Old Harbor

41° 10.371' N    71° 33.396' W   See this location in: Google Maps   Map Server   Acme Maps

This is a site for launching hand-carried boats such as canoes or kayaks.

Description & Overview:

There are various public beaches and shorelines in the vicinity of the Old Harbor at Block Island that can be used to launch hand-carried boats, including one right in the Old Harbor next to the parking lot. The Old Harbor is well protected by the breakwaters but beyond the breakwaters you are essentially on the open Atlantic Ocean. Heading north and west from the Old Harbor takes you along the shore towards the long state beach.

Getting to Block Island requires more planning than most other paddling destinations in Rhode Island. Kayaks can be taken on the ferry either on top of a car or without a car. For the latest rates check with the ferry company, Interstate Navigation (see link below). Some of the taxis on the island can carry kayaks so it is usually possible to get a taxi to take you and your kayak and gear from the ferry landing to a put-in elsewhere on the island, or take you back to a car left at another put-in if you have paddled to the Old Harbor.

This site provides access to the following water bodies: Rhode Island Sound.

Location:

Town: New Shoreham (Block Island)

Nearest Town Center: New Shoreham

Driving Landmarks: Get off the ferry and you are there!

Access & Waters:

Water 'Features' At Site: seawall, ocean/bay

Note: Because one boat launch can access, say, both a lake and a river or both the upstream and downstream portions of a river, not all paddling trips at a given site will necessarily encounter all of the features listed.

Type of Access: Boat launch for hand carried boats

ADA Accessible Boat Launch? no

Shoreline: sandy

Float/Dock: high dock (over 1' above water)

Parking:

Parking: yes

ADA Accessible Parking Spaces? no

Sources for More Information:

Other Guidebooks: Site 54 in Ed Mullen's book "Kayaking Narragansett Bay"

Website: Interstate Navigation (Block Island Ferry) website

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