Date visited: 7/11/2022

This a short trail up to a pavilion that provides a nice view of the ocean (hence the name). There is also a sandy trail that goes down a steep hill to a beach. This beach is just south of Ballard's Beach Resort and I believe is on Block Island Land Trust land, and not related to the resort. There is a flimsy plastic looking fence separating the two areas.

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Date visited: 7/11/2022

This is a farm and garden which was a stop on our self guided Walking Tour. The farm features an impressive display of animals including goats, camels, and even kangaroos amongst many more. There is also a garden area here as well.

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Date visited: 7/11/2022

The is a small preserve with no trails, maintained by Block Island Land Conservancy. We used it as a resting spot, taking a break by sitting at the picnic tables. There is a scenic salt pond, that was impossible to get a picture of it with the dogs in it. There is also nice views of Surf Beach across the street.

Dates visited: 8/23/2024

This was the second of four beaches on our Block Island beach adventure. This is probably the most popular beach on the island. It's a 20 minute walk from the ferries, has crystal clear water, and mild waves that are great for families. It goes without saying that leashed dogs are allowed here too, like most (if not all) of the Block Island beaches. We connected from Surf Beach on our way here, so we did not check out the amenities. I've read there is a beach house with bathrooms and showers (I believe there is a charge for the showers). There is also a food stand as well. This was the busiest stretch of beach on our walk. While it's hard to know exactly where one beach begins and the next one ends, we headed to Scotch Beach next, and then Mansion Beach.

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Dates visited: 8/23/2024

This is the section of beach between Fred Benson Town Beach and Mansion Beach. The waves are bit bigger here than the Town Beach. It is also not as busy.

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Dates visited: 8/23/2024

This was the fourth beach on our Block Island adventure, and my favorite of the day. There used to be a mansion on the property, but it burned down in the 1960's and wasn't re-built - hence the name. This is a moderately busy beach. We didn't check out the amenities, but it is said to have actual rest rooms, but no food concessions. When you walk three miles of beach, it's hard to know where one beach ends and the next one starts. We actually walked a bit past what's marked as the north end of this beach on Google Maps. There is a rocky area here, that is a beautiful spot for photos. We took a few moments to just sit back and relax here, as this was our turn around point for our three mile walk back. The entire three mile stretch (including Surf Beach, Fred Benson Town Beach and Scotch Beach) includes some of the most beautiful beaches we've visited. It's also wonderful that dogs are allowed year round. It's just too bad it takes a boat ride to get here!

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Dates visited: 6/3/2025

This is a park area around the Southeast Lighthouse. There are some nice views of the Mohegan Bluffs here.

Dates visited: 6/3/2025

This is an overlook area with views of Mohegan Bluffs, not far from the Southeast Lighthouse. Besides the viewing platform, there is a stair case that leads down to the beach. There are 140+ steps and a 20 foot scramble on rocks required to reach the beach. We only went about half way down and took a photo at the mid point. The views are incredible here. I kind of regret not going all the way, but the climb back up would be really hard on Mandy, who has a bit of arthritis these days. There looks to be an alternate trail down without the steps that might work better, so perhaps we'll try again on a future trip. There is a second observation platform, about a quarter mile west from the main area. We took some photos from there too. I've also included a photo at "The Painted Rock", which shows up as a landmark on Google Maps and seems to be just a rock that gets painted differently each year.

Dates visited: 8/30/2025

This was the highlight of this trip to Block Island. A couple months earlier we visited the Edward S Payne Overlook, and walked part way down the 141 steps, but did not go all the way down to the beach. This time, we were bound and determined to make it to the beach, so we went all the way down. At the bottom of the stairs is actually a series of rocks that have to be traversed carefully to get to the beach. Once at the bottom, we walked about a mile and a half along the beautiful shore, over to Vaill Beach before turning around and heading back. The views were gorgeous. The beach is a mix of sandy and rocky areas, with plenty of spots for great photos. One thing to be aware of, a section of the beach about a quarter mile from the stairs around the first bend, appears to be unofficially clothing optional. We encountered one nearly naked man sun bathing with his wife (he was wearing only a hat). His wife was wearing a bathing suit. Just something to be aware of. While we were walking back, I let the dogs off-leash to run around a bit. They always enjoy running free on the beach! We made it up the 141 steps on our way back with no issue. The hardest part was climbing over the rocks leading to the staircase. The area had gotten real busy, and there were people just sort of mulling around the rocks, making it difficult to get by. Once we got past that, the walk up wasn't too bad. I'm definitely glad we made it to this beach this time around. It was definitely worth the climb!

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Dates visited: 8/30/2025

We walked here along the shoreline from Mohegan Bluffs Beach. We were already on the beach, but alternatively there is a narrow path that leads down the steep hill that can be accessed from the end of Snake Hole Road near the "painted rock". This beach is more secluded and remote than Mohegan Bluffs, so there are no crowds...even on a busy holiday weekend! We got some great photos here before we heading back along the shore to Mohegan Bluffs.

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Dates visited: 6/3/2025

Since we rented a car for the day, I wanted to go to a beach that we couldn't get to on our previous trips. Some of the nicer beaches along the southern coast of the island require long climbs down steep dunes, so we settled for this beach along the northwest side of the island. It's remote and out of the way. We were the only ones there. It's rocky, with milder waves, which is the way the dogs like it! The informational sign near the ferry landing says this is a good spot to find beach glass, but all we found was broken glass from bottles near the entrance to the beach at the end of West Beach Road. Be careful with the dogs at the entrance! We found a trail that leads out toward the Great Salt Pond. We walked down that trail a short distance before turning around and heading back. This was a different experience from the tourist beaches along the northeast side of the island, but I didn't think it was quite as nice. Mandy and Lexi loved the water though, and in the end, isn't that all that counts!

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Dates visited: 8/30/2025

This is a remote beach on the west side of the island. The real adventure was traveling down the bumpy dirt road leading to the beach in the Jeep convertible we rented for the day! I have to admit, the drive down the road was really fun! Speaking of the Jeep, we rented it from the same place that we rented from on our previous trip. That car had a share of issues, but this one was actually worse. The engine, ABS and traction control lights were on the whole time. The rear tail lights did not work, the passenger seat belt did not work, and even the speedometer didn't work! It also felt like it was going to stall every time it was idling, but fortunately never did! The issues just added to the sense of adventure! Back to the beach, this is a really beautiful beach with calmer waves and nice sands. We didn't have a lot of time to explore (we had only rented the Jeep for four hours), but were able to walk part of the beach. There are hidden gems like this around the island, and I'm glad we found this one.

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Dates visited: 8/30/2025

We walked here from nearby Charleston Beach. The cove opens up to the salt pond, and Mandy and Lexi both took the opportunity to sit in the calm salt water for a bit.

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Dates visited: 8/30/2025

This is a popular beach with a party atmosphere. I wasn't aware of Rhode Island's shoreline access law when we visited the beach just south of this back in 2022, so we stayed off the Ballard's part that time. This time, we walked right through it! There was a live band playing and waiter service for the patrons sitting out on the beach. different vibe than the some of the remote beaches we visited earlier in the day.

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