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Taking summer refuge at Block Island

BY ALISON GREGOR | Special to Newsday

June 15, 2008

You're better off leaving your car on the main land. Transportation is available at bike rental shops like this one in Old Harbor. Hoofing it also is very popular. (Michael Melford / Block Island Tourism Council)

When you're looking for the perfect summer refuge, you may find yourself reconsidering the star-studded Hamptons. Or maybe, in this year's economy, and with offensive gas prices, you're thinking twice about pricey Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Just 14 miles east of Montauk, and 12 miles off the Rhode Island coast, Block Island is an alternative getaway that's a world unto itself.

With a ragged coastline reminiscent of North Atlantic isles, it's 11 square miles of vintage charm, where cycling and picnicking, exploring and kite-flying are favorite pastimes, along with nautical pursuits such as bathing, sailing, yachting, kayaking, surfing and diving. Block Island's no secret among fishermen, either. Tourists can land striped bass and bluefish from the island's beaches or hook striper, blues and tuna offshore.

Formerly home to fishermen and farmers, and a place plundered by pirates, Block Island became a tourist destination in the 19th century after several imposing wooden hotels were built on sweeping headlands overlooking the sea and ferry service started to and from Point Judith on the mainland. These days, the hotels are as grand as ever, situated among trees twisted into odd shapes by the stiff sea breeze and a growing number of cedar-shake shingled second homes of multimillionaires. (The salty winds weather homes so quickly that many homeowners leave them unpainted.)

The vibe on Block Island is relatively subdued, as beach resorts go, with the most famous residents being rather low-key as well - actor Christopher Walken, comedian Steven Wright. Vacationers may sneak a bit of rock and roll into their rest and relaxation, with a handful of venues that serve up live music in summer months, but most take along a good book or a sketch pad and prepare to seclude themselves in their oceanside retreats and take in natural pleasures.

And for good reason. The beaches sequestered among Block Island's formidable bluffs, along with a long sandy strip on its northeastern shore, are an invitation to frolic in the sea.

Getting to these beaches can be half the fun. You can cycle along the island's winding roads, wander among its hundreds of picturesque ponds dotted with lily pads and sunning turtles, and slide down the clay banks of its towering bluffs over glacial rocks of magnificent colors to reach the ocean.

With 800 to 1,000 year-round residents, Block Island has been the focus of a successful effort to preserve its fragile and distinctive ecosystem. As it has some of the best migratory birding sites in New England, bird-watching is also a popular activity. Through the work of conservation groups, about half of the island has been preserved in perpetuity.

As tourists continue to deluge the island each summer, that's good news.

Where to stay

Spring House Hotel

Spring Street just outside of Old Harbor

www.springhousehotel.com, 800-234-9263

Rates: $250-$450

Block Island's architectural crown jewel, this sprawling, 150-year-old Victorian charmer is the oldest hotel on the island and has had among its guests Mark Twain, Ulysses S. Grant and Billy Joel. A mansard roof and a cupola top off the hotel, whose perch on a promontory affords it stunning views from a wraparound veranda. Fifteen acres of well-tended grounds surround the hotel's two historic buildings, one of which houses a fine restaurant. Breakfast is included.

1661 Inn and Hotel Manisses

Spring Street, just outside

Old Harbor

blockislandresorts.com, 800-626-4773

Rates: $220-$445

While not quite as impressive in stature as the Spring House, these two hotels make up for it by offering ornate rooms chock full of antiques, Early American paintings and other amenities. Many rooms have spa tubs, gas fireplaces and ocean views. In an old-world touch, along with your coffee maker, you also get a decanter of brandy. A complimentary full champagne breakfast is served as well as afternoon nibbles. The Hotel Manisses has both an elegant restaurant and the jazzy Gatsby Room.