The literal answer: Block Island sits about 13 miles off the southern coast of Rhode Island, in the open Atlantic south of Narragansett and roughly northeast of Montauk Point. It is part of Rhode Island — the whole island is the town of New Shoreham, the smallest town in the smallest state — and it is reachable only by boat or small plane.
The truer answer: it’s farther away than the mileage says. Thirteen miles of open water with no bridge does something a hundred highway miles can’t — it filters the traffic, the chains, and the hurry. You cross the Sound, and the mainland’s volume knob turns itself down.
Orienting yourself
Picture the New England coast: Connecticut, then Rhode Island, then the arm of Cape Cod. Block Island floats alone in the gap of ocean between Long Island’s tip and the Rhode Island shore — Block Island Sound to its north, the open Atlantic to its south. On a clear day from the bluffs, you can see Montauk; from the North Light, the mainland’s water towers.
The island itself is small and legible: about seven miles long, three across, shaped like a pork chop with the Great Salt Pond biting into its west side. The map page makes you an expert in five minutes.
Named by a Dutchman, kept by itself
Adriaen Block charted the island in 1614 and named it for himself; the Manisseans who’d lived here for centuries had already named it Manisses — “Island of the Little God.” The history page carries that story forward.
Getting here, briefly
Four ferry ports serve the island — Point Judith year-round, Newport, New London, and Montauk in season — plus the 12-minute flight from Westerly. The complete ferry guide picks the right route for where you’re starting; the honest advice is that most first-timers should just sail from Point Judith and leave the car in Galilee.