Block Island Sound is loud from a packed-stone lot on the south shore, and inland Watchaug Pond has pines around a freshwater loop. Narragansett, Charlestown, and Westerly are the towns that hold that coast.
The south shore is barrier beach, sand on the Sound and campgrounds just behind it. The van stays put while you rotate beach days. From Point Judith you can add the island day without moving camp.
Park the week at Fishermen's Memorial State Park in Narragansett, about a mile from the Block Island Ferry dock at Point Judith. RI State Parks calls it extremely popular and tells you to reserve early, as of September 2026. Water and electric are in some loops only, so lock that overnight before you book the van.
The pad you reserve decides the vehicle. A water-and-electric loop is a different rental from a tent site, and a day lot at the beach is not an overnight.
Burlingame State Campground is the inland night on Watchaug Pond in Charlestown. Utilities are not available, and Main Camp is tent-camping only. The freshwater beach on the pond is the quiet day off the Sound.
Westerly holds the west end of the week. RI State Parks names Misquamicut State Beach Rhode Island's most popular state beach, day-use only, with no RV or tent camping on the sand. Watch Hill is the other beach day in the same town.
Charlestown Breachway is the cut through the barrier, a day beach with a campground you walk to. The beach itself is day-use. The campground takes fully self-contained units only, with manufacturer-installed holding tanks.
East Beach, still in Charlestown, is the sand-trail night on the same shore. RI State Parks requires a fully self-contained, four-wheel-drive unit and prohibits travel trailers and fifth wheels. A two-wheel-drive van can use the Breachway.
If you need more sleeping space than a van, look at RV rentals in Rhode Island.
Beavertail State Park on Jamestown is the rocky-point day, a lighthouse on the rocks and overlooks into Narragansett Bay. There is no camping, only day parking.
Block Island from Point Judith
From Point Judith you watch the vehicle deck load, then Old Harbor comes into view from the rail. Most renters leave the van at Point Judith and ride over on foot. You take the boat back the same day and sleep on the mainland.
If you take the van, Interstate Navigation charges a higher fare for it, and vehicle reservations are by phone only, as of September 2026.
Block Island has no campground. The island's own lodging list is hotels, inns, and B&Bs.
Newport and Aquidneck Island start from Providence. West along the sound, New Haven is the Connecticut handoff. North of the bay, Boston is the Massachusetts one.