Block Island, RI

Block Island is a roughly eleven-square-mile island in Rhode Island, situated in Washington County about twelve miles offshore in the Atlantic. The island constitutes the Town of New Shoreham, the smallest and most remote town in the state, and supports a year-round population of approximately 1,000 residents that swells to many times that number during the summer months. The island is reached by ferry from Point Judith in Narragansett, with additional seasonal service from New London, Connecticut, and Montauk, New York; Providence, the nearest major city, lies roughly sixty miles to the northwest on the mainland. Block Island's character is defined by preserved open moors, freshwater ponds, Victorian-era architecture, and a rocky, dune-backed coastline, and it has long served as a tranquil summer escape known for cycling, beachgoing, and birdwatching.

The Block Island National Wildlife Refuge protects roughly the northern third of the island, encompassing salt marshes, freshwater ponds, dunes, and forested thickets that support migratory songbirds, nesting shorebirds, and waterfowl. A network of marked trails and unpaved back roads runs through the refuge, leading to remote beaches and elevated viewing points along the northern cliffs. It is interior to the island and easily reached from Old Harbor within a short drive or bike ride.

Southeast Light, an iconic red-brick Victorian lighthouse completed in 1875 and famously relocated back from the eroding Mohegan Bluffs in 1993, anchors the island's southeastern corner. The lighthouse and its adjoining outbuildings are open seasonally as a museum run by the Block Island Historical Society, and the adjacent bluff-top paths offer sweeping views of clay-colored cliffs and the open Atlantic. The site is approximately four miles southeast of the Old Harbor ferry landing.

The island's other historic sentinel, North Light, stands at the island's northern tip. Built in 1867 to mark Block Island's north end, it is reached by a quiet drive or bicycle ride of roughly six miles from Old Harbor along rural roads, with surrounding dunes and ocean viewpoints typical of the refuge lands nearby.

Block Island is a compelling base for short-term rentals because it pairs genuine isolation with reliable mainland access, drawing weekenders from the dense Northeast corridor while feeling distinctly separate from it. Lodging supply is constrained by the ferry-dependent geography, seasonal demand is strong and concentrated, and visitors are drawn by beaches, a large protected wildlife refuge, two historic lighthouses, and a walkable New England harbor town, all within a compact footprint that rewards stays of several nights rather than a day trip.