Tisbury Meadow Preserve
Nature preserve
100 acres2.5 mi of trail
Woods LoopTisbury MeadowRidge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
West Chop Club Historic District · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Tisbury
Tisbury has 18 miles of mapped trails, 2.7 for every square mile of land
21% of Tisbury’s land is conserved, about 880 acres. 573 acres are parks and preserves, 117 per 1,000 residents. 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #76 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
880 acres · of 6.5 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
2.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
573 ac
117 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
0.5 mi lanes · 1.6 mi paths
Highest peak
135 ft
Pilot Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
26 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Tisbury?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Tisbury have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Tisbury is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #76 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Tisbury’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land117 acres of park per 1,000 residents (573 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13AParks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · MA 93% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 73%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Tisbury’s 21% is ahead of 50% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% of them.
Water is more than half of Tisbury’s area (13 of 19 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Tisbury Meadow Preserve, with 2.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ripleys Field Preserve
Nature preserve
88 acres2 mi of trail
Ripley's Field Path
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
West Chop Woods
Managed by Sheriff's Meadow Foundation
82 acres1.7 mi of trail
WCW Green TrailWCW Red TrailWCW Blue TrailWCW Yellow Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Phillips Preserve
Nature preserve
61 acres1.3 mi of trail
Phillips Reserve Red Blue TrailMargaret S. Lindsay Memorial TrailPhillips Reserve Blue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Cranberry Acres
Nature preserve
24 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 16 parks & preserves
Tisbury Meadow Preserve100 acres · 2.5 mi of trail
DirectionsRipleys Field Preserve88 acres · 2 mi of trail
West Chop Woods82 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · Sheriff's Meadow Foundation
DirectionsPhillips Preserve61 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCranberry Acres24 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Ramble Trail Preserve7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Martha's Vineyard Land Bank
DirectionsBrightwood Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsThompson Land10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Veterans Memorial Park9 acres
DirectionsCarpenters Woods7 acres
DirectionsLagoon Bridge Park & Boat Landing6 acres
DirectionsTashmoo Farm3 acres
Ripley's Farm Preserve3 acres · Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Commission
Oklahoma Lot2 acres
Owen Park1 acres
DirectionsValley Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
880 conserved acres
21% of Tisbury’s land. Water is left out: Tisbury has 6.5 square miles of land and 12.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Tisbury’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city249 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits54 ac
Regional agency7 ac
Private owners4 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government3 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land3 ac
Not recorded668 ac
Private Conservation · 338 acConservation Easement · 247 acWatershed Protection Area · 205 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 74 acState Resource Management Area · 36 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 139 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 13 of 95 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tisbury Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 129 | Unknown |
| Tisbury Meadow Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 75 | Open |
| Mink Meadows Golf Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 74 | Restricted |
| Ripleys Field Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 65 | Open |
| Wapatequa Woods Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 65 | Open |
| Phillips Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 64 | Open |
| Manuel F. Correllus State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 36 | Open |
| Tisbury Water Department Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 33 | Unknown |
| Wapetequa Woods Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 33 | Open |
| Tashmoo Springs & Overlook Watershed Protection Area | Town or city | 23 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
39 places to go in Tisbury
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Tisbury
Plus 23 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Tisbury
John G Rogers Memorial Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Tisbury
Lake Street Landing
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Tisbury
Tashmoo Overlook
DirectionsWest Chop Vista
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Tisbury
Pilot Hill135 ft elevation
DirectionsTashmoo Hill125 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Tisbury
Martha’s Vineyard Family Campground
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Tisbury
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
18 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 10.0 mi
Woods Loop1.1 mi
Ripley's Field Path0.9 mi
Tisbury Meadow0.7 mi
Phillips Reserve Red Blue Trail0.6 mi
WCW Red Trail0.6 mi
Margaret S. Lindsay Memorial Trail0.5 mi
WCW Green Trail0.5 mi
WCW Blue Trail0.4 mi
Red Trail0.4 mi
WCW Yellow Trail0.4 mi
8 more trails
Ramble Trail
0.3 miChappaquonsett Trail
0.2 miRidge Trail
0.2 miFarm Road Connector
0.2 miPowerlines
0.1 miPhillips Reserve Blue Trail
0.1 miGreenlands Inner Loop
0.1 miGreenlands to Wapatequa Connector
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
22Tennis
2Baseball
2Basketball
2Soccer
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Ritter HouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itWilliam Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itWest Chop Light StationStructure · listed 1987
About itWest Chop Club Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About itTashmoo Springs Pumping StationBuilding · listed 2008
About itU.S. Marine Hospital at Vineyard HavenBuilding · listed 2024
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Tisbury: May to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 41 | 46 | 55 | 65 | 74 | 80 | 79 | 73 | 63 | 53 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
July is the driest month (2.7 in) and the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.9 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Tisbury →
Next door
Tisbury and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tisbury | 21% | 2.7 | 117 | 96% | A+ |
| Oak Bluffs | 19% | 3.0 | 62 | 87% | A+ |
| West Tisbury | 43% | 2.8 | 877 | 74% | A+ |
| Gosnold | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Tisbury
Where can I hike in Tisbury?
The longest trail networks: Tisbury Meadow Preserve, 2.5 miles; Ripleys Field Preserve, 2 miles; West Chop Woods, 1.7 miles; Phillips Preserve, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Tisbury is conserved land?
21% of its land, against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Tisbury’s trails?
Tisbury Meadow Preserve and Ripleys Field Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Tisbury?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes and 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Tisbury?
19,917 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Tisbury or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 662 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Tisbury have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #76 of 283 in Massachusetts. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Tisbury neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →