8 Best Sights in Block Island, Rhode Island

This 3-mile beach runs north from Old Harbor, and its white sands become wider and the crowds thinner the farther away from town you go. It is divided into smaller beaches with access points off Corn Neck Road. Farthest north is Mansion Beach: look for the sign, then follow the dirt road to the right. From the parking area, it's a short hike to reach what is easily one of New England's most beautiful beaches. In the morning, you might spot deer on the dunes; to the north, surfers can often be seen dotting Jerry's Point. Closer to Old Harbor, Scotch Beach, with its small parking lot directly off Corn Neck Road, attracts a lively crowd of young adults. Fred Benson Town Beach, in the middle, is where you'll find facilities. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; sunset; swimming; walking.

The dramatic 200-foot clay cliffs along Mohegan Trail, one of the island's top sights, offer a craggy beauty not found anywhere else in New England. On a clear day you can see all the way to Montauk Point on Long Island. The bluffs can be enjoyed from street level, but to access the beach below requires descending a steep set of 141 stairs that lead to the bottom. The cove to the west has a narrow strip of secluded sandy beach, with wave action that attracts surfers. Wear walking shoes, and don't attempt the descent unless you're in reasonably good shape, as you may have to scramble over rocks at the base of the stairs. Remember, you'll also have to climb back up!

This easy-to-find nature preserve is many people's first point of contact with the island's Greenway Trails system. The main trail runs south about 1 mile to clay bluffs with great ocean views, from which a winding path descends to the rocky beach below. Side trails cross the 230-acre tract, offering longer hikes and the allure of getting mildly lost. The striking, if muted, natural beauty makes it easy to understand why, 40 years ago, this was the property that first awoke the local land conservation movement, now close to achieving its goal of preserving half the island. Geology buffs will appreciate this fine example of a glacial outwash basin. Nature lovers may enjoy looking for the Block Island meadow vole (field mouse), the northern harrier (a threatened raptor species), and the American burying beetle (the equally imperiled state insect). A small parking lot sits just south of Cooneymus Road near a stone marker.

Animals you know and love and some you never knew existed—like the zedonk, a cross between a zebra and a donkey—are on display at this farm. Camels, llamas, kangaroos, and even fainting goats (whose legs stiffen when they get excited, causing them to keel over) will all gladly munch pellets out of your hand. Lemurs leap around their own enclosure, and a herd of gentle alpacas provides fibers for the adjacent North Light Fibers textile mill and shop.

The Great Salt Pond has a culture all its own, centered on the three marinas, several inns, a resort hotel, and the restaurants clustered along its southern shore that make up this commercial area about a 30-minute walk from Old Harbor. Up to 2,000 boats create a forest of masts on summer weekends, drawn by sail races and fishing tournaments. Over on the quiet north and east shores, clammers and windsurfers claim the tidal flats. The Montauk ferry docks at Champlin's, the largest of the marinas.

An 1867 granite lighthouse on the northern tip of Block Island (the fourth lighthouse on this site), North Light also serves as a maritime museum. The surrounding Block Island National Wildlife Refuge is home to American oystercatchers, piping plovers, and other rare migrating birds. From a parking lot at the end of Corn Neck Road, it's a ½-mile hike over sand to the lighthouse. Seals sun themselves on nearby Sandy Point in winter, and some even summer here.

On the spit of land between Sachem Pond and Cow Cove, this monument lists the names of the original settlers of Block Island and marks the spot where they landed in 1661 (swimming to shore with their cows). A ½-mile hike from here over sandy terrain will get you to North Light.

The small museum is housed inside an 1875 redbrick lighthouse with striking architectural details. The lighthouse, which was moved back 300 feet from the eroded clay cliffs of Mohegan Bluffs, is a National Historic Landmark. Tower tours are offered during the summer.