The Nature Conservancy called this Rhode Island island one of Earth’s last great places

Rhode Island’s tiny island that’s surprisingly wild

Twelve miles off the Rhode Island coast, Block Island sits in the Atlantic like a world apart. It covers about 10 square miles, has roughly 1,410 year-round residents, and nearly half of it will never be developed.

In 1991, The Nature Conservancy named it one of 12 “Last Great Places” in the Western Hemisphere. That’s not a title you earn with a nice beach and a good clam chowder.

The trails, the cliffs, the lighthouses, and one very unusual scavenger hunt all tell you why.

The island’s name has a complicated past

Long before any European set foot here, the Niantic people called it “Manisses,” meaning Manitou’s Little Island. Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano spotted it in 1524 and named it Claudia.

Dutch explorer Adriaen Block arrived in 1614, and his name eventually stuck. English settlers from Massachusetts landed in 1661 and founded the town of New Shoreham.

Three years later, in 1664, the island joined the colony of Rhode Island.

The same glaciers that carved out Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket shaped this place, too.

Clay cliffs rise 200 feet above the Atlantic

Stand at the top of Mohegan Bluffs on the island’s southern shore and you’re looking down 200 feet of sheer clay cliff to the rocky beach below.

On a clear day, you can see all the way to Montauk, New York. The name comes from a battle where island natives drove off Mohegan raiders centuries ago.

A wooden staircase of 141 steps takes you down the cliff face to the beach. It’s a steep climb back up, so take your time on the way down and save something for the return.

The Southeast Lighthouse got moved to survive

Built in 1874 right on the edge of those bluffs, the Southeast Lighthouse is the highest lighthouse in New England because of its clifftop position.

By the 1980s, erosion had closed in to within about 55 feet of the building. In 1993, crews moved the entire 2,000-ton structure roughly 300 feet inland.

The lighthouse was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997 and still runs a first-order Fresnel lens. During summer, the lighthouse and gift shop are open to the public, with guided tower tours available.

The North Light took four tries to get right

The first lighthouse on the island’s northern tip went up in 1829. Erosion took it.

Two more followed, and erosion took those, too. The current granite structure went up in 1867 and has held its ground since.

It went dark in 1973, then the town of New Shoreham acquired it and relit it in 1989. A 2010 ceremony saw the original fourth-order Fresnel lens restored and reinstalled.

Getting there takes about a 20-minute walk across a sandy beach from the parking area. The first floor runs as a maritime museum through the summer months.

Twenty-eight miles of trails cross the whole island

The Greenway trail network runs over 28 miles and links conserved lands from one end of the island to the other.

Trails are free, marked with small granite stones or wooden signs, and wind through rolling hills, freshwater ponds, wildflower meadows, and open ocean views.

The Nature Conservancy manages over 2,000 acres of wildlife habitat here.

Block Island also sits along the Atlantic Flyway, the major migration corridor that runs up the East Coast, which makes spring and fall the best seasons for watching birds move through.

Rodman’s Hollow is where conservation started here

Before Block Island became known for protecting land, there was Rodman’s Hollow.

The 230-acre glacial basin on the island’s southwest side was the first place locals fought to conserve, and that effort grew into everything that followed.

The preserve came together through a partnership between the Block Island Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, the town of New Shoreham, and Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management.

It’s also the only place east of the Mississippi with a natural population of the federally threatened American burying beetle. Trails run through maritime shrubland down to bluff views and Black Rock Beach.

Get lost in the Clay Head Maze

Clay Head Preserve covers 190 acres on the island’s northeast side, and The Nature Conservancy calls it one of the best spots along the Atlantic Flyway for watching migratory songbirds move through.

The main trail heads east toward the ocean, climbing to views from clay bluffs above the water. Off that main trail, a web of unmarked, intertwining paths branches into what locals call the Maze.

You can wander for a while before you find your way back out. The trailhead is on a dirt road off Corn Neck Road, about two miles from town.

Seventeen miles of beach, each one different

Block Island has 17 miles of public beaches, and they don’t all feel the same.

Crescent Beach runs about two miles along the east coast from Old Harbor up to Clay Head, and Fred Benson Town Beach sits at its center with lifeguards, a concession stand, and chair rentals when you want some comfort.

Move north to Mansion Beach and the crowd thins out, with old stone foundations sitting beside the sand.

Head to the south shore and you’ll find Black Rock Beach, where the surf rolls in and draws surfers most of the year.

Five hundred glass orbs hidden somewhere on this island

Every year since 2011, glassblower Eben Horton has hidden 550 handblown glass orbs across Block Island’s beaches and Greenway trails.

Each one is about the size of an orange, dated with the year, and numbered from one through 550.

If you find one, you keep it, but the rule is one float per person per year, and finders register their find with the Block Island Tourism Council.

The project has turned up in The New York Times, on CBS Sunday Morning, and on PBS. Some people plan their entire trip around the hunt.

You don’t need a car to get around

Block Island’s compact size works in your favor. Most visitors cover the whole island on foot, by bike, or on a moped.

Rentals for both bikes and mopeds sit right near the ferry terminal in Old Harbor, so you can pick up a ride the moment you step off the boat. Taxis run on the island if you’d rather not pedal.

There are no ride-share services here.

Since most beaches and attractions fall within a short ride from town, you can cover a lot of ground in a single day without a car.

The island that stepped back in time and stayed there

Block Island has run on offshore wind power since 2016, when the nation’s first commercial offshore wind farm replaced the island’s old diesel generators.

Old Harbor’s Victorian-era waterfront district earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Every Fourth of July, the island throws a parade and fireworks.

Summer can triple the population as visitors come in waves from the mainland.

But with nearly half the land locked in conservation forever, Block Island doesn’t feel like a resort town. It feels like a place that decided what it wanted to be and held the line.

Getting to Block Island from Rhode Island and beyond

You can reach Block Island by ferry from Point Judith, Rhode Island, which runs year-round service, making it the most reliable way to get there in any season.

Seasonal ferries also run from Newport, Rhode Island, New London, Connecticut, and Montauk, New York. If you’d rather fly, New England Airlines and Fly The Whale both run daily flights from Westerly, Rhode Island.

Check the official websites for current schedules and fares before you book, as seasonal schedules shift. Once you arrive at Old Harbor, everything is close enough to reach without a car.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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