your customizable tour includes
a fully narrated tour of the island plus visits to:
West Chop Lighthouse
East Chop Lighthouse
Edgartown Lighthouse (climb to the top)
Gay Head Lighthouse (climb to the top)
We can also make arrangements to visit the Cape Poge Lighthouse on nearby Chappaquiddick Island.
Gay Head Lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard
Tower height: 51 feet Height of focal plane: 170 feet
Active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation
Alternating red and white flashes each 15 seconds
| From May 28 through June 19, Lighthouse tours
are open Saturdays and Sundays from 11am - 6pm. From June 20 through September 5, the Lighthouse is open daily Mon - Sat from 10am - 5:30 pm. Sunset/Evening Hours on Friday and Saturday 7:00 - 9:00 From September 10 through October 9, the Lighthouse is open Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-6pm. |
 |
| In spite of the powerful light, shipwrecks happened with regularity in the vicinity.The worst of them happened in the early morning of January 19, 1884, when the passenger steamer City of Columbus ran aground on Devil's Bridge, a treacherous ledge reaching out from the Gay Head Cliffs. Twenty minutes later, 100 persons on board had drowned. Some managed to hold onto the rigging long enough for lighthouse keeper Horatio N. Pease to arrive with a crew of Gay Head Indians in a lifeboat. A number of people were saved by this crew and by the crew of the Revenue Cutter Dexter, which soon arrived on the scene. The wreck of the City of Columbus remains one of New England's worst marine disasters. Stand where Keeper Pease spotted the wreck and began the rescue. |  |
|
 |
| The Gay Head Light was converted to kerosene operation in 1885. The year 1952 saw the end of the kerosene era, as a high-intensity electric beacon replaced the Fresnel lens after electricity was finally brought to the west end of the island. The original lens can be seen today in a structure resembling a short tower and lantern on the grounds of the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society Museum in Edgartown. |
|
 |
Todd Follansbee conducts the tour. He is currently the Lighthouse Tour Guide for Martha's Vineyard Museum. He is a Vineyard resident, history buff and deep water sailor with over 15,000 miles offshore experience, many aboard traditional schooners. Todd has seen nearly all the lighthouses and visited most of the harbors on the East Coast. |
Learn
more about the Martha's Vineyard Museum.
Learn
more about the Gay Head Lighthouse or read Jeremy
D'Entremont's book The
Lighthouses of Massachusetts.
Admission and
rental fees are used by the Martha's Vineyard Museum to help maintain
these lighthouses
All size groups from 1 to 150 people accommodated for transportation on Martha’s Vineyard. Pickups arranged from all locations to all destinations on the island.
Martha's Vineyard Transport, LLC is fully insured and a member of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce