At the bottom of Narragansett, the South County shore bends around Point Judith and the Block Island boats run out of Galilee. Fishermen's Memorial State Campground holds the middle of that corner, with the surf a short drive one way and the harbor the other. Families who come down from Providence for a beach week set the motorhome up on the first afternoon and don't move it again until they head home.
With the rig parked, the days settle into a pattern. Mornings go to the beach and lunch comes out of the fridge between swims. By late afternoon the towels are drying over the chairs under the awning, and on a sticky July evening the air conditioning is already running while the kids argue over who gets the bunk over the cab.
Salty Brine, Scarborough and days out from Galilee
Salty Brine is the beach by the harbor in Galilee, and Scarborough is the bigger stretch of sand a little farther up the shore. Splitting the week between them works well, with an evening or two walking the Galilee docks and out toward the Point Judith light.
Block Island is the day people talk about on the drive home. The ferry dock is about a mile from the campground, so the motorhome stays hooked up at the site while everyone crosses on foot to the island's bluffs and bike roads, and the Rhode Island RV page lays out the island day. Newport is the other day out, the Cliff Walk and the Gilded Age mansions on Aquidneck Island across the bay, and you're back at the same site by dinner.
Getting a site at Fishermen's Memorial
Lock in the campground before anything else. The state's description of Fishermen's Memorial tells campers to reserve early, the Rhode Island State Parks booking page takes reservations up to 12 months out, and the peak stretch runs from the Thursday before Memorial Day through Labor Day. The site you land decides which motorhome works, so the rig is the second booking.
For a motorhome, the sites to aim for are in areas 1 and 2, the two with electric, water and sewer. Area 1 is RV-only, and area 3 is tents and canvas pop-ups only, so leave it off the list. The booking page labels pull-through sites up to 50 feet, and it's the place to match a specific site to your rig's length before you commit to either. For a party of two, or when nothing left on the site list fits a full-size motorhome, a smaller rig is the easier booking, and the Providence campervan page builds that trip around Newport's Cliff Walk.
The state season runs from spring into late October. September and early October are the quiet weeks at Fishermen's Memorial, and the easiest time to get one of the hookup sites without planning a year ahead.