If I had to pick one favorite spot in Rhode Island, it would be Lloyd’s Beach in Little Compton. Growing up as a wanna-be marine biologist, this is where I would come to feel connected to the ocean. It was here that I first saw harbor seals in the wild (in winter, they haul out on the rocks offshore and you can see them with binoculars). Looking out from the easternmost tip of the beach, all you can see is the vast Atlantic Ocean in front of you, as you gaze out towards Portugal.
The landscape surrounding this beach (like most of Little Compton) is beautifully preserved, and the protected open spaces are interrupted only by New England style homes and cottages. In the summer,* the beach and surrounding scenery are pure heaven, and in the other seasons it’s wild and wavy and exhilarating. I once came here at midnight with a high school boyfriend to watch a meteor shower. It was so freezing that we barely lasted 10 minutes. But I’ll never forget how the wind howled so fiercely it almost sounded like sirens were calling from the beach. 
There are a few islands offshore, and you can see building ruins from the beach. I’d heard there used to be a restaurant out there that was destroyed by a hurricane, but couldn’t find much more info online. The Little Compton Historical Society has scanned a few vintage postcards of the area.
*Lloyd’s beach is privately owned is accessible only to Little Compton residents and their guests. This is strictly enforced during the summer months. . .
Just try to access that beach. The selfish, greedy, I’ve got mine, people who hire a guard, will give even a local resident a hard time accessing the beach. Not that they even enjoy it themselves. They’re too busy indoors counting money.
Hi Ann, I know I hate the idea of private beaches too! But I thought it was open to local residents?
Yes local residents….which pretty much prohibits access to anyone who isn’t…white…or a peckham lmao. As of the last census the town was 98.75% white….lloyd’s beach being private violates our state’s constitution, article 1, section 17. You guys can be very removed in your ways of thinking. The Wilbur & McMahon school doesn’t seem to do the best job at educating these people on the virtues of sharing.
I am currently exploring whether lloyd’s beach preventing access to sakonnet point is in violation of our state’s constitution. Why do these racist beach witches feel entitled to land their ancestors stole all of 2-3 hundred years ago. This is one of the most outstanding examples of de-facto segregation in the entire state. I have been really exploring the town’s zoning laws, as well as the new ethics commissions policies (WHICH BTW ALMOST ALL OF YOU SELFISH MF’s VOTED AGAINST IN 2016), and numerous stories of residents violating public access rights. Placing beach rocks on parking spaces… the nerve. YOU GUYS THINK YOU OWN THE SAND BETWEEN YOUR FINGERS HUH?
Get it AJ AJ! My friends and I want answers as well!
My childhood was filled with adventures as I grew up in Little Compton. My grandfather and great grandfather were the last lighthouse attendents before it was closed. I attended Wilbur School and I spent a lot of my time exploring and fishing the beaches, including Lloyd’s Beach, Goosewing, and South Shore; I spent summers as a lifeguard at Briggs Beach. The last time I tried to visit Lloyd’s Beach I was turned away due to my out of state license plate. I find it very disappointing that I cannot get to the beaches at Lloyd’s and the beach behind Round Pond where I played as a child.
When I was young, we would go to Sakonnet Point when we went to the beach. I can still close my eyes and drink in the exhilaration I would feel the moment my feet hit the sand. There is no place like it on earth. My dad was a radio celerity of sorts and struck up a friendship with the owner of one of the homes just a house or two from the guarded gate. This man was kind enough to offer to us his permission to use the beach which at the time was owned by the local beer king. We were able to use this connection to access the beach. My sister was still in her stroller and the sea wall gave us a paved path at least half way down the beach. We would climb the dune to the bathhouse and watch the tide engulf the rocky trail to it. At low tide one could walk out to the lighthouse but there was always the fear of the tide coming in; we never actually made it to the lighthouse. Yes, it is privately owned and I congratulate the owners for having a piece of heaven; and yes, it would be nice to walk that beach again even though I have lived in Iowa for the past 45 years. My hope would be that those of us who have memories there would be granted special permission to do just that. A renewed friendship may take me back to RI and the first place I want to visit is my beloved Point.
Thank you for sharing Susan! It is truly a special place!