- What you'll see: A sand road lined by pitch pines, beach plums and beach roses and plenty of birds, from piping plovers to crossbills to northern harriers.
- Ninigret Pond, to the north, is dotted with small islands and fringed with coves, channels, salt marshes and tidal pools.
- The Charlestown Breachway, at the beach's eastern end, offers access from the ocean to Ninigret Pond.
CHARLESTOWN – East Beach stretches for miles to the northeast, running to two parallel jetties that line a channel called the Charlestown Breachway. To the southwest, the light brown and white sand beach extends all the way to a cluster of cottages on the shore at Quonochontaug.
To the north, behind a grass- and thicket-covered dune where piping plovers nest, is Ninigret Pond, the largest salt pond in the state. To the south, far on the ocean’s horizon, the Mohegan Bluffs jut out at the tip of Block Island.
From where I stood, the views, in all directions, are what make Rhode Island so special.
Last October, after I walked along the beach at Quonochontaug – pronounced kwana-ka-taug – which lies southwest of East Beach, I had hoped to get back to the state’s southern shore sometime soon. But the cold winter and rainy, overcast spring kept me on inland trails through forests, old farmland and along riverbanks.
When the sun finally broke through and temperatures climbed into the 70s, I headed to East Beach, a long, narrow, easterly extension of Quonochontaug Neck that forms a barrier beach separating the Atlantic Ocean from Ninigret Pond.
A pine-lined path brightened by beach roses
On a warm, May morning, two hiking buddies and I set out from a small state lot (visitors have to pay a fee during the summer; see below) and walked to the head of a sandy road for vehicles. We noted the sign: “Caution 4 Wheel Drive Only CRMC Permit Required.”
The wide road of soft sand heads east and is lined by short pitch pines, with cones on the branches and along the path. We also spotted rabbit paw prints in the sand and white-flowered woody bushes, called beach plums. In other spots, white and purple rugosa roses, commonly called beach roses, had started to bloom.
A light breeze gave us a whiff of the ocean.
What kind of birds will you see there?
A single-engine plane droned overhead but didn’t drown out the tweets in the bushes. I’m no bird expert, but hikers report sighting a variety of birds in different seasons.
In the spring and summer, piping plovers and least terns nest on the beach and the dunes. At other times, red crossbills, white-winged crossbills, redpolls and pine siskins can be found feeding in the pines.
In the fall, northern gannets feed offshore, swallows flock to the area and cave swallows sometimes migrate to the beach.
During the winter, yellow-rumped warblers and red-breasted nuthatches feed among the tree trunks. Northern harriers also fly through the area, and short-eared owls can be seen.
While we walked, openings in the thickets along the road on the right offered a peek at the clean, deserted beach and ocean and, on the left, to Ninigret Pond, one of the coastal lagoons that can be found from Westerly to Narragansett.
The Native leader who gave Ninigret Pond its name
The pond is named for Ninigret, (1600-1676), who was a sachem of the Niantic and Narragansett tribes. The Indigenous people once fished, hunted and lived in villages along the shoreline.
Now there are cottages on the far shore of the pond, and we spotted a barge on the water where oyster farmers were pulling up traps. The pond is dotted with small islands and fringed with coves, channels, salt marshes and tidal pools. I dug out my map and located Foster Cove and Coon Cove at the edge of the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge on the other side of the pond. Governors Island was a little further east.
Continuing on, the road is lined in places by wooden storm fences and stretches of yellow ropes that set off sections of the dunes. A sign reads:
“Do Not Enter
These Endangered Birds, their Nests and Eggs are Protected
U.S. Federal Law.”
At one point, a U.S Fish & Wildlife Service jeep drove up behind us. We stepped off the road, and the driver waved.
As she passed, I tried to step in the deep jeep treads in the soft sand, but I felt my legs getting tired. I hope that was just from trudging through the soft sand, and not age.
The road went by several lots where vehicles could pull off. At one spot, an angler practiced casting near a camper parked nearby.
When the road ended after about 2.5 miles, we took a trail through scrub and brambles and noted the signs that marked federal property, part of the Ninigret refuge. At one point, the trail led down to the beach, and we got our first look at the breachway in the distance.
