What to See and Do
For many families, a trip to the beach is adventure enough, and that makes the Rhode Island shore a popular place for a short getaway. While there's nothing wrong with heading home after a day of beach play, you'll miss some of the natural, historic, and artistic riches of this small but enticingly diverse state if you don't stick around South County long enough to explore. As you plan your vacation, consider complementing your time at the beach with a few activities destined to leave impressions that stick with you longer than sand between your toes.
The Beaches of South County
You certainly won't be disappointed with the vast selection of beaches that line the coast. However, individual usage and parking fees at each make it costly to “beach hop,” at least within the course of a day. Call ahead for prices and parking information. The South County Tourism Council (401-789-4422 or 800-548-4662,
Charlestown
Blue Shutters Town Beach, East Beach Road off Route 1, 401-364-1206. Amenities at this very popular family beach include restrooms, changing rooms, and a concession stand. Complimentary beach-accessible wheelchairs are available to visitors.
Charlestown Town Beach, 557 Charlestown Beach Road, 401-364-1208, ext. 364. This clean, fine-sand beach has moderate to heavy surf.
Charlestown Breachway State Beach/Burlingame State Park, off Route 1 at Charlestown Breachway exit, 401-364-7000 (summer), 401-322-8910 (winter),
www.riparks.com/charlesbreach.htm East Beach, off East Beach Road, 401-322-0450. This unspoiled and picturesque three-mile barrier beach has no concessions or facilities, but it can attract so many visitors on summer weekends that you'll need to arrive early to find a parking spot.
Narragansett
Narragansett Town Beach, Ocean Road/Route 1A, 401-782-0658. With its nearby shops and restaurants and mile-long swath of sand, this beach — known for some of New England's best surfing — offers diverse appeal.
Roger W. Wheeler State Beach, 100 Sand Hill Cove Road, 401-789-3563 (summer), 401-789-8374 (winter),
www.riparks.com/wheeler.htm
TRAVEL TIP
If you are planning an extended vacation, consider purchasing a Season Pass, which entitles you and your vehicle's occupants to unlimited admission to the state's ten State Beaches. Passes, priced at $60 per car for nonresidents, may be purchased at any State Beach or at the Office of Parks and Recreation (2321 Hartford Avenue, Johnston, 401-222-2632).
Salty Brine State Beach, 254 Great Road, 401-789-3563 (summer), 401-789-8374 (winter),
www.riparks.com/saltybrine.htm Scarborough State Beach, 870 Ocean Road (Scarborough North), 401-789-2324, 970 Ocean Road (Scarborough South), 401-782-1319, 401-789-8374 (winter),
www.riparks.com/scarborough.htm
South Kingstown
Carpenter's Beach Meadow, 854 Matunuck Beach Road, 401-783-4412. There are snack bars and shops within walking distance of this privately owned beach, which is open to the public.
East Matunuck State Beach, 950 Succotash Road, 401-789-8585 (summer), 401-789-8374 (winter),
www.riparks.com/eastmatunuck.htm
JUST FOR PARENTS
Picture this … professional musical theater, historical surroundings, fragrant gardens, the shore, all rolled into one enchanted evening. That's what you'll find at Theatre by the Sea (364 Card's Pond Road, Matunuck, South Kingstown, 401-782-8587,
Roy Carpenter's Beach, 240 Card's Pond Road, 401-783-7418. You'll find moderate to heavy surf at this privately owned family beach with its own snack bar and restroom facilities.
South Kingstown Town Beach at Matunuck, Matunuck Beach Road, 401-789-9301. This quaint family beach with moderate to heavy surf has a playground, pavilion, and restroom facilities.
Westerly
Atlantic Beach Park, 321-338 Atlantic Avenue, Misquamicut, 401-322-0504,
www.atlanticbeachpark.com Dunes Park Beach, 665 Atlantic Avenue. This small, family-oriented beach is privately owned.
Misquamicut State Beach, 257 Atlantic Avenue, 401-596-9097 (summer), 401-322-8910 (winter),
www.riparks.com/misqua-micut.htm Napatree Point, Bay Street, Watch Hill. Napatree Point is primarily a walker's beach; limited access is provided by the conservation organization that manages this ecologically sensitive barrier beach that is home to nesting osprey.
FAST FACT
The Flying Horse Carousel in the village of Watch Hill in Westerly is both a National Historic Landmark and a lot of fun. This is the only surviving example of a flying horse carousel in America, where the horses are not attached to the floor but instead are suspended from a center frame and swing out as if flying. Only children ages two to twelve are permitted to ride.
