What is special about the Tisbury Great Pond?

If you are familiar with the Vineyard you may be familiar with the Great Ponds that span the southern part of the island.  These  large expanses of water are more like lakes than ponds and are brackish water -  a combination of fresh spring water and ocean salt water -  that creates a unique bio culture for bird, water and plant life. 

To be categorized as a "great pond" a body of water must be at least 10 acres, so at approximately 600-800 acres of water, the Tisbury Great Pond is one of the largest of the 16 great ponds on the island.  It's average depth is surprisingly shallow for such a large expanse - between 5 and 8 feet, with a tidal range of 0.6 feet. 

The Tisbury Great Pond divides West Tisbury and Chilmark with meandering inlets that separate the land.   The inlets are often described as being like five fingers because they make the outline of a hand shape. 

In one of the most serene settings on Martha's Vineyard, properties on the Tisbury Great Pond fetch high prices, because they offer the best of both worlds - a beautiful waterfront location that's mostly protected from erosion with both pond and ocean fishing, swimming, sailing and kayaking with beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

The stretch of ocean beach at the south of the pond is divided into Quansoo on the western side and Long Point on the eastern stretch.  Long Point Wildlife Refuge is owned by the Trustees of the Reservation and protected in conservation.  Open to the public, the beach offers swimming on both the pond and ocean side and is a popular choice for families.  For more information about Long Point see the website here. 

Highly desirable Quansoo Beach in Chilmark, is accessed via a long dirt road and the beach is only accessible to key holders. There are a limited number of “keys” available and these are bought and sold as real estate and fetch in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The last Quansoo key sold in April 2024 for $430,000.  The neighboring beach a little further west is Hancock and keys for this beach sell in the region of $500,000 plus. 

The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank owns a small portion of land in-land at Quansoo Preserve between Black Point and The Tisbury Great Pond - see website here  

The Great Pond Foundation of Martha's Vineyard works to protect and understand the ponds of the Island - to learn more about this organization visit the Great Pond Foundation website and also visit the MV Commission website here to learn more about the Tisbury Great Pond.

Tea Lane Associates currently has three available properties for sale on the Tisbury Great Pond

146 Quansoo Road, Chilmark - 3 acre waterfront property with 3 bedroom main house and 2 bedroom semi-attached guest house, surrounded by conservation land and is being offered exclusively for $6,300,000

104 Pond View Farm Road, in West Tisbury is comprised of a 4 bedroom main home and 2 bedroom guest house on Muddy Cove, with its own deeded dock and 600 feet of water frontage. the compound is being offered exclusively for $4,900,000

201 Thumb Point Road, is a sweet property on 4 acres, with an off-the-grid 5 bedroom summer camp surrounded by water on both sides. Offered exclusively for $3,950,000 (currently under contract for sale - July 2024)

If purchasing a home on the Great Pond is not an option we have several summer rental options, including the one below - contact us to inquire about vacation homes on both the West Tisbury side and the Chilmark side of the pond.