Beaches, Lighthouses, Coastline cliff walks and Gilded age grand historical mansions! The smallest state of US, Rhode Island, occasionally called the “Little Rhody” or the “Ocean State” has a lot to offer. It is a perfect amalgamation for ocean lovers and history admirers and makes a great weekend getaway for people from Boston, New York and Connecticut.
In our 2 day trip we decided to explore Block Island, Newport and Jamestown. We stayed at an Airbnb in Jamestown. Jamestown was our obvious choice as it was centrally located between our destinations and it gave us an unique experience of staying on an island town.
We decided to enjoy the nightlife while in Jamestown. We randomly found this amazing restaurant, Simpatico, which had gorgeous outdoor dining space perfect for a date or an evening to celebrate. The next stop was The Narragansett Cafe which is a great place for live music and one of the rare places open late night on the island.
Block Island While Martha’s vineyard and Nantucket remain few of the well known island getaways from Boston, not many people know about the teardrop of Rhode Island - Block Island, also known as "The Bermuda of the North". Living in Massachusetts for almost 4 years, we were surprised we did not explore this little gem sooner.
Getting to Block island
We drove to Point Judith, RI and took the first ferry out to Block island. There was plenty of parking around the ferry terminal. The ferry ride was about an hour long as we opted for a traditional ferry ride, however they do have an option for the less frequent 30 min high speed ferries as well. Make sure to check the ferry timings and buy the tickets in advance especially if you are planning to take your car/ bike with you.
Exploring the Block island
Bike the island Biking the island is an amazing experience in itself and is one of the most common ways to explore Block island. The bike route spans over a 7 miles and can be covered in a day! You may not find separated bike lanes, however all the drivers are respectful of the bikers and gladly share the road. We had rented the bikes from the Island Mopeds and Bike rentals, located around 4 min walk from the pier. It costs around $30 a day with taxes. You can find $5 off coupons on bike rentals on the visitors guide available in the visitors center.
Tips:
Prefer rental bikes with broad tires (you can carry your own bikes too).
Make sure the rental includes helmets, locks and baskets.
Pick up bike maps from the visitors center or from the rental company.
Stock up on water and quick bites.
There are few uphills roads which will require frequent stops and good water intake, especially if one is not a frequent biker.
Carry enough cash as many local food and drink joints accepts only cash.
If planning on enjoying the beaches in Block Island don’t forget to carry your swimwear.
Southern Lighthouse Situated approximately 1.6 miles from the old town, this lighthouse guards the southern coast of block island. Constructed in 1875, it was recently moved from its original position in 1993 to an inland. It was one of the largest structures to be moved en mass. It has pristine views of
the Atlantic ocean and Mohegan bluffs.
Mohegan Bluffs These magnificent cliffs are minutes ride from the South East Lighthouse. Payne overlook gave the views of the bluffs from the top and to admire it from the foothill we also climbed down the staircase leading to a hidden beach. The beach was rocky but a good place to spend some time and soak in the sun.
If you are the creative kinds and would like to learn about hand crafted yarns, do visit the North Light Fibers yarn shop. There are tours available to visit their Micro Yarn Mills on weekdays at 10 am. The mills produce artisan yarns 100% made on Block Island.
Crescent Beach After the long ride and a good lunch at The Oar we wanted to relax and lay back and our next destination was the perfect spot for it. Block Island offers 17 mile of beaches along the coast line, so you could stop your bike anywhere and you would be able to get to a beach. We decided to stop at the Crescent Beach as it was on our way to the north lighthouse and was easily accessible.
North Lighthouse The northern lighthouse is at the northern tip of the island and is little over 3 miles bike ride from Crescent beach. There were few uphills to get to the lighthouse but definitely worth it. To visit the lighthouse from within, you will need to walk 15 minutes from the parking spot on the rough terrain. Note - Bikes, Mopeds and Cars are not allowed on this terrain.
Newport
We decided to spend our next day at Newport, a city boasting its heritage with grand Gilded Age Mansions along side the famous Cliff Walk.
We started exploring the lively and colorful Thames street which is the nerve line of the city. Our Sunday brunch was at the Diego's, a Mexican restaurant by the harbor. It had plenty of vegan options and great variety of cocktails.
Cliff Walk - After this we headed to the Cliff walk. We started the cliff walk from the Forty Steps point. Cutting through half of the cliff walk; we decided to spend some time exploring the mansions along the way. Locating places to park near the cliff walk is not an issue as there are metered spots available on the Narragansett Road.
After enjoying the blue ocean along the cliffs we started exploring the historical mansions from the Gilded Era - The Breakers, Marble house and Rose cliff.
The self-paced audio tours offered stories of the royal men and women who lived in each mansions. We traveled back in time to the glorious 19th century and were awed by the grandeur of these summer houses owned by the Vanderbilt families. The architecture of each and every corner was intrinsically designed and had a major influence from the European culture.
The below video will not do complete justice to the glamour of the mansions as you will have to experience it yourself, but you can see a glimpse of it here.
Download this one pager to take along on your next trip to Block Island and Newport.
Plan your next trip to these amazing places in Rhode Island and share your experiences with us in the comments below.
~ Nomadic Traveler ~
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