The Caroline Tuthill Preserve includes over 150 acres of oak-pitch pine woods, wetlands, salt marsh and open fields lying between Sengekontacket Pond and Beach Road to the north and the Vineyard Haven-Edgartown road to the south. The Preserve was given to Sheriff's Meadow Foundation by John and Nora Tuthill in the years from 1972 to 1983, and is the largest single gift of land in the Foundation's history. This self-guided nature walk follows a walking trail through a portion of the Preserve which is primarily oak-pitch pine woods, although there are also expansive views across Sengekontacket Pond and a large salt marsh.

The land from the eastern shore of Lagoon Pond to Edgartown Harbor, including the Caroline Tuthill Preserve, was formed by the Cape Cod lobe of the Late Wisconsin glacier when glacial meltwater spread sand and gravel outwash over the terminal moraine deposited earlier during the southernmost advance of the glacier. The knobs and kettle holes which produce the distinctive topography of the Caroline Tuthill Preserve reveal this glacial origin.

The plants growing on the Preserve are adapted to the dry, sandy soil formed from the glacial outwash. Fire and strong salt winds also influence which plants will grow here. Naturally, the plants play a key role in determining which animals live or migrate through the area. Commonly observed woodland birds include crows, blue jays, chickadees, towhees, pine warblers, white-breasted nuthatches and red-eyed vireos. Common mammals include white-tailed deer, deer mice and the ubiquitous stripped skunk, These woods also provide habitat for several species of rare invertebrates including the spectacular imperial moth, which has disappeared from almost all of New England except Martha's Vineyard.

As you walk this woodland trail, try to keep in mind the complex relationship between soil and plant and animal, and how they interact with each other.

How To Get There:
From Triangle intersection in Edgartown, travel 0.4 miles west on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road. Or traveling east on Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, 3.7 miles from flashing yellow blinker in Oak Bluffs. Park on the side of the Edgatown-Vineyard Haven Road.