Waterside Living in Rhode Island

In the Ocean State, you’re never far from a body of water, whether it’s the bay, a lake or pond, or the ocean. While tourist destinations dominate the national spotlight, it’s the quiet neighborhoods, steps from the shore, that embody the feeling of a quintessential summer for Rhode Islanders. In these coastal communities, cars are reserved for bulky grocery runs while basketed bikes and boats are the preferred modes of transport. Sandy floors aren’t just tolerated; they’re the welcome sign of a day well spent, and the appeal of living life where the sea meets the sky is completed by towels hanging out to dry and dinner served at the picnic table.

“Conimicut Point is one of the very best spots in the state for watching the fireworks. “They are all around you on the Fourth of July,” says resident Mike Ryan. Adoration for the water and a serendipitous opportunity prompted Ryan, his parents, and siblings, to purchase a house in Conimicut Village, a neighborhood in eastern Warwick far removed from the hustle-and-bustle largely associated with the sprawling city. By day, the Ryans are the purveyors behind Mapleville Farm in Burrillville, where they sell scratch-made baked goods, flowers, produce and other provisions, and host events. “The house is in a sheltered cove pretty far up the bay, and it’s a pedestrian dream!” says Ryan, adding that the Conimicut Village Association is very active, and has been so welcoming. “They encourage everybody to be involved and invested, in an old town meeting kind of way,” says Ryan. “Most of our fun time revolves around the water. We swim, we fish, we dig quahogs, we float on giant floaties and putter around in questionably seaworthy small boats,” he chuckles.

Like many seaside areas in Rhode Island, steamboats and railways brought affluent folks, who built summer houses in the mid-1800s. Across the bay, Riverside was once known as the “Coney Island of the East,” Island Park in Portsmouth had the second largest roller-coaster in the eastern US, and in Conimicut, there was the Mark Rock Hotel, which went from swanky to unsavory. “Like a lot of houses in the neighborhood, ours started as a small beach cottage more than a century ago and grew progressively outwards by way of additions. It’s basically a series of sheds bolted together into a nebulous whole. Not a single wall in the place is square to another, and it all loosely fits into a floor plan that’s a rhombus with an awkward peninsula,” says Ryan, who lets us in on the family joke that their house was built by boat builders, because nothing’s straight, but it mostly doesn’t leak. “We love it because it’s loaded with idiosyncratic charm and good feels, even if it’s the second ugliest house on the street!”

Emily Burns is a familiar face in South Kingstown’s beach village of Matunuck, serving as the general manager of the Admiral Dewey Inn, a historic 12-room hotel that, as she points out – “is the tallest point in Matunuck!” Burns moved to South County with her family when she was six, left briefly after college but returned. “I love it here. The beach, boating, hiking trails, fresh seafood and farm stands. And the food scene!” Within a small footprint, there are myriad dining and drink options, and Burns quickly rattles off Ocean Mist and The Pub, Seaview Market for quality sandwiches, Vanilla Bean – “an essential for ice cream” – and Matunuck Pizza Pie Company. “Matunuck comes alive for the Fourth of July, with excellent bands playing at the Ocean Mist, and nearby, Wakefield hosts its spectacular annual fireworks display at Old Mountain Field.” Smiling, she adds, “Matunuck is a destination that is enjoyable year-round.”

In the northern part of the state, Tom Fecteau, an assistant district manager for Rhode Island state parks, has called Keech Pond in Glocester home for 40 years. He lives there with his wife, Amanda, and their baby daughter, right next door to his parents’ house, which his father built in the 70s. “She can grow up like I did and enjoy the water,” he says with palpable joy. “We boat a ton with our pontoon boat, and there’s always kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards ready for friends and family. There’s fishing all summer, and almost every night I’ll have the campfire going down by the water.” Fecteau says that there are a couple of small farmstands with sourdough and baked goods within walking distance but everything else is just a short car ride away. As for celebrating the Fourth: “We all know what houses do fireworks, so we go out on those nights in the boats and watch.”

Sandra Bonazoli and Jim Dowd, the creative duo behind Beehive Handmade, a pewter studio and retail space in Warren, have lived in Tiverton’s Stonebridge neighborhood for 25 years. “We were the first people to buy our house,” Bonazoli begins. “It was built in 1918, but had been in the Grinnell family since it was built and never sold.” The couple was instantly smitten. “It looked just like a traditional old summer cottage with shingles and white paint, a wrap-around porch, and matchstick paneling everywhere. We thought our little house would be our starter house, but we just never left!” says Bonazoli, who enjoys their vacation-like routine of watching the sunset over the water every night over a coffee or cocktails. Despite the section being old and historic, she describes it as warm and accessible. “There are fireworks, a parade, and townwide celebration at Grinnell’s beach for July Fourth,” says Bonazoli. It’s a great neighborhood!”

A stone’s throw from where the Pawtuxet River flows into the Providence River and Narragansett Bay is Pawtuxet Village, a charming area where your address could be Cranston or Warwick, and where Kristy Knoedler has lived year-round (on the Cranston side) with her family since 2005. “It provides both the benefit of coastal access and the quaint, hometown vibe I was looking for,” says Knoedler. The location also offers easy commutes to both Fellini Pizzerias, her popular two-chain eatery, plus easy access to highways and beaches. “I enjoy all of the great dining and entertainment in the village, and I also take the time to enjoy the scenic pathways and waterfronts like Gaspee Point and Salter Memorial Grove,” she adds. The historic district also bursts with pride for the burning of the Gaspee, the first hostile act against the Crown, celebrated each June with a parade that boasts fife and drum corps and the Shriners in their miniature cars, a road race, fireworks, a stirring reenactment, and more. “We have history dating back through the colonial era,” says Knoedler. “How cool is that?”

Along a windy stretch along Park Avenue in Portsmouth, is a decidedly eclectic mix of businesses ranging from Schultzy’s Snack Shack to the outpost of sustainable furniture designer Jeff Soderbergh. It’s where the annual Margaritas and Memories fundraising concert takes place each July; the site of singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett’s final performance. Known as Island Park, it’s also where Christina Campbell, operations and marketing coordinator for Island Park Hospitality Group, and her family “accidentally” ended up after falling hard for a house on Bluebill Cove (could that sound any more idyllic?). “We always drove over here for dinner,” says Campbell, who still marvels that all of these places are now within walking distance from her home. She easily rattles off “Flo’s Clam Shack, Graziano’s 501 Cafe, Schooner’s Bar and Beer Garden, Localz Kitchen and Cocktails, 15 Point Road…” acknowledging that she’s surely missed naming a few go-tos. “It’s a very warm, tight-knit community,” says Campbell. “We love boating, going for walks, and watching the sunset at Sunset Cove.

Some places in Portsmouth have changed names over the years, but Common Fence Point was the name used in 1638, and it is the name used today. It’s where Brenda Brock, founder of fine herbal skincare brand Farmaethetics and her husband Paul Barclay De Tollay, a fine furniture designer, have made their home for 28 years. The pair chose the area for its natural, protected environment, views of Mount Hope Bay (that include the famous Bristol fireworks display in July), and verdant marshlands. Brock, an avid gardener, especially appreciates the conserved shoreline and all the wildlife. “There are turtles, birds of all kinds, coyotes, you name it!” her subtle Texas drawl revealing itself. She also loves the serenity, given that the neighborhood is on a peninsula. “There’s one way in and one way out, so that keeps things on the quieter side and still quaint,” says Brock. “And I love that.”