Watch Hill Beach, Bay Street, Watch Hill, 401-348-6007. This crowded family beach with a bathhouse and restrooms is located adjacent to the historic Flying Horse Carousel and offers views of the 1806 Watch Hill Lighthouse.
Westerly Town Beach, 365 Atlantic Avenue, 401-322-0110. Picnicking and restroom facilities are available at this town beach, which hosts Wednesday night Blues on the Beach concerts in July and August.
Family Amusements
Break up your beach days with a visit to one of these family attractions.
Adventureland of Narragansett
Point Judith Road, Narragansett
401-789-0030
Challenge your kids to an eighteen-hole round of miniature golf, a Go-Kart race, or a duel against the batting cages, and then cool off by jostling and dousing each other on the bumper boat ride.
Water Wizz
Atlantic Avenue, Misquamicut
401-322-0520
This small waterslide park is a family favorite on blistering summer days. With more than 1,000 feet of slippery slides that twist, dip, and wind through tunnels, you'll find plenty of reasons to take the plunge. Opt for a forty-minute splash session or an all-day pass.
Museums and Historic Sites
Ready to trade your bodyboards for history books? Actually, the transition won't seem severe when you visit any of these museums and attractions, which bring the history of Rhode Island's coastal region to life.
Casey Farm
2325 Boston Neck Road, Saunderstown
401-295-1030
This plantation farm dates to about 1750. Tours of the working organic farm, now preserved and operated by Historic New England, are available Saturdays from June through mid-October.
Gilbert Stuart Museum
815 Gilbert Stuart Road, Saunderstown
401-294-3001
Even if your kids aren't much into art, they probably know the work of Rhode Island-born portrait painter Gilbert Stuart. That's because his famous image of George Washington has graced the dollar bill for more than a century. Stuart's restored birthplace and the adjacent grist mill are open to visitors Thursday through Monday from May through October.
International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame
Feinstein Building, 3045 Kingstown Road/Route 138, University of Rhode Island, Kingston
401-874-2375
Inspire your little superstars with a visit to this memorabilia-, art, and photography-filled museum that celebrates inductees who have excelled in both academics and athletics. The museum features a variety of hands-on exhibits for all ages.
Mercy Brown's Grave
Chestnut Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, Victory Highway, Exeter
There are several tales of Rhode Island vampires, but none more enduring than that of Mercy Brown. If you are traveling with older children and looking for an out-of-the-ordinary and slightly creepy experience, you can visit her gravesite in the cemetery behind Chestnut Hill Baptist Church. According to stories, Brown died in 1892 at the age of nineteen, shortly following the deaths of her mother and sister. Her brother, Edwin, was also ill. In an effort to save him from what appeared to be a curse on the family, the women's bodies were exhumed. Mercy's body appeared to have shifted inside the coffin, and fresh blood was present in her heart, which was burned upon a nearby rock before she was reburied. Feeding poor Edwin the heart ashes, alas, did not save him — he died two months later. But Mercy's legend lives on.
Quonset Aviation Museum
Eccleston Avenue, North Kingstown
401-294-9540
Located in a World War II hangar, this museum is a retirement home for a growing collection of historic aircraft, including several that can be viewed as restoration works-in-progress. It is open daily July through September and weekends the rest of the year.
Smith's Castle
55 Richard Smith Drive, Wickford
401-294-3521
Built in 1678, Smith's Castle is one of the nation's oldest plantation houses. From May through October, house tours, led by docents in period costume, provide insight into four centuries of Rhode Island history. Hours vary seasonally, so call ahead.
South County Museum
Boston Neck Road, Narragansett
401-783-5400
The South County Museum at Canonchet Farm exhibits more than 20,000 artifacts of life from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries at a 174-acre campus that also features a working print shop, carpentry shop, blacksmith shop, textile arts center, and farm.
Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum
390A Summit Road, Exeter
401-539-7213
Introduce yourselves to the first Rhode Islanders, the Native American tribes that populated the area for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived. Open weekdays, this museum features local artifacts and a trading post where you can purchase handmade items.
Outdoor Recreation
Outdoorsy families will find plenty of opportunities to bike, hike, boat, fish, bird-watch, and even ski in southern Rhode Island. Explore on your own, or enjoy a tour; either way, you'll gain a new appreciation for this coastal region's natural wonders.
