If you head up-Island from Vineyard Haven on State Road and notice the lovely rolling hills and rural vistas on your left after passing the bottom of Lambert’s Cove Road, don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s by accident. The Land Bank protected nearly 85 acres of hills, fields, and woodlands in a series of purchases between 1988 and 1992.
It’s open for hiking, picnicking, mountain-biking, horseback-riding, dog-walking (town bylaw requires leashing,) hunting (with permission,) and even farming.
You Know Anything About The Good Farm?
Look, (as Joe Biden would say, or was that Joe Lieberman who used to say that so much?), we don’t pretend to know everything about the Island. (Okay we do.) But we really don’t know much about this place other than what the Island Grown Initiative says – we know…COMSOG, IGI, FARM…but we’re talking about really good food here.
What our hackers have been able to glean–gleaning is very good, it was done in the Middle Ages, in the 1970s, and now, and if you want to help contact IGI.
And the Good Farm does have a Facebook Page and sells meat occasionally at Cronigs and the Scottish Bakehouse
Actually we know that it’s run by Jefferson Munroe 508-627-7141, and you can call to see what’s available or write to thegoodfarmmv@gmail.com.
From the Land Bank’s Page for the Preserve: This property’s dozen roadside acres are grassy and hilly; notable is the white oak near the hilltop with its shapely crown. Along the ridge the pasture has, for several summers now, been leased to a farmer for the raising of meat chickens. At the base of the hill is the Mai Fane House, a farmstead restored by caretakers at no expense to the land bank; its scale in the context of the fields is a reminder of Vineyard architectural standards prevalent until the most recent decades. Geologists will especially like the red trail in the woodlands, as it follows the crest of a long esker.
Getting there: The trailhead is .4 miles after the Tashmoo Overlook on State Road heading up-island.
For more information, visit the official Land Bank Website. Also, be sure to check out their cool map.
