Island Life
Block Island facts: size, population, and what people get wrong
How big is Block Island? Who lives here year-round? The reference page: geography, history, and the numbers behind the island.
Island Life: the stories between the beach days
Every travel site can tell you where to swim. This section is about the island itself — the one with about a thousand year-round residents, a 350-year-old town charter, stone walls nobody remembers building, and a deer population with strong opinions about your garden.
It's also where we answer the questions people actually type at midnight: are there great whites out there (short answer: it's the Atlantic — but the honest answer is more interesting), when should you really come (September, and we'll die on that hill), and how the island compares to the other New England escapes fighting for your one free weekend.
The features
Great white sharks
What’s actually in the water — and what isn’t. The honest explainer.
The history
Manisses, shipwrecks, the Great Gale, and how the island stayed itself.
Where is Block Island?
13 miles off Rhode Island, and farther from everything else than it looks.
Best time to visit
The September argument, made with a straight face.
September on the island
Warm water, no lines. The locals’ favorite month, explained.
October on the island
The island winds down beautifully. Here’s what’s still open.
vs. Nantucket
Different islands for different people. Which one is yours?
vs. Montauk
Scene versus stillness — pick your weekend.
Facts & figures
Size, population, geography — the reference page.
On a budget
The island isn’t cheap. It can still be affordable.
Packing list
Layers. The answer is layers. The details are inside.
Shopping
Water Street’s shops, from practical to purely souvenir.
Latest from Island Life
Island Life
The best time to visit Block Island (it's September)
The month-by-month case for when to visit Block Island — peak-summer trade-offs, the September argument, and the months to skip unless you love solitude.
Island Life
Great white sharks and Block Island: the honest answer
Yes, white sharks pass through Block Island waters — it's the Atlantic. What's actually been recorded, what the risk really is, and how to swim smart.
Island Life
Block Island on a budget: the island without the resort bill
Block Island isn't cheap, but a great day here can be. The budget playbook: free beaches, cheap eats, and where the money actually matters.
Island Life
What to pack for Block Island: the list that survives the ferry
The Block Island packing list built on one rule: layers. What actually earns a spot in the bag for beach days, bike days, and fog.
Island Life
Block Island in September: the locals' month
September is when Block Island belongs to the people who love it: summer-warm water, no lines, and rooms you can actually book. Here's how to do it.
Good questions
- How many people live on Block Island year-round?
- Around a thousand people stay through the winter, on an island that hosts many times that on a single August Saturday. That ratio explains most of what makes the place feel the way it does.
- Is Block Island the same as New Shoreham?
- Yes — New Shoreham is the town’s legal name, and it is the smallest town in the smallest state. Everyone says Block Island in conversation; the paperwork says New Shoreham.