Brightwood Park is an 8.8-acre SMF sanctuary on the west side of Lagoon Pond in Tisbury. It is noteworthy for two reasons. First, on its eastern edge a steep ravine plunges almost to the edge of the Lagoon. This very unusual geological feature is not duplicated anywhere else on the Vineyard. Second, the trail that loops around the top of the ravine is a cooperative effort between the Land Bank and Sheriff's Meadow. It crosses land owned by both organizations, as well as private land whose owners have granted trail easements to the Land Bank. Land Bank staff helped SMF staff lay out and construct a segment of the trail through Brightwood Park. The total loop trail around the ravine is roughly .9 miles. The 7.3-acre Land Bank area is called the Ramble Trail Preserve.

The steepness of the ravine is the reason Brightwood Park was given to Sheriff's Meadow. A 120-acre area of Tisbury was developed in 1872 with a plan for 500 house lots. The area was named "Oklahoma" and the rugged ravine portion was designated "Brightwood Park," although nobody ever bothered to make a park out of it.

In the l950's, the well-known Island realtor Henry Cronig bought the remaining open lots, but the ravine portion of Brightwood was clearly unbuildable. In 1971 Cronig gave Brightwood to Sheriff's Meadow because we were the only Vineyard organization willing to accept small land gifts.

Brightwood's upland portion is dominated by oak/pitch pine woods with a huckleberry understory. Trailing arbutus (mayflower) and wood anemone are common along the trail, blooming abundantly in April and May. Wintergreen and spotted pipsissewa are also common, and since they remain green all year, they provide a welcome splash of color in the winter. On the Land Bank's side of the ravine, pitch pines are predominant and the understory is much more sparse. In June and July pink lady slipper orchids bloom along the trail beneath the pines.

The red maple shrub swamp at the bottom of the ravine has standing water year-round. Red maples and beetlebungs grow along the edges of this wetland amid a thick understory of sweet pepperbush, high bush blueberry and swamp azalea.

Birds reported in and around the sanctuary include woodland species such as great crested flycatcher, pine warbler, chickadee, golden-crowed kinglet, white-breasted nuthatch and downy, hairy and red-bellied woodpeckers. Thicket dwelling species such as catbirds and yellowthroats are also common.