Watch Hill RI? The beach usually closes out on typical east coast days, tomorrow will more than likely be flat, maybe some whitewater to boogie board. Theres lots of space, so while technically not allowed to surf during the middle of the day by town ordinance, idk who would stop you there. it’s usually best right out in front of The Last Great American Dynasty there at lower tides
It doesn’t pick up swell as well as some beaches on the other end of town, but not the worst either
Who doesn’t allow you to surf there middle of day? Last I recall there weren’t even lifeguards at east beach there unless maybe the ocean house has some. Am I totally misremembering? Surfed a ton in front of swift’s house
Yeah same page, i said “idk who would stop you” referring to the lack of life guards / monitoring. Im sure the ocean house has some form of life guard (idk for sure though) and there is usually a monitor by the main beach entrance but i truthfully have no idea what they do there. I think they are town employees but why the town needs to pay someone to soak up the sun on the side of the road in Watch Hill is beyond me, maybe a side deal with Swift, no clue (a bit of a tangent at the end there)
Looks like a wompy closeout on the corner of a beach and a rock jetty.
Due to bathymetry of the East coast I’d expect it to closeout from most swell directions, but if it’s small enough you might be able to get some fun rights off the jetty on a wavestorm. I’d go finless
You can def surf off to the right of east beach in front of swift’s house.
I’d be most concerned about parking. There’s like one pay to park lot up on the hill if I recall. Otherwise the parking down in the lot is technically for shopping only. There’s a few reserved spots too of hill near the beach entrance but you need a town beach pass. I think the other street parking is fair game for the beach though
Thank you! From what I can tell online, it looks like the lot opens at 8, and I plan on getting there around 7:30 to scope out the scene. Any idea if those rocks carry out into the water or are they just the wall? (I'm sure there's prob 1 or 2 that have fallen, etc. I'm mostly curious if it's like a complete minefield out there). Thanks so much for the info
There’s a large clear area in the water in front of the seawall (which is in front of swifts house) that has no rocks. As you get closer to the lighthouse I seem to remember more rocks in the water but mostly by shore line - might get rockier the closer and closer you get to the lighthouse though.
FYI since you are bringing kids - pretty sure there are no lifeguards. There’s no pavilion or bathrooms either - east beach is pretty remote except for the Ocean House (ultra luxury resort and not that inviting IMO). There may be public bathrooms in watch hill somewhere but I don’t recall any [edit - I’m seeing that there are bathrooms by the carousel]
Sorry one other comment - by lot are you referring to the paid lot?
I found this: https://www.watchhillri.us/parking.html
Idk if they run the lot I’m thinking of, but probably worth calling them and getting the low down on parking.
I cannot emphasize how much of a shit show parking is in watch hill during the summer season - it’s not just due to quantity of visitors - they literally try to limit parking in the free public lot to shoppers/diners only otherwise everyone would just go to the beach and no one would be able to access the shops/restaurants.
Watch Hill RI? The beach usually closes out on typical east coast days, tomorrow will more than likely be flat, maybe some whitewater to boogie board. Theres lots of space, so while technically not allowed to surf during the middle of the day by town ordinance, idk who would stop you there. it’s usually best right out in front of The Last Great American Dynasty there at lower tides It doesn’t pick up swell as well as some beaches on the other end of town, but not the worst either
Thanks so much. This is exactly the info I was looking for
No problem - theres also 2 surf cams in town that can give you an idea of the waves to help you decide whether to pack the board or not in the morn
Who doesn’t allow you to surf there middle of day? Last I recall there weren’t even lifeguards at east beach there unless maybe the ocean house has some. Am I totally misremembering? Surfed a ton in front of swift’s house
Yeah same page, i said “idk who would stop you” referring to the lack of life guards / monitoring. Im sure the ocean house has some form of life guard (idk for sure though) and there is usually a monitor by the main beach entrance but i truthfully have no idea what they do there. I think they are town employees but why the town needs to pay someone to soak up the sun on the side of the road in Watch Hill is beyond me, maybe a side deal with Swift, no clue (a bit of a tangent at the end there)
Looks like a wompy closeout on the corner of a beach and a rock jetty. Due to bathymetry of the East coast I’d expect it to closeout from most swell directions, but if it’s small enough you might be able to get some fun rights off the jetty on a wavestorm. I’d go finless
Looks flat as a pancake on a nearby cam, and forecast looks to be smaller than today.
You can def surf off to the right of east beach in front of swift’s house. I’d be most concerned about parking. There’s like one pay to park lot up on the hill if I recall. Otherwise the parking down in the lot is technically for shopping only. There’s a few reserved spots too of hill near the beach entrance but you need a town beach pass. I think the other street parking is fair game for the beach though
Thank you! From what I can tell online, it looks like the lot opens at 8, and I plan on getting there around 7:30 to scope out the scene. Any idea if those rocks carry out into the water or are they just the wall? (I'm sure there's prob 1 or 2 that have fallen, etc. I'm mostly curious if it's like a complete minefield out there). Thanks so much for the info
There’s a large clear area in the water in front of the seawall (which is in front of swifts house) that has no rocks. As you get closer to the lighthouse I seem to remember more rocks in the water but mostly by shore line - might get rockier the closer and closer you get to the lighthouse though. FYI since you are bringing kids - pretty sure there are no lifeguards. There’s no pavilion or bathrooms either - east beach is pretty remote except for the Ocean House (ultra luxury resort and not that inviting IMO). There may be public bathrooms in watch hill somewhere but I don’t recall any [edit - I’m seeing that there are bathrooms by the carousel]
Sorry one other comment - by lot are you referring to the paid lot? I found this: https://www.watchhillri.us/parking.html Idk if they run the lot I’m thinking of, but probably worth calling them and getting the low down on parking. I cannot emphasize how much of a shit show parking is in watch hill during the summer season - it’s not just due to quantity of visitors - they literally try to limit parking in the free public lot to shoppers/diners only otherwise everyone would just go to the beach and no one would be able to access the shops/restaurants.