Napatree Point / Beach

Beautiful beach
Great place take long walks on the beach. My favorite place to catch a sunset or moonrise

Heaven. This is what I had in mind as I headed south to the beach. Alas, due to full parking lots everywhere I was stuck with Misquamicut. :(After about 30 minutes from the beach to Noank for a lobster roll, and 30 minutes back to Westerly, it was around 5:30 at night and the parking had eased — more on that later. Walk in back of the merchant parking lot, past the cabanas of the private beach club, and take a path up over the dunes, and you’ll come across one of the prettiest stretches of beach in the state. Blissfully empty and super clean. I stayed about half an hour and got in one last swim in the sparkling water. A great place to watch the sunset as there are so many nice views to the west.
Now, the parking sitch. The parking lot is for shopping only and has a guard, so be careful. The couple of small private lots are expensive but are the way to go if you want to make a full day of it. There is street parking but you have to get lucky to find one, and keep in mind — the two hour limit is ALL DAY… you can’t move into a different spot. I once found that out the hard way after getting a $ 75 ticket!

Simply amazing. Quiet, beautiful, and serene. You have to walk a little bit: Once you pass the merchant parking lot, yacht club, cabanas, private beach club and over a gorgeous but high sand dune… Once you passed all that you come to find a gorgeous wildlife preserve.

This beach had been on my bucket list for a long time. Finally went there yesterday. First tip: go on a weekday. The street parking in Watch Hill is limited to two hours and the pay lots are $ 25 – on weekdays as well. The beach itself is about a ten minute walk from the main street. Sandy bottom, no seaweed and no undertow. Beautiful pristine beach with no lifeguards, bathrooms or Del’s truck. Nor any blaring radios, crowds, cigar smokers, screaming, etc. Wonderful visit!

Napatree Point has a lot going for it, even in the state of RI which has a bundle of great beaches. It’s rather remote, a small peninsula that just brings you further out in the ocean as you walk, surrounded by luxurious dunes, and it’s located in one of the prettiest parts of the state that is actually easy to get too. And the views from any point on it are spectacular, even on a level of taking in all of RIs coast line. That all being said, Napratree Point is a place I don’t go anywhere near in summer. Watch Hill is one of the most expensive places to go and do anything… And one of the most crowded. Free parking is bare minimal, and they soak you to the tune of $ 30 or more anywhere for parking. Add to that the fact that Watch Hill and the Point itself is totally infested with people in the summer, and the whole experience of its beauty and nautical charm goes out to sea. After Labor Day its better, but for the real experience wait for the cool winds of fall in October an beyond and indulge yourself. There will be no crowds, the parking is all free, and anywhere on the point will be yours for a dream. Just beautiful. Trust me on this one, unless you like spending big bucks for parking, fighting tons of traffic, and want to share the Point with thousands of others, you will hate it in summer, and love it in the fall and winter. :)

Best stretch of beach in Rhode Island, hands down. And the best part? As much as I rave about it, you wont come here! Why? well, it’s not a beach, officially. It’s a Wildlife Management Area. Which means that most folks wont like it. There’s no parking lot. There’s no trash cans. No life guards. No snack bars… and so on. But of course, for people like me that makes it BETTER! If you like long stretches of pristine beach and dunes. If you like sheltered coves teeming with wildlife, then you might like it here as well. Be prepared to walk. Be prepared to get creative to find a parking space. Bring sunblock. And water. Be open to answering «nature’s call» in the rose-​hip bushes, or in the icy Atlantic ocean.
And.
Be prepared to enjoy some of the most scenic ocean vistas in the State.