If Edgartown is Martha's Vineyard historic heart and status address, and Vineyard Haven is its down-to-earth get-things done town and tall-ships port, Oak Bluffs is for active creativity, spirituality...and fun.

Although the camp meetings in the Tabernacle are still the most important part of the summer's activities here (your hotel will have a schedule), many other nighttime pleasures are available as well, including movies, game arcades, and an antique merry-go-round called "The Flying Horses."

During the daytime, stroll straight in from the ferry docks and along the shores of the marina for a view of the fantastically ornate Victorian "gingerbread houses" (map).

Turn left into the grounds of the Methodist Camp Meeting Association, observing proper decorum as you are on private property.

As you continue farther into the settlement, the houses become ever more ornately decorated.

Your goal is the Tabernacle, a large open-sided pavilion at the center of circular Trinity Park, filled with benches to hold the faithful who come for religious revival meetings.

The Tabernacle of the Methodist Camp Meeting Association,
Oak Bluffs MA.

Some Oak Bluffs hotels, inns and B&Bs are historic structures, others are more modern. More...

Hotel & Rental Map:

Booking.com

All is tranquil here—until the singing, chanting and preaching start...or until President Barack Obama and his family wander into town from their Martha's Vineyard estate.

—by Tom Brosnahan

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