Biking the Down-Island Trail on Martha's Vineyard

Biking Martha's Vineyard can be an inexpensive and adventurous day trip on the island. Bike owners riding the ferry to Martha's Vineyard can bring their own bike for a small fee. For those without bikes, plenty of rental shops are available on Martha's Vineyard. A few bike rental shops, including Martha's Vineyard Bike Rentals (link to http://marthasvineyardbikes.com), are found across the street from the Vineyard Haven terminal and, typically, charge around $25 a day for a hybrid or mountain bike. For bikers who bring a picnic lunch, this beautiful trip can cost less than $100 per couple, ferry ride included.

Martha's Vineyard's down-island bike trail starts a few blocks away from the Vineyard Haven terminal. The trail leads through the Eastern towns of Martha's Vineyard, including Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown. The trails boast some of the most beautiful views on Martha's Vineyard and takes only a few hours to travel. Along the way, bikers will find opportunities for sightseeing, dining, shopping, and more. This Martha's Vineyard bike trail is easy to maneuver with flat, wide paths and few challenging parts.

Biking to Oak Bluffs from rental shops is the probably most challenging part of the entire bike trip. There is no trail and bikers must ride on the street. In this part of Martha's Vineyard traffic is dense and can be nerve-wracking for those who haven't ridden bikes in a while. Eventually, nervous bikers will grow used to the traffic,
however, and this portion of the trip only takes around 10 minutes.

Once in Oak Bluffs, traffic calms down considerably. Bikers that follow signs for a slight detour to East Chop will be greatly rewarded. A bit off the beaten path, a bike ride through East Chop is a quiet street ride. Only yards from the ocean, tourists enjoy the north-eastern shore of Martha's Vineyard as well as getting a front row seat for some of the Vineyard's most lavish summer homes. The road through East Chop will also take visitors past the East Chop Lighthouse on Telegraph Hill, built in 1878.[i] The ride up the hill is a slightly inclined and may be a bit of a challenge for children.

From East Chop, bikers will join Seaview Avenue and begin one of the most beautiful legs of their journey through down-island Martha's Vineyard. Here, the bike trail begins on the right side of the road. Bikers will enjoy a six-mile stretch of road surrounded by ocean views. The path here is flat and wide, though one must be on the lookout for beach sand, which can trip up even the most experienced biker if they are not paying attention (which is easy to do, considering the enchanting views on this path!).

After this stretch of road, bikers will enter one of the most popular parts of Martha's Vineyard; Oak Bluffs center and the famous Gingerbread Cottages. Originally dubbed, Cottage City, the center of Oak Bluffs has streets lined with small, colorful cottages which look like they are straight out of a fairy tale. A huge tourist attraction, this is the perfect place for bikers to lock their bikes at one of the many bike stands, and enjoy a frozen treat at one of the many ice cream shops or take a ride on the Flying Horses Carousel, "the nation's oldest continuously operating carousel."[ii]

When ready to continue their journey through the down island part of Martha's Vineyard, bikers hop back onto street side bike trail and travel into Edgartown. Here, the path often veers into a lush wood-lined (and slightly) narrower bike trail. Riders will pass a few restaurants and stores until move further into Edgartown.

Eventually, the separated bike path disappears, but the streets are marked with signs for biking tourists. Bikers will want to pay close attention as some of the streets here do not allow bikes. This part of Martha's Vineyard is picturesque New England. White, cape-cod style houses dot the streets with gorgeously manicured green lawns.

The bike trail leads into Edgartown Center, the last leg of Martha's Vineyard's down-island bike path. Here, tourists can enjoy dining at one of the many restaurants, go shopping, or have a picnic on the seashore near the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse.

From here, bikers simply turn around and ride the down-island route through Oaks Bluff and back into Vineyard Haven. All told, this gorgeous round-trip is around 25 miles and is long enough to make a perfect day trip on Martha's Vineyard. Bikers will feel as though they have spent an entire week on vacation with just one day of biking!

[i]http://www.lighthouse.cc/eastchop/history.html

New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide

[ii]http://www.oakbluffsmv.com/OBA/About_Oak_Bluffs_Marthas_Vineyard.html

Oak Bluffs: The Best Part of Martha's Vineyard