What goes on in the winter on Block Island?

A common question among visitors to Block Island is “what do you do in the winter?”.  Although there are very few tourists in the winter months the nine hundred or so year round residents manage to keep active and enjoy the quiet time. 

We make time to catch up with friends for dinner parties, take an occasional shopping day on the “mainland” and enjoy our beautiful surroundings. 

Shops open up for our Holiday Stroll on the weekend following Thanksgiving with insane bargains. Many visitors from mainland Rhode Island hop on the ferry for this event to find some really unique gifts at rock bottom prices!

Most winters we are fortunate to have enough cold weather to allow for lots of ice skating. The island has 365 fresh water ponds (one for each day of the year). When they freeze over we sharpen up our skates and take advantage of the chilly temperatures. 

Another sport that some of the locals enjoy is ice boating. On a cold and windy day if you head to the North point you might see a fleet of ice boats racing across Sachem Pond.

We typically get a little less snow than mainland Rhode Island much to the dismay of the children hoping for a day off from school. When it does snow the front yard of the Spring House Hotel is a popular spot for sledding. Snow also brings out a cross country skier or two. 

By the time spring starts to roll around it’s always exciting to see some unfamiliar faces again. Block Island depends greatly on it’s seasonal visitors and we enjoy welcoming our guests back each year to share this very special place.