Watch Hill is a small coastal town folded into the farthest southwest corner of the state, accessible only by two-lane highways and a series of labyrinthine residential roads. In the summer it plays host to thousands of beach-seeking tourists who flock from the nearby, less scenic towns and villages. In the fall and winter, with tourists gone, the town is stark and beautiful - its old manses, the looming yellow Ocean House hotel, the yacht club, the Coast Guard station and the vast beach all make the trip worthwhile.
Watch Hill is where a mile-long sand spit, Napatree Point, connects to mainland. The beach is the central attraction for summer visitors. For those interested enough to walk the mile to the end, remnants of Fort Mansfield still remain from their construction in 1898. The beach faces due south, and from it you can see Block Island, Fishers Island, Connecticut and the reef that guards the mouth of Fishers Island Sound.
St. Claire's Annex, between the beach and the main road, is a seasonal restaurant that features the standard beach fare: hamburgers and hot dogs, soft-serve ice cream and, less standard, some of Rhode Island's best clam chowder. The building also shelters one of Watch Hill's greatest attractions - a seasonal, functioning carousel with wooden horses that was built in 1888. The carousel and its horses survived the hurricane of 1938 (unlike the row of homes swept off Napatree and into the water), and has been operated continuously since then.
When I was younger, Watch Hill was a mysterious escape; I was never quite sure how to get there, and the return trip was always made under cover of darkness. Still, few people from out of state or in know about it - it's a strange, isolated, beautiful secret.
