Rhode Island’s most surprising island bans most cars and rewards everyone who walks

It’s only seven miles long

Block Island sits about 12 miles off Rhode Island’s southern coast, roughly seven miles long and three miles wide. In 1991, The Nature Conservancy named it one of 12 “Last Great Places” in the Western Hemisphere.

About 1,000 people live here year-round, but summer crowds can push past 20,000 on peak days. Most visitors leave their cars on the mainland and get around by bike, moped, or on foot.

The island looks small on a map, but what it packs into those few square miles takes days to explore.

Glaciers carved this place 10,000 years ago

Rolling hills, freshwater ponds and clay bluffs all trace back to glaciers that shaped Block Island about 10,000 years ago. The green landscape has drawn comparisons to the coast of Ireland.

In the early 1970s, residents banded together to block a developer from building luxury homes in a glacial basin called Rodman’s Hollow.

That fight kicked off a conservation movement that has preserved close to half the island’s land, and the town’s official goal is to reach 50 percent.

Climb 140 stairs down the Mohegan Bluffs

On the island’s southeast side, towering clay cliffs rise about 200 feet above the Atlantic.

You can take more than 140 stairs down to a rocky beach at the base, where the ocean spreads out in front of you with nothing else in sight.

The bluffs got their name from a battle in the 1500s, when local Native people drove off a Mohegan raiding party at these cliffs. Stay on the marked paths, because the clay edges are fragile and eroding.

They moved a 2,000-ton lighthouse to save it

The Southeast Lighthouse sits on top of Mohegan Bluffs, the highest lighthouse in New England. Builders finished it in the mid-1870s in an ornate Gothic Revival style you don’t see on most lighthouses.

By 1983, cliff erosion had chewed the land down to about 80 feet from the building. A crew moved the entire 2,000-ton structure roughly 300 feet back from the edge in 1993.

It earned National Historic Landmark status in 1997 and still runs one of only 12 working first-order Fresnel lenses in the country.

Three lighthouses failed before this one lasted

Sandy Point at the island’s northern tip holds the North Lighthouse, the fourth one built on that exact spot. Shifting sands and storms destroyed the first three.

The current granite structure went up in 1867 and has stood for more than 150 years. Inside, a maritime museum covers the island’s shipping and rescue history.

Getting there takes a 15- to 20-minute walk across open sand from the nearest parking area, so wear shoes you don’t mind getting sandy.

Walk 28 miles of trails without spending a dime

The Greenway Trail network stretches more than 28 miles across Block Island, and every trail is free and open year-round. The system started in the late 1980s, inspired by the walking paths of England.

Small granite stones mark the trail access points, so keep your eyes low when you’re looking for a trailhead. You can pick up a free trail map at the Chamber of Commerce office near the ferry landing before you set out.

Get lost in the secret maze at Clay Head

Clay Head Trail runs along coastal bluffs on the island’s northeast side, high above the water, with some of the best ocean views on Block Island.

Deep in the trail system, a tangle of unmarked paths known as “The Maze” winds through dense shrubland. Spring and fall bring migratory birds through here, and birders work these paths hard.

The Nature Conservancy manages the preserve, one of five TNC sites open to the public on the island.

Rodman’s Hollow is where the fight started

This 230-acre glacial outwash basin in the island’s southwest corner is the birthplace of conservation on Block Island. In 1972, residents raised the money to buy the land and stop a housing development from going in.

The hollow shelters rare species, including the state-endangered northern harrier and the federally threatened American burying beetle.

Trails cut through the basin and lead you down to Black Rock Beach on the southern shore.

Seventeen miles of beach, all open to everyone

Block Island has 17 miles of public beaches wrapping its coastline. Crescent Beach on the east side faces the open Atlantic with a long stretch of sand.

Mansion Beach sits along the same eastern shore but draws smaller crowds and has clear water that catches the light. The western beaches run calmer, and people gather there to watch the sun go down.

Every beach on the island is open to the public, no passes or permits needed.

Find a hand-blown glass orb on your walk

Every year since 2011, glass artist Eben Horton has hidden 550 handmade glass orbs across Block Island’s beaches and trails. The Glass Float Project is a free scavenger hunt inspired by Japanese fishing net floats.

Each orb is dated, numbered and stamped with the shape of the island. If you find one, keep it, but only one per person per year.

Re-hide any extras you come across. Devoted hunters call themselves “Orbivores,” and they come from all over the country.

Over 250 bird species stop here every year

Block Island sits on the Atlantic Flyway, one of the major migration routes between North and South America. More than 250 bird species have been recorded on or around the island.

September and October bring the best action, when raptors like northern harriers and peregrine falcons pass through. Rodman’s Hollow and Clay Head Preserve are the top spots to set up with binoculars.

The Nature Conservancy manages more than 2,000 acres of wildlife habitat across the island.

No chain stores, no fast food, no compromise

Close to half of Block Island’s land is permanently preserved as open space, the result of decades of work by the Block Island Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, the Town of New Shoreham and state agencies.

You won’t find a single chain store or fast-food restaurant here. Five offshore wind turbines visible from the bluffs send clean energy to the island.

Block Island made a choice a long time ago to stay the way it is, and so far, it has held that line.

Catch the ferry to Block Island from Rhode Island

You can reach Block Island by ferry from Point Judith, R.I., with year-round service that takes about an hour and 15 minutes.

High-speed ferries also run from Newport, R.I., and seasonal routes connect from Connecticut and New York. Most visitors leave their cars on the mainland and rent bikes or mopeds once they arrive.

The island is small enough to cover on foot, especially around the Old Harbor downtown area, so you can skip the wheels if you want to keep it simple.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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