Block Island Struts Its Bluffs

Just 12 miles off Rhode Island but a world apart, Block Island is a walker’s paradise: dramatic bluffs, rolling grassland, dunes, ocean and views of the mainland. A trail network called the Greenway leads to and from a number of preserves in the island’s interior while numerous coastal trails visit Block Island’s bluffs and beaches.

Long ago the native Narragansett called it “Island of the Little God”; today, the Nature Conservancy describes the island as “one of the last great places in the Western Hemisphere.”

The island is the habitat of several rare species of plants and animals, whose survival is aided by its diverse habitats and lack of predators. It is one of the best places in New England to observe migratory birds. Thanks to the efforts of the Nature Conservancy, as well as mainland and island conservationists, more than 20% of the 11-square-mile island is preserved.

The only year-round ferry to Block Island departs the mainland from Point Judith, R.I. On a clear day, it’s a memorable voyage, particularly when the ferry approaches the island. Passengers see the bold cliffs of Clay Head, and Old Harbor, a quintessential New England town with its white clapboard buildings.

The best way to get around the island is by bicycle. Block Island’s hills are high enough to get a cyclist’s heart pumping but sufficiently modest to allow the casual rider to enjoy the scenery.

Cycle across the island to its northernmost tip and explore Block Island National Wildlife Refuge. Take a walk along the low dunes of Sandy Point, then visit historic North Light, an 1867 lighthouse converted into a maritime museum.

Mohegan Bluffs and Rodman’s Hollow: The walk to Mohegan Bluffs and Rodman’s Hollow is an excellent tour of southern Block Island. You can bicycle to the trail heads and take short hikes or take a longer walk along the island’s picturesque roads and lanes.

In the opinion of many visitors, the 200-foot-high Mohegan Bluffs are the most magnificent of Block Island’s coastal cliffs. Saunter east down Water Street to Ballard’s Beach, then a short half a mile along the shore to Pebbly Beach. From the beach, walk Southeast Light Road a mile to the entry of Mohegan Bluffs near the historic Southeast Lighthouse.

Constructed in 1875, the solid brick tower directed its light about 20 miles out to sea. But the clay bluffs, subject to relentless pounding by the surf, have been eroding 5 feet a year, geologists estimate. To save the erosion-threatened lighthouse, engineers moved it 245 feet back from the bluff’s edge in 1994.

From the bluffs, continue along the coast road (Mohegan Trail) to Black Rock Road and turn left, skirting the edge of Rodman’s Hollow. The Jeep road offers access to narrow, and sometimes confusing, footpaths that descend into the hollow, a deep, glacier-sculpted valley tucked into the rolling hills. Rodman’s Hollow is not the usual water-filled island lowland because the hollow floor is porous sand, not the impermeable clay of so many of the island’s pond bottoms.

The hollow is a 1960s conservation success story. When developers wanted to build homes in the hollow, islanders created the Block Island Conservancy to pay for, then preserve, the lovely valley.

To complete your circuit, continue north to Cooneymus Road, head east to Center Road, which you’ll follow past Town Hall back to the waterfront.

Clay Head: Clay Head Trail (3 miles round-trip) leads to a trio of attractions--beach, bluffs and birds at Clay Head, located along the island’s northeastern side. The aptly named promontory is composed of sand and multihued clay.

The 2-mile-long, honeycombed cliff is a dramatic landform when viewed from the bow of the approaching Block Island ferry; Clay Head is even more magnificent when viewed from the beach.

Clay Head offers some of the best bird-watching opportunities in southern New England, particularly during the autumn migration. Expert birders say as many as 100 species can be identified during peak periods. A look through the field glasses reveals flocks of ducks and geese, the occasional peregrine falcon, vireos, warblers, kinglets and countless more.

Perhaps the birds making the best use of Clay Head are bank swallows, which dig nests into the clay cliffs. Barn owls are known to nest high on the cliffs as well.

In many ways, Clay Head is a microcosm of Block Island geology. Deposits left behind by retreating glaciers contained a great deal of heavy clay. This dense clay forms the awesome cliffs on the island’s southern and eastern shore.

Travel to the beginning of Clay Head Trail by heading 3 1/2 miles north from New Shoreham Center on Corn Neck Road. Turn right on Clay Head Trail, a dirt road, and continue a short half a mile to a small parking area and the signed trail.

Clay Head Trail skirts a salt marsh, making its way over a sometimes soggy trail and a short length of boardwalk to the beach. A path continues to the top of the bluffs. Clay Head Trail wanders the bluff top for 1 1/2 miles. The ambitious walker can continue all the way to Settler’s Rock on the island’s north shore. There’s no shortage of optional return routes across the bluffs.

Access to Block Island: Take the ferry (for a schedule, call [401] 783-4613) from Point Judith at Galilee, R.I.; the fishing village’s parking lot serves as the departure point for Block Island-bound visitors. Until June there are four departures daily. During the summer, the ferry makes eight round-trips daily.

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Mohegan Bluffs, Rodman’s Hollow Trails

WHERE: Block Island.

DISTANCE: From Old Harbor to Mohegan Bluffs is 4 miles round trip; return via Rodman’s Hollow is an 8-mile loop.

TERRAIN: Dramatic cliffs, ponds and dunes.

HIGHLIGHTS: One of New England’s natural wonders.

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: Moderate

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Rhode Island Tourism Division; tel. (800) 555-2484; Block Island Chamber of Commerce; tel. (800) 3832474; The Nature Conservancy; tel. (401) 466-2129.