Lucy Vincent Beach

Beaches are personal. Often, when experts review ‘Best Beaches’, they take into account amenities like bathrooms, showers, food and parking. But what’s really important to those who love the beach is, well, the beach itself. So after you can’t park, developed an appetite, and forgot to go potty when you left the Inn, what are you left with? At Lucy Vincent, you’re simply left with one of the 10 best beaches in North America. Don’t laugh. You’ll have to go through a lot of trouble to prove me wrong because the sun, the moon and the stars have to be aligned for you to get yourself past that gate. I’ll be waiting for you, slathered in clay and baking in the sun.

Open only to Chilmark residents and visitors, Lucy Vincent Beach is one of the real gems of Martha’s Vineyard’s south shore. At peak times, parking is a nightmare and actually finding a spot on the beach isn’t much better, particularly when it’s high tide. At low tide and early or late in the day or season, it’s glorious. Although the cliffs aren’t as magnificent as those just west at the neighboring private Windy Gates beach, it’s delightfully picturesque. However, the people watching may be the best part: savour a spirited game of Kadima between dips in the salty deep or trot down the beach a bit to watch saggy hippies play volleyball in the nude. For the surf averse, there’s also a child urine-​warmed pond just past the end of the cliffs. Whatever you do, just be sure your beach sticker is current, lest the tanned teen attendants refuse you entry!

This beach has officially spoiled me for any other. This is a beach open only to Chilmark residents, their family members and guests or renters. At the risk of sounding like a snob, the beach road doesn’t have a sign for a reason. Do not take the car, bus, or bike here thinking you are just going to get in. I am not being an elitist. I’m just saying you will be wasting your time. Also, I’m sick of seeing reviewers on other sites trash this beach just because they rode their bike onto the ferry and expected to cycle across the Island to swim here. Don’t be a dumbass and crash through the tick-​infested hillside trying to sneak in, either. Park Rangers guard this beach, so if the ticks don’t get you, they will.
If you are fortunate enough to get your hands on a beach sticker, I highly recommend it. Aside from being flanked by the Vineyard’s only nude shoreline, this beach is one-​of-​a-​kind. Gorgeous clear water, waves that can get absolutely humongous, clay cliffs, and the long stretch of sparsely-​populated sand that comes with the exclusivity of resident-​only beach rights.