Charlestown Breachway, a channel from pond to ocean
The flat beach started to tilt uphill to the dunes, and the walking was a little uneven, but there were sites to see. After a half mile, we stopped to inspect some wooden wreckage that was built of thick beams and had washed up on the shore. At first I thought the remains must have been a pier, but then I noted that the ends of the beams were curved and wondered if it may have been some type of a barge.
Just ahead are two parallel, hundred-yard lines of huge boulders that form the Charlestown Breachway. A section of one of the jetties had been broken by crashing waves.
The outgoing tide was draining through the channel from Ninigret Pond to the north to the ocean, creating a fast-running current. Upstream, a kayaker put in and was navigating a lagoon at the edge of the waterway. As we paused for a break, a motorboat sped up the breachway from the ocean and headed toward the pond. Three young men in the boat waved as they passed.
In a parking lot on the far side of the channel, a U.S. flag and a Rhode Island flag snapped in the southeast wind.
We also saw beachgoers carrying chairs and headed to the shore. Just to the north, there’s a state campground where about a dozen campers were parked, with their owners resting on chairs set up along the breachway.
What happened to the 1800s summer colony at Quonochontaug Beach?
We rested for a few minutes and then retraced our steps, with the breeze at our backs. We could see the long stretch of beach, with waves lapping at the shore, running all the way to Quonochontaug, also called Quonnie.
Quonochontaug Beach was settled by summer colonists in the 1800s. The Hurricane of 1938 destroyed an inn and a row of shorefront cottages, killing dozens of people. The beach cottages were never rebuilt.
In contrast, East Beach, perhaps because of its very narrow barrier beach, has remained largely untouched and undeveloped.
According to the state Department of Environmental Management, East Beach State Park was set up in 1967 and encompassed 174 acres by 2000. In 2006, the state added 250 acres by buying four parcels for about $2 million.
As we walked, we passed a washed-up lobster trap, pieces of driftwood and several lengths of angle iron. Seagulls squawked and took flight as we approached. Several tiny piping plovers played tag with the waves.
Looking to the south, about 13 miles out, the outline of Block Island is visible. In the foreground, fishing trawlers, sailboats and motorboats crossed Block Island Sound.
At one point, a fisherman passed us, headed for the breachway, with a rod in one hand and a white bucket in the other. He said he'd hoped to hook a striper but was disappointed that he had to cast from shore, because the break in the jetty no longer allowed him to walk out to the end of the rocks.
“That’s the ocean,” he said.
As it got later into the morning, we saw a barefoot couple walking the beach, a photographer with a tripod over his shoulder and a few sunbathers who snoozed in beach chairs.
After walking 3 miles back, we turned inland from the beach to where we'd parked. A small white car was stuck in the sand right below the sign for “4 Wheel Drive Only” and a AAA truck was towing him out.
In all, we walked 6.1 miles over three hours.
To me, Rhode Island’s beaches are best in the offseason, before the crowds arrive. But tell that to the thousands of people who’ll head to East Beach this summer.
When a beach is this beautiful all year round, though, I don’t mind being outnumbered.
If you go ...
Access: From Route 1 in Charlestown, follow East Beach Road south.
Parking: Available at a small state lot that fills quickly in the summer. A fee is charged.
Dogs: Not allowed from April 1 to Sept. 30. Dogs must be leashed in the offseason.
Difficulty: Easy, through soft sand and along a beach.
Distance: 6.1 miles
GPS coordinates: 41.37259, -71.67231
'Walking Rhode Island' book signings
John Kostrzewa’s book, “Walking Rhode Island: 40 Hikes for Nature and History Lovers with Pictures, GPS Coordinates and Trail Maps,” is available at local booksellers and at Amazon.com. He’ll sell and sign books after the following presentations:
Thursday, June 13: Rhode Island Night, with Martin Podskoch, author of “Rhode Island Civilian Conservation Corps Camps,” sponsored by the Association of Rhode Island Authors, at Borealis Coffee Company, Bristol, 7 to 9 p.m.
Tuesday, June 18: North Kingstown Free Library, 6:30 p.m.
The Walking Rhode Island column runs every other week in the Providence Sunday Journal. John Kostrzewa, a former assistant managing editor/business at The Journal, welcomes email at johnekostrzewa@gmail.com.
