Block Island

The island sits about twenty kilometres off the Rhode Island coast, roughly ten by five kilometres, with Mohegan Bluffs on the southern shore - clay cliffs about forty-five metres high with a long wooden staircase down to the beach. Around forty percent of the island's land is under permanent conservation, the result of a sustained land trust effort since the 1970s, and the Greenway trail system crosses it through stone-walled fields. Two lighthouses stand at either end; Southeast Light, built in 1875, was moved about ninety metres back from the eroding bluff in 1993 on rails and hydraulic jacks. The island is a significant stopover for migrating songbirds. There are no traffic lights and mopeds are contentious.

What you actually see

• Mohegan Bluffs - clay cliffs with a long stair to the beach.
• About forty percent conserved - through a long land trust campaign.
• Southeast Light - moved back ninety metres from the eroding edge in 1993.
• The Greenway trails - through stone-walled fields.

When to go

June to September; the island quiets substantially after. A full day or overnight.

Honest expectations

Ferries cancel in weather and car spaces book out months ahead - most visitors do not need a car. Accommodation is expensive and limited. Off season most businesses close. Moped use is a live local grievance.

Nearby

Point Judith is the main ferry port; Montauk is west across the sound.