One of my favorite spots in Rhode Island! This is a great spot to go in the summer - ride the…read morecarousel, get ice cream, and walk out to the point. The water is clear and beautiful. I finally got to walk out to the point with my dog before the season starts! Dogs aren't allowed May 2-Labor Day 8-5pm! This is a beautiful walk. It's just under 1.5 miles to the point right from the entry!

Serene and beautiful sandspit to walk - you can trek up one side to the point, then back down the…read moreother side - with the Atlantic on one flank and the other with Little Narragansett Bay. It's also a nature preserve and the nesting grounds of piping plovers. We visited in the off-season and no problem parking (will be quite different in the height of summer. Good luck!). You can find many nice shell specimens, horseshoe crab carapaces, driftwood, and polished stones. Take a gander at the Watch Hill lighthouse in the distance as well as all the hoity-toity beachfront houses (including Tay Tay's for all you Swifties!).

Had a great time learning to surf with Chris today! He took us to a great spot and taught us how…read moreto surf in one day! He is a really nice guy and will take time to explain everything. He's been doing this along time and he knows how to make it seem easy!

This was a first time paddle boarding for myself, my husband, and our dog, Mochi. Chris was very…read morepatient while helping Mochi acclimate to the board. He went above and beyond by giving us a quick lesson and ensuring that Mochi and I were able to manage the board before embarking on our own. We loved the experience and would recommend it to first time paddle boarders who want to bring their dogs!

So my visit here started with a dream - I wanted my dog to see the ocean. The internet claimed this…read morewas a dog friendly beach, so off we went! Yes, it is technically on a bay, but it's salt water, there are sea shells and sea glass, and considering my dog is two feet tall and hats the water, this is an ocean beach (for him). I will die on this hill. Williams Beach is adjacent to the YMCA and like, three giant steps from their parking lot. It does seem the internet got it right that the beach is without life guard after Labor Day, and there is signage asking dogs to stay off the sand and out of the water. There are also "park" areas, I assume owned by the YMCA, including but not limited to, a volleyball court, playground, and baseball fields. Picnic tables are plentiful. It was nice and quiet in the middle of September on a weekday, although it must be packed in the summer. It was pretty clean, although any litter I saw was definitely from irresponsible humans and not the inexplicably banned dogs.

Don't know if these people were entitled Stonington residents or out of town visitors, but I got…read morehit in the head with a ball even though I sat on the Adult area down near the water! I ended up woth a lump on my head and a migraine!!! No apology and I asked them ahead of time when they arrived that I didn't want to get hit!! They laughed out loud! A father and his college age sons!! Rude!!! Also the adult swim area was invaded at 1:00 pm with parents small kids!! They are supposed to be swimming in the kids section!! Very rude and disrespectful!! I don't recommend going there if you are a YMCA member and plan on sitting there alone without your husband! RUDE people! Not safe!!!

If you ever take a pit stop in Watch Hill or you're trying to stalk Taylor Swift at her waterfront…read morehome here, make sure to take a quick stop and check out the oldest operating merry go round in the US. Unfortunately, it's only for small kids as there's a weight limit due to the way it's designed, so if you got kids, hopefully they can appreciate the history behind it and enjoy the ride.

The Watch Hill Flying Horse Carousel is a historic carousel that has been operating in Watch Hill,…read moreRhode Island since 1884. The carousel was manufactured by the Charles W.F. Dare Company in Brooklyn, New York. It is unclear when exactly the carousel was manufactured, with some experts believing that it was assembled as early as 1867. It is one of the two oldest carousels in the United States, along with the Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard. The Watch Hill Carousel is also the oldest carousel in the United States in which the horses are suspended from chains. According to local legend, the carousel originally belonged to a traveling carnival. They brought it to Watch Hill some time between 1897-1883 and left it there for unknown reasons. It contains 20 horses in two sizes and it's believed that the bodies of the horses were carved from single blocks of wood, with the legs carved and attached separately. When the carousel rotates, centrifugal force drives the horses outward, giving rise to the name "flying horses." The New England Hurricane of 1938 caused extensive damage to the carousel. The horses were recovered from sand dunes and the carousel was restored to operation. Today the carousel runs from June to Labor Day. My family and I recently visited the Watch Hill Flying Horses Carousel. We were visiting some friends of ours who were vacationing in the area. I remembered hearing that one of the oldest carousels was located in Watch Hill and asked if we could all visit. Like other early carousels, the Watch Hill Carousel features a brass ring device. We first learned about this concept when we visited the Flying Horses Carousel in Martha's Vineyard. A wooden arm dispenses iron rings that carousel riders try to grab as they pass by. If a rider gets a 'brass ring', then they win a free ride. This whole concept adds a fun competive element to the ride. We let our older son ride a couple of times and he was lucky enough to grab a prized brass ring and win a free ride. We all had a fun time visiting the historic carousel and look forward to returning in the future!

