Asked by Vanity Fair when and where he was happiest, Michael J. Fox didn't name a film set or an awards stage. He described a beach on Martha's Vineyard: the last time he, his wife Tracy Pollan and all four kids were together on the sand, with the family dogs resting in the shade behind the beach chairs. It's a fitting answer from an island regular — Fox has summered there since 1988, honeymooned there with Pollan, once owned a home in the town of Aquinnah, and even named one of his children after it.
The good news for travellers is that Fox's happy place isn't hard to replicate. Start at the island's western tip in Aquinnah, where the multicoloured clay cliffs rise dramatically above the Atlantic. The Aquinnah Cliffs Overlook gives you the view, and a short stroll brings you to Gay Head Light, a 19th-century brick lighthouse that's still working. Down below, Moshup Beach sits beneath the cliffs — about a 10-minute walk from the Moshup Trail parking area — and a section of it is clothing optional, which you can treat as a warning or a welcome.
For softer, Caribbean-toned water, head to Lambert's Cove on the north shore. You reach it via a boardwalk over a dune through the woods, opening onto a sheltered cove with gentle surf. One catch: from mid-June to mid-September, daytime access is mostly reserved for West Tisbury residents and renters with beach passes, so time your visit for shoulder season or early morning if you're not staying nearby.
Oak Bluffs delivers the island's quirkiest sightseeing. The Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association district is packed with ornate, candy-coloured "gingerbread" cottages built in the 1800s, and the waterfront has sandy beaches plus the Flying Horses Carousel, one of the oldest working carousels in the US. There's a Fox connection here too: it was at the Black Dog Tavern in nearby Vineyard Haven that the actor first met Davis Guggenheim, who went on to direct a documentary about him. The tavern remains a dependable stop for clam chowder and lobster rolls.
What makes Martha's Vineyard appealing — and clearly kept Fox coming back for over 35 years — is that it rewards a low-effort holiday. Beach, lighthouse, seafood, sunset. It suits families building a slow summer week and couples after New England charm with an island pace. Access is easy from the mainland via ferries from Woods Hole, Falmouth, New Bedford and Hyannis, plus small flights into Martha's Vineyard Airport. Summer is peak (book accommodation far ahead), but June and September offer the same scenery with thinner crowds — and better odds at Lambert's Cove.