Block Island
800-383-BIRI
The seasonal, high-speed ferry from Galilee makes Block Island an easy day trip for South County vacationers. The tiny, pork chop-shaped island is just ten square miles in size, but its natural beauty and unique variety of flora, fauna, and feathered creatures are unparalleled.
Environmental preservation efforts began in earnest in 1971 with the formation of the Block Island Conservancy. Today, approximately a quarter of the island is protected as open space.
Because it is home to more than forty species of rare and endangered plants and animals, visitors must protect this fragile environment as they enjoy Block Island's beaches, boating, bicycling, fishing, lighthouses, and sweeping views of the sea from the clay cliffs at Mohegan Bluffs.
Block Island is a favorite with walkers, cyclists, bird watchers, and other outdoor sports lovers. You'll find miles of walking trails at Rodman's Hollow (Black Rock Road, 401-466-2129), an Ice Age-carved glacial depression with rolling hills and scenic ocean vistas. Rodman's Hollow is situated along the twenty-five-mile Greenway network of interconnecting trails that starts at the heart of the island near Beacon Hill and traverses public and private lands.
For the island's most picturesque views, you'll want to climb Mohegan Bluffs (Mohegan Trail, 401-466-5009). These clay cliffs soar to more than 200 feet above the shimmering sea. A staircase is available to facilitate your climb and descent. While you're there, visit Southeast Light, one of two lighthouses on the island. Built in 1875, the Victorian brick structure was moved inland in 1993 because erosion jeopardized its position on the edge of the bluffs.
The Kayak Centre of Rhode Island
9 Phillips Street, Wickford Village, North Kingstown
888-SEA-KAYAK
This waterfront outfitter offers a variety of programs and tours, including outings specifically designed for families.
Ninigret Conservation Area
Off East Beach Road, Charlestown
This protected area is home not only to pristine East Beach but to Ninigret Pond, a popular windsurfing, kayaking, and fishing destination. The adjacent Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge has four miles of well-marked trails for those who'd like to explore on foot. Or take a dune drive along the barrier beach; you must have your own four-wheel-drive vehicle and a permit, which can be obtained from the state's Coastal Resources Management Council (401-783-3370,
TRAVEL TIP
Surprised that you can ski in Rhode Island? It is nicknamed the Ocean State, not the Mountain State, after all. But Yawgoo Valley Ski Area (160 Yawgoo Valley Road, Exeter, 401-294-3802,
Southland Riverboat
State Pier #3, Great Island Road, Port of Galilee, Narragansett
401-783-2954
Hit the water without getting wet by taking a sightseeing cruise aboard the 149-passenger
Shopping
If you're looking for something more than tie-dyed T-shirts and trinkets, leave the souvenir shops near the beach behind for one of these eclectic shopping destinations.
The Christmas House
1557 Ten Rod Road, Exeter
401-397-0097
It's Christmas year-round at this décor and gift store surrounded by twenty-three acres of scenic woodland.
The Fantastic Umbrella Factory
4820 Old Post Road, Charlestown
401-364-6616
A one-of-a-kind shopping experience awaits year-round at the nineteenth-century farmyard that is now home to a collection of shops including an art gallery, a garden shop, and a natural foods restaurant. Children will enjoy feeding the small animals.
Sweenor's Chocolates
21 Charles Street, Wakefield
401-783-4433
Charlestown Village, Routes 1 & 2, Charlestown
401-364-3339
Still owned by the third and fourth generations of the family, the confection company Walter Sweenor began in his basement kitchen during World War II is now Rhode Island's largest chocolate manufacturer. You'll find two Sweenor's stores in South County.
Wickford Village
Brown Street, North Kingstown
401-295-5566 or 877-295-7200
Are you dreaming of the quintessential “Main Street New England” shopping experience: tree-lined streets, white picket fences, gardens, old homes, church spires, and a snug harbor forming the backdrop for antique shops brimming with unique treasures, boutiques with clever wares, art galleries, gourmet food shops, and outdoor cafés?
Then close your eyes, and don't open them until you get to Wickford Village. Okay, that might not be feasible, but the picture-perfect image in your head is not far from the reality that you'll find at this historic North Kingstown village that is home to more than forty shops, galleries, and restaurants.
JUST FOR PARENTS
The first Wednesday of each month is “Westerly Arts Night.” From 5 to 8 p.m., downtown nonprofit and commercial galleries and studios host opening receptions where you can meet artists, view their works, and enjoy refreshments and entertainment. For more information, call 401-348-0733.