For this visit to Watch Hill lighthouse in RI we were able to visit the small museum adjacent . We…read morevisited on a weekday in mid July 2026. The staff was very knowledgeable and happy to answer all questions about the lighthouse and area history. While you cannot go into the lighthouse, the grounds are free to roam around. There is no fee for the museum. The road to get to the lighthouse is private and filled with grand homes, so there are no cars allowed. We parked in the town center and walked about 12 mins. Easy walk. Our walk back we checked out the carousel and the many stores and restauarants in the town center. Beatiful views surround.

Lovely beautiful amazing Worth the little walk senior…read morecitizens get to drive up and I like that!! Views are immaculate Homes are beautiful

Forgetta-bout it! Best charter I've ever booked. 10/10. Will sail Poet's Lounge again!!read more

What an unforgettable experience! Our crew loved our time on the water with Darin. He was an…read moreexcellent host, wonderful to chat with and very attentive when he realized one of us was feeling seasick. Two of us had been out with him before for a sunset cruise and we upped it to 3 hrs this time. Truly a great experience - highly recommend and will definitely be back!

Great place to get your fishing tackle. Knowledgeable staff and very helpful. We use them all the…read moretime and wouldn't go anywhere else.

good selection here. you can also consign rods which is pretty cool and unique. the staff are very…read moreknowledgeable too

Our favorite salt water launch site. Plenty of parking spaces and the dock is nice, clean, and…read moresecure. Plenty of cleats to tie on. Deep ocean is just a few minutes away with no - no wake zones. The drive to the launch has an interesting castle to look at. The owner has dozens of statues, gargoyles, and perfectly trimmed topiaries. Lots of people kayak from here. Some bring their dogs for a stroll. I've done some fishing and crabbing here. But honestly there are sooooo many mosquitoes and horse flies here and they're relentless! We mostly just use this place to launch our boat- away from the vicious bugs!!

A great place to…read morestart Barn Island in Stonington is one of the best places to launch a boat in Eastern Ct. It has a huge parking lot but since it is so popular it frequently fills up so people park on the side on the road. No one seems to mind but it does make for a long walk back to your vehicle. The ramp is steep but the water usually deep so it's easy for even a relatively large boat to get under way. Once you are in the water you have several great options. If you are in a kayak you can go north up the Wequetequock river, or south out to Stonington, Long Island Sound, Sandy Pt. or Napatree Point. This whole area was absolutely hammered by the 1938 hurricane and a beach in the area used to be called Kitchen Beach because appliances ripped from cottages were found buried in the sand for decades after the hurricane. Fortunately no hurricanes have hit in a while and the area around Barn Island is called Little Narragansett Bay and is usually quite calm. If you want more excitement in your yaking you can paddle out to Napatree Pt and old Fort Mansfield where rocks, old fishing piers and heavy wind and waves can conspire to give you a near death experience if you desire. Pretty good surfing out by Napatree also. For something less exciting you can go over to Watch Hill and get ice cream and some good seafood or just land on a isolated beach on Sandy Point Island. This was actually a part of Napatree but the hurricane literally tore the spit of land away and is now a rolling island. If you go east you can explore the very cool town of Stonington. Barn Island is a great place to launch no matter what your intentions are or abilities are. Just make sure you get there early during the summer weekends or you just might be in for a long walk to get back to your vehicle.

Our second experience with Paddle Surf, we booked a semi-private lesson for our 9 year old grandson…read moreand his friend, first timers. We arrived early but our instructor (Carter) took us immediately. The waves were challenging for beginners but Carter had the boys in the water quickly and both said they had a fantastic time. Memory-making experience for all!

This is our second experience with Paddle Surf RI and it did not disappoint! Brian worked great…read morewith our 8 and 6 year olds in the water. Great experience all around, highly recommend.