Hotel Near Biking, Hiking, and Beaches on Martha’s Vineyard

Nature lovers, outdoors enthusiasts, and beach devotees have much to delight them on an island getaway at the Edgar Hotel Martha’s Vineyard. Our bright, warm-hearted hotel at the doorstep of the Edgartown Harbor Village Historic District puts you within easy reach of the wonderful network of hiking and biking trails on Martha’s Vineyard—not to mention those lauded beaches!

Hiking on Martha’s Vineyard

Martha’s Vineyard claims a wonderful collection of protected preserves and refuges, sanctuaries that offer a glimpse of the island’s natural side as well as fine excuses to work in a hike or three during your Edgar Hotel getaway. Close by, for example, you’ll find the 150-plus glacially sculpted acres of the Caroline Tuthill Preserve with its oak/pine woods, meadows, saltmarshes, and swamps. Larger yet is the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, which includes four miles of trails foraying through forests, meadows, wetlands, and shoreline habitat. Another protected gem not far from the Edgar Hotel Martha’s Vineyard is the Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary, which earned its name in the 1850s as land owned by Sheriff Isaiah Pease. Protected a century later, this refuge includes not only upland sandplain meadow but also the tidal pond of John Butler’s Mudhole, the Ice Pond, and other wetland features. Extensive hiking opportunities also await you to the east on Chappaquiddick Island, a highlight of which is the Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge; the old, gnarled coastal junipers in the refuge’s “Cedars” grove are one of the natural treasures of Martha’s Vineyard.

Biking on Martha’s Vineyard

Bike trails, multi-user paths, and quiet lanes crisscross Martha’s Vineyard, providing wonderful opportunities for cyclists. Here again, some of the most popular biking routes are right within our neck of the woods at the Edgar Hotel Martha’s Vineyard, including the very popular Beach Road ride to Oaks Bluff, with its splendid prospects of Nantucket Sound and Sengekontacket Pond, and the South Beach Route down to the Katama seashore. Hop the ferry to Chappaquiddick (“Chappy,” as the locals call it), and you’ll find miles of quiet backroads to pedal.

Beach-hopping as an Edgar Hotel Guest

Of course, for many Martha’s Vineyard visitors, beachgoing’s at the very top of the priority list. Superb sandy strands can be found in all sectors of the island, including a number of must-visit ones right here in Edgartown: Fuller Street, Lighthouse, and Katama beaches among them, plus Wasque and East (Leland) beaches on Chappaquiddick Island and the Joseph Sylvia State Beach leading to Oak Bluffs. We also suggest extending your sand-and-surf safari to other parts of the island, checking out (for example) Owen Park Beach in Vineyard Haven and Chilmark’s Menemsha Public Beach, which provides great front-row seats for an Outer Lands sunset. Be sure to pay your respects to the famous Moshup Beach (Aquinnah Public Beach) on the far west side of the island, where you can admire perhaps the most celebrated natural landmark of Martha’s Vineyard: the colorful clay Cliffs of Aquinnah, or Gay Head Cliffs. In other words, we’d definitely recommend spending a goodly portion of your getaway to the Edgar Hotel Martha’s Vineyard in barefoot mode!