Gay Head Lighthouse (Aquinnah Light): Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
Gay Head Lighthouse (also known as Aquinnah Light) in a remote area located on the westernmost point of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Built in 1799, the lighthouse is still active today and is open for tours during the summer months.
Gay Head Lighthouse Location:
Aquinnah is a very remote part of the island – and if you don’t bring or rent a car, it takes a long time to get out here by public transportation — it might not look that way on the map (it’s a little over 30 minute drive from Aquinnah to Vineyard Haven, where most of the ferries are) but it is! I’ll get to my experience getting here later, but first, here is a map of where the lighthouse is located on the island:
Our experience:
My husband, my sister and I took the ferry over to Martha’s Vineyard and used the bus for transportation around the island. However, we visited in mid-April.
Which is still the off-season. And causes issues. Especially when relying on public transportation.
The bus to get out here at this time of year has a very infrequent schedule. I know what you’re thinking, “Read the bus map!” right?
Have you ever looked at the MVTA bus map? It’s incredibly confusing for such a small island. I am perfectly comfortable taking public transportation in any city, and I could not figure this out.
The bus ride took a good hour to get here from Edgartown. Once here, the driver dropped us off and I asked when the next bus came. He said, “I don’t know. Check the schedule but I’ll probably be back in an hour”
Ok. Fine. We can explore the lighthouse, take pics of the cliffs, etc. We can hang here for an hour.
So we did that. The cliffs are beautiful but it was just too windy to really enjoy them. There’s really no walking trails that I could find to get down to the beach, but like I said, it was just too windy for this whole experience to be enjoyable.
The lighthouse was closed for the season, but we were able to take some pictures from the outside. After snapping some pics of the lighthouse and cliffs, we were ready to go.
Headed back to the bus stop to try to make sense of the schedule (I repeat, MVTA bus schedules are unnecessarily confusing) Once we figured it out, we realized we were stranded here for another 3 hours. Yes, 3 HOURS.
Now, this wouldn’t be so bad in the summer – there’s some shops and a restaurant up here, but we’re here in April and nothing’s open. Even the public restrooms (which they charge 50 cents) were closed and I had to go.
It was cold, windy and we were stranded. Tried calling a cab, but it was $60 to get back to the ferry in Vineyard Haven. So, we sat on the curb near the bus stop and I decided to do something I’ve never done before.
I took a deep breath, stuck out my thumb and attempted to hitchhike. The bus stop is near a parking lot for the lighthouse, shops and scenic overlook, so even though this was the offseason, people were still coming and going.
And it didn’t take long – maybe 5 minutes? – before a nice couple offered us a ride, as they were headed to Vineyard Haven anyway) and gave us the 30 minute ride back to the ferry port. Without them, we might’ve missed the last ferry out.
So again, learn from my experience. Do NOT attempt to head to Aquinnah in the off season if you are taking the bus — unless you like to be stranded outside for a few hours.
Gay Head Lighthouse – Final Thoughts
This is indeed a really beautiful area. I imagine it’s stunning during sunset. If you visit in the summer and are relying on the island bus service, you won’t have this issue, but you will if you come here during the off-season. If you’re coming during the off-season, bring your car over on the ferry or get a rental for the day.
