Long Point Beach

Part of the Long Point Wildlife Refuge. A walk through heath and dunes leads to a pristine beach on Tisbury Great Pond. Feels like the Vineyard a hundred years ago.

Long Point is a 633-acre wildlife refuge owned by The Trustees of Reservations, occupying a remote stretch of West Tisbury's south shore between two great salt ponds — Tisbury Great Pond to the west and Long Cove to the east. A sandy dirt road leads to a small parking area; from there it's a quarter-mile walk through coastal heath and pitch pine to the sand. The beach faces the Atlantic with steady waves and cold water, and behind it lies Long Cove Pond, fresh and warm — visitors often alternate dips. Parking is by reservation in season and fills up; non-members pay a per-vehicle fee. There are pit toilets but no other facilities, no concessions, no lifeguards (most days). The reward is solitude on a stretch of barrier coast that has been mostly unbuilt for a century. The refuge protects nesting plovers, terns, and oystercatchers; observe posted closures.