The village of Quonochontaug, known locally as Quonnie, is a quiet residential neighborhood that enjoys an idyllic location on the shores of Block Island Sound. It sits between Ninigret and Quonochontaug ponds in Charlestown and is far enough from the highway that disruptions are incredibly rare when vacationing there.
Quonnie is an excellent place to book a vacation rental if you want to live like a local for a week or two. The community doesn’t have any restaurants or shops, so you can escape the bustle of other South County neighborhoods while enjoying your peaceful holiday.
Here’s some information on Quonnie, one of Rhode Island’s best-kept secrets and a wonderful place to spend some time while vacationing in South County.
Some History
Quonochontaug has a lengthy history, as it acted as a summer home for members of the Niantic Tribe for thousands of years before European settlement. That all ended in 1659 when the sachem Ninigret gave Thomas Stanton a large section of land in exchange for the safe return of a kidnapped Niantic princess.
Other families moved into the area through the rest of the 1600s, setting up farms and prospering off the land. The 1700s saw these family farms subdivided to make way for new generations, growing Quonnie’s population in the process.
By the late 1800s, the area was full of resorts and boarding houses, as it had become a vacation destination for mill workers and other locals looking for a place to relax away from the summer’s heat.
In 1881, Thomas Edison formed a mining operation where iron would be removed from the sand using magnets. However, harvesting this iron was too expensive, causing the entire company to shut down.
Quonochontaug remained a popular resort town until 1938, when a hurricane destroyed many buildings. However, this initiated a resurgence in residential construction, which created the Quonnie we have today.
The Three Neighborhoods
Quonnie is a small community with only a few hundred residents, but it’s broken into three neighborhoods that each provide a different experience.
West Beach is the part of the community that sits along West Beach Road and includes the shores of Quonochontaug Pond. This neighborhood is a popular spot with boaters because it’s home to the Quonnie Boat Ramp, which provides easy access to the water. There’s a channel beside the launch that empties into Block Island Sound, and the area has trailer parking, as well.
The oceanfront beaches in West Beach are rustic, and they don’t have any parking or amenities. However, they’re easily walkable if you book a vacation rental in the area, providing you with a nearly private beach throughout your time in South County.
Central Beach sits right in the middle of the village between West Pond and Garden Pond. There’s a beach in this area, too, but the parking lots are private, so you’ll have to walk from your vacation rental to visit. Once you arrive, though, you’ll have plenty of space to spread out and enjoy the sights.
The East Beach neighborhood is on Ninigret Pond and perhaps the village’s best-known location because it’s home to Blue Shutters Beach, the only beach in the community with lifeguards and washrooms.
This beach is public, but its limited parking availability means it rarely gets overrun with visitors. If you choose to drive to the beach, you should know that non-resident parking passes are $20 per day on weekdays, $30 per day on weekends, and $100 for the entire season.
You can also head further down the road past Blue Shutters Beach to a sandy area called East Beach. This seaside area is a scenic spot that provides a secluded environment and tons of space. It’s also a state park.
East Beach is part of the Ninigret Conservation Area, and parking is extremely limited for such a large beach. You can grab a non-resident seasonal pass for $60 or pay $12 on weekdays and $14 on weekends and holidays. East Beach is massive, so it’s usually possible to find a private stretch of sand when visiting.
Exploring the Rest of South County
Quonnie enjoys a central location, a ten-minute drive from downtown Charlestown and four minutes from Post Road. You can also get to Weekapaug in ten minutes, Misquamicut State Beach in 15 minutes, Watch Hill in 20 minutes, Wakefield-Peacedale in 23 minutes, and Narragansett in 27 minutes.
In short, Quonnie is close enough to every part of South County that you’re never stuck in the community, so you can head out for dinner, drinks, and events before returning to the serenity of this residential community at night.
One visit to Quonnie, and you’ll see why it’s such a popular vacation destination for those who spend their holidays in Rhode Island each and every year.