Walk this way: Guide to shoreline access in the works 

Is that dirt path to the shore a public access point or is it someone’s yard? Where in Warwick can I bring my kayak? Can I take my kids quahogging in Barrington? What about beaches …?

We’re working on it. 

In 1993, Rhode Island Sea Grant published the first Public Access to the Rhode Island Coast guide. This popular guide catalogued selected sites that offered public access to the shore, indicating the best uses for each site and the facilities—such as handicapped access, bathrooms, and parking—that each site offered. A lot has changed in 10 years, and Sea Grant is in the process of updating the guide with funding from the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), which is responsible for "discovering," or verifying, and marking rights-of-way to the coast. The guide includes not only these officially designated rights-of-way, but also parks, public beaches, wildlife refuges, historical sites, boat ramps, and the like to let people know where in the state they can cast a line, take a dip, launch a boat, or just get a good look at Rhode Island’s coastal beauty.

"Public access to the shore has remained an area of concern to the CRMC ever since it was given that responsibility in 1978," says Grover Fugate, CRMC executive director. "We see it growing in importance as coastal development continues at its rapid pace. The access guide is one of the more popular and visible aspects of this work and important to us, to keep this issue in the forefront of our coastal management endeavors."

A Sea Grant–sponsored URI Coastal Fellows recipient spent the summer of 2002 on the road, toting a camera, map, and the original guide—along with a global positioning system—to reevaluate the sites listed and to add new sites for the upcoming edition of the guide. Sea Grant is now sending those descriptions to each municipality, private organization, and state entity listed in the guide for further verification.

When completed, the guide will include descriptions of sites from Westerly to Pawtucket along with maps to help readers discover some of the hidden and not-so-hidden treasures that dot Rhode Island’s shoreline. Brief articles will also feature topics such as coastal birding in Rhode Island and the revitalization of the Providence waterfront.

Due to the extensive nature of the work involved, no date for publication of this guide has been set yet. Availability of the guide will be announced in a future edition of 41ºN, and the guide will be available for purchase from Rhode Island Sea Grant. If you would like to be notified when the guide is available, please send your e-mail address to tkennedy@gso.uri.edu, with "Access guide update request" in the title of your message. 

—Monica Allard Cox

Related links:

A Daytripper's Guide to Rhode Island

CRMC 

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