Cruising Guide to Block Island

Disclaimer: This is not a comprehensive cruising guide to Block Island, but a summary of our experience and recommendations and what we believe would be interesting to fellow travelers. If you have additional recommendations, please feel free to reach out.

Anchorages and Moorings

New Harbor (Great Salt Pond)

The largest mooring/anchorage area is located in New Harbor. The entrance is on the west side of the island. You can’t miss it because boats are constantly going in and out of the channel.
As you come in, you can hail the harbormaster on the VHF and most likely you’ll see them running around directing boats. We were initially looking for a Town mooring, but when we spoke to the harbormaster, they directed us to a private mooring instead.
Cost:
- From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the mooring fee is $65/night/boat.
- From the day after Labor Day to Columbus day, the mooring fee is $30/night/boat.
- Since we got there after Labor Day, we essentially got a two for one and planned to stay two nights, but extended to three. Once the weekend crowd left, it was nice to enjoy the calm and quiet.
- The mooring fee covers trash disposal, pump out service, and shower tokens. We were too late in the season for the shower, but we did take advantage of the pump out.

Things to Do

Bike Rental – We rented bikes from Aldo’s Mopeds. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of the rental places because they are all pretty much the same. We chose this location because they had better quality bikes and had a lower “off-season” rate.
Explore the Island – Be advised that there are limited water fountains spaced around the island. Bring water! I refused to pay $5 for a small water bottle at the Southeast Light and regretted it.
- Southeast Light – You have the opportunity to go up to the top for a fee or walk around the bottom floor and look at the historical photos. There is a large grassy area to take photos and benches to have a picnic. If you look out over the water, you’ll see the wind farm.
- Mohegan Bluffs – You can walk down the stairs and access the beach. If you go all the way to the right from the stairs (west), you’ll come across a nude beach. We did not venture that far, but we got to the rock sign!
- North Light – By the time we got here, it was sunset so nothing was open. The bike ride all the way north was pretty rough so we were tired when we got there, but we wanted to push through. The bike path was pretty hilly and passed the beach and some pretty big vacation houses. The ride was worth it, but maybe next time we split the bike tour into two days instead of an afternoon.
Poor People’s Pub – We went to this place twice in the three days we were there. The first time was for a beer and the second time was for food. We had the bbq sandwiches after a long day of bike riding and they definitely hit the spot. Because we were there after Labor Day, a handful of the decently priced places were closed or their kitchens closed early. Our choices were limited, but we still had a good time.