United States
Block Island
A weathered bluff island twelve miles offshore where rolling moors meet dramatic sea cliffs.
Block Island rises from the Atlantic as a windswept plateau of grassland and stone walls, its red clay bluffs dropping sharply into churning surf. The ferry delivers visitors to a harbor village of weathered shingle houses, beyond which the island opens into a landscape of heath and hidden ponds. This is New England at its most elemental—a place where the sea shapes everything from the bent trees to the rhythm of daily life.
What draws people here
- —Dramatic bluffs and sea cliffs carved by constant Atlantic weather
- —Rolling moors dotted with stone walls and kettle ponds
- —Lighthouse views across miles of open ocean
- —Sheltered coves and beaches tucked between rocky headlands
Island character
nature•water•beaches
Island rhythm
morning
Fog lifts from the moors as cyclists pedal dirt roads past grazing sheep and stone-walled fields.
afternoon
Hikers follow bluff-top trails while beachgoers find protected coves between the dramatic headlands.
night
Harbor restaurants fill with day-trippers before the last ferry, leaving the island to its year-round rhythm of wind and waves.
Best ways to experience Block Island
- 01Cycle the network of dirt roads through the island's interior moorland
- 02Hike the Greenway trail system connecting bluffs to beaches
- 03Walk the bluff-top paths for lighthouse views and cliff perspectives
- 04Drive the winding roads between harbor village and the island's far shores