The Vineyard Sound waves beat against the boulders, beach grasses bend before salt-laden breezes, stunted American beeches bear wooden witness to constant, sculpting wind, and freshwater tumbles down a rocky stream bed to meet the sea. One finds these scenes at Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary, the Obed Sherman Daggett and Maria Roberts Daggett Sanctuary, the A.S. Reed Bird Refuge, Fish Hook, and the George A. Hough Preserve, properties collectively known as Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary. One also finds excellent examples of the habitats and vistas that make Martha’s Vineyard such a special place. A one-time visitor here can get a sense of the varied natural endowment of the Vineyard; a seasoned naturalist could spend a lifetime pursuing the secrets of the Sanctuary’s diverse flora and fauna.

Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary exists due to the generosity and persistence of many. In the mid-1960s, Henry Beetle Hough and Allen H. Morgan, then the Executive Vice-President of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, orchestrated a fund-raising campaign to buy 100 acres of land from the Daggett family. Only the second family to own the property since 1700, the Daggetts assisted by selling their land at a price well below market value. At the same time, the Hough family donated 70 acres of abutting family land known as “Fishhook,” including over a quarter mile of shoreline. This fundraising campaign was successful, and other gifts followed. Forty acres were given by Charles and Bessie Norton in memory of Alexander S. Reed, and this gift is now known as the Alexander S. Reed Bird Refuge, and Georgina Stevenson donated 14 acres at the top of Norton’s Hill. Many other gifts of land and conservation restrictions have brought the size of the Sanctuary to its current 400 acres, and the conservation of land at Cedar Tree Neck continues still.

From State Road, follow Indian Hill Road for 1.75 miles. Turn right onto Obed Daggett Road (near the hilltop) and follow the “Sanctuary” signs. Take Obed Daggett Road 1 mile to its terminus at the Daggett Trailhead and parking area. To get to the Taylor Gate Trailhead, follow Indian Hill Road for 2 miles to the end to Norton Circle. The Taylor Gate parking area is directly ahead. To get to the Irving Trailhead, go 1.7 miles down Indian Hill Road and the trailhead is on your right just before Obed Daggett Road.

The AllTrails website has descriptions and maps of hikes at Cedar Tree Neck.