We had such a fun trip to Block Island, Rhode Island! This was our first trip as a family of four 🙂 Chloe is now 2 and a half years old, and Liam is 6 months old.
Ferry Ride:
When we deciding where to go on vacation, we knew that we didn’t want to fly with 2 young children. We liked that Block Island would be around 2 hours of driving plus a boat ride so it seemed manageable. We drove to Narragansett and took the traditional ferry from Point Judith to Block Island. It’s a 55 minute boat ride, and Chloe loved it! You can bring your car on the ferry but you really don’t need a car on the island since it’s walkable and relatively small so we left our car in Narragansett. You can also take the hi-speed ferry from Point Judith or New London if you want a quicker ride.
Eateries in Block Island We Ate At:
Brunch at Persephone’s Kitchen:
Persephone’s Kitchen has lots of gluten-free options including GF bread, granola, and baked goods. It’s a cute cafe with outdoor seating. It was across the street from our hotel, and I would go back here. Get the brownie! We shared the following:
- Splendid egg sandwich with egg, Vermont cheddar, avocado, arugula, tomato & bacon (request GF bread),
- Almond butter & strawberry toast (request GF bread)
- Yogurt bowl with granola, fruit, honey (request GF granola)
- Smoothie bowls: golden smoothie (coconut milk, mango, pineapple, banana) topped with granola, chia, hemp, fresh fruit, and nuts
- Greek chop salad
- GF banana bread
- GF brownie
- GF strawberry muffin
Dinner at The Oar:
The Oar has outdoor seating with a view of the water. It’s great for kids because the outdoor seating is picnic tables on a large lawn so Chloe could get up and run around. I had the house salad with grilled Mahi-Mahi. They also have lots of sushi. If I went back, I would get the sushi. They offer GF soy sauce. No GF bread here so your best bet is to get sushi or protein grilled.
Dinner at Rebecca’s Seafood:
Rebecca’s Seafood is good for a quick bite, and they have good prices for salads and lobster rolls. Whenever I see a lobster roll on the menu and know that they don’t have GF bread, I ask if I can have the lobster roll without bread and on top of lettuce or wrapped in lettuce. I got my lobster fix here! We had some hummus with carrots & celery too.
Drinks & Apps at Spring House Hotel:
Spring House Hotel is great for drinks and apps. Kids can run around here too. There’s live music in the evening. It’s the perfect place to relax and listen to music on the lawn overlooking the ocean. Amazing view, and they have matching Adirondack chairs for kids too! Chloe loved it.
Dessert:
We had Moose Tracks ice cream from The Ice Cream Place a couple times. It was delicious! Chloe enjoyed it too 🙂 Brendan also picked up fudge on our way off the island from another place.
Running and Sightseeing:
Brendan and I did two runs in Block Island. It’s a bit hilly but very beautiful. The first morning, we ran on Corn Neck Road to the North Lighthouse, past the Sacred Labyrinth and Settlers Rock.
The second morning, we ran past the South East Lighthouse and continued in that direction. I did the Mohegan Bluffs stairs on my way back into town. Mohegan Bluffs is 200 feet tall, and it’s 141 steps down to the sand. It’s an amazing view.
If you don’t have a car and/or don’t feel like bringing your kids to some of these spots, running or biking is a great way to check them out! We take turns working out on weekends and vacations which works really well. One of us will run first and then the other watches both kids, and then we switch, and then spend the rest of the day all together.
Animal Farm at 1661 Inn:
On our last morning, Brendan took Chloe and Liam to the Animal Farm at 1661 Inn while I ran. Chloe loved it! They saw a llama, alpaca, donkey, camel, pig, tortoise, lemur, duck, chicken, and horse. It’s free too 🙂
Where We Stayed:
We stayed at Block Island Beach House at Lark Hotels. The interior is renovated, clean, and nice. We booked the Gables king suite which has two rooms but it was still very tight quarters. Be aware that most hotels in Block Island have small rooms! We requested two pack-n-plays so once those were in the room, there was just enough room to walk through the room. The hotel pool was great – Chloe loves to swim! This hotel has the only beachfront hotel rooms on the island. It was a convenient location – in town and close to everything including Block Island Grocery. We bought apples, bananas, crackers, chocolate, etc from here to snack on during our stay.
Ballards Beach:
We also took a dip at Ballards Beach. You can rent cabanas and lounge chairs here, and they have a restaurant and live music too.
Now that we’ve conquered our first trip as a family of four, where should we go next?! Let us know!
