Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Block Island, RI

If you have a self-contained RV (no pop-up/canvas; permanent toilets/water tanks), like the beach, fishing, boating, and/or windsurfing, this may just be the park for you. It is nothing more than a parking lot with no hookups and only composting toilets available, but you get access to Block Island Sound and all that it offers. Sites 58-75 are waterfront. For Rhode Island residents, the price can't be beat, and it's fair for out-of-staters, too, because of the location

No animals permitted. Generators only 8a-8p. Clam shack, marina, deli, and ice cream place nearby, but I doubt you'll want to fight the traffic on a summer day.

Fisherman’s Memorial State Park is a large 182 site campground in Narragansett, Rhode Island.

I booked this campsite by happenstance- ordinarily I’m very particular about where we park because we really like our privacy (our dog doesn’t like other dogs which can make camping difficult).

We wanted to visit Newport on our trip and Fisherman’s Memorial State Park was the closest (affordable) park to the island, so we opted to stay there- I lucked into grabbing somebody else’s cancellation. I had absolutely no idea what our site would look like and wasn’t expecting much.

We were very pleasantly surprised to find that we had ended up with one of the best sites in the park! Site 175- it is too small for a big rig, but fit our 20ft converted Sprinter van perfectly. We had tall, thick bushes on both sides of the van and could only see our neighbor across the way- and even then, when we covered our windows, it seemed like we were completely alone!

This park, and site, is close to the main road so there was a significant amount of road noise, but we thought given the price and the proximity to visiting Newport and Block Island, this one deserved four stars.

The bathrooms and showers were also clean, though we really didn’t use them as our site was quite far from them.

Definitely would visit this one again.

Worth mentioning: the park is staffed late, sometimes 24 hours a day, and they want you to check in when you get there, even if it’s after midnight. We didn’t know this and didn’t check in until the next morning, which the park employees were not happy about- they cited liability reasons.

The campground is close to relatively easy hiking trails and Portsmouth Dog Park. Clean site areas, but many are on a slight slop so leveling blocks are needed. We Took one of the nearby Trails get to the Portsmouth Publick House restaurant, which is dog friendly, for lunch. The waterfall along the blue trail is picture worthy.

I've never camped in Rhode Island, so I was curious to see what a state park campground had to offer. Rates are reasonable for state residents, but quite high if you are out-of-state, given the amenities. There are no hookups, but dump stations are available. Bathrooms have flush toilets and coin-operated showers. There's a small beach at the pond, a boat ramp, and proximity to wildlife refuges and the ocean. It's a HUGE campground, with 700 sites and 20 cabins. Canoes are available to rent.

There's a nice playground, a camp store, and a naturalists cabin. Trails are available for hiking and biking. The beach is sandy and there's a small parking lot there, but I suspect most people walk to it. No alcohol allowed. 

I didn't see more than a handful of level sites, with varying degrees of slope, but many are quite large. If you have an RV, plan to level; if you have a tent, be sure to bring good mattresses to protect you from the roots and rocks and orient your head to the uphill side. Most of the sites have some degree of visual separation from their neighbors, but there are places where it's hard to tell where one site ends and the next one starts. Site have fire rings and picnic tables, but if you plan to cook over the fire, bring your own grate or plan to use sticks and/or aluminum foil. 

If you don't have a tent, consider reserving one of their rustic cabins. These offer two sets of bunks (no mattresses) and a small porch with a picnic table and fire ring outside. Some are located along the pond.

3-4 bar cell phone coverage. No road traffic. East Beach is nearby, but parking fills early.

About a little over a mile walk to Narragansett, an adorable beach community with lots of shops and places to eat as well as close to the ferry to Block Island. The campground itself is broken into section depending on water/electric/sewer. My campsite was located in the water only loop and although didn't have to much privacy, there weren't too many other campers present. On a crowded summer weekend, don't come here for a quiet, private weekend. The park is dog friendly but don't forget your rabies certificates much like other east coast campgrounds.

Great campsite! Nice and clean sites, great location for Block Island Ferry, strong Verizon coverage.

great campsite. Clean and quiet. Bathrooms were super clean. Friendly park rangers. Love the closeness to the ferry to block island, shops & restaurants.

I read the reviews and was excited to be in a state park near the water for such a reasonable price. Imagine my surprise when we found out that a water/electric site for an out of state camper was $45 per night! This was our first visit to a Rhode Island State Park so not sure if they are all like this but this one definitely caters to Rhode Island residents who camp in large RVs! The sites with the best views are the full hookups (water/electric/sewer) and the rates for out of state campers are significantly more than for residents. I’m used to paying $5 or even $10 more for being from out of state but here the fee is double or more for out-of-state campers. Geez– way to make us feel welcome! 

There are four areas, and each has advantages and disadvantages. Area One has the best views and full hookups but there is no bathhouse; Area Two also has full hookups, no view and some of the sites (55-65) are decidedly not level; Area Three is for tents only with no hookups but is close to the bathhouse; Area Four has water and electric hookups, the pads are not paved (as in the others) but most of the sites have more separation than in the other sections. See the photo below to understand the different areas. 

No matter where you camp, there are noise issues. Road noise continued throughout the night and there is a wind turbine on the property. I’ve never been this close to one and yes, there is noise, although the road noise bothered me more. Alcohol is prohibited throughout the campground. There are pay showers available. There are the remains of two bunkers but other than walking by them, you cannot go inside. One (in Area One) is a grassy knoll with stairs to a lookout. 

On the plus side: The bathrooms were clean, there is excellent cell service, Judith Point lighthouse is nearby, it is close to the ferry to Block Island, and there are numerous recreation options available (playground, tennis courts, volleyball net, and basketball courts). Also, the grouchy staffer I read about in reviews was not there the night we arrived and, in fact, the two staffers were very friendly and even recommended a good restaurant in the nearby town.

Needed a place to stay for 2 nights , My wife and I were going to show at the Garde Theater. Which was walking distance from the boat yard.

Had a bite to eat at the Blue Duck, it was fine. Saw the show and walk back to the boat yard.

The next day we took the ferry to Block Island which was also walking distance from the boat yard. Block Island a must see. Took the 5 pm ferry back. 

Had dinner at a Thai restaurant which was 5 minutes walking and it was great.

Sunday we went and visited Fort Trumbull which is also walking distance away. Very nice place to visit and learn.

Also took a tour of the Coast Guard Ship at Fort Trumbull.

Head home around 12 pm stopped a Logee's Greenhouse on the way home.

All and All it was a great get away weekend.

Thank You Crocker Boat Yard!

This park was very nice, but they advertise being 5 miles away from historic Newport, and it’s more like 8. There are zero bike paths that are immediately accessible and Newport drivers are not walker/biker friendly. No sidewalks on the Main Street to get you here. Ubers and Lyfts can be scarce and very expensive depending on the time of day. Between $16 to $78 rides…so, if you’re not towing, just something to be aware of. Neighbors were super nice and there is a great dog park (we think it’s city owned) with super nice doggo humans. Was good for a short stay - we just wish we had known how far out it really was because we really would have loved to spend more time downtown.

I camp at Fisherman's every August and I love this campground. If you are looking for a secluded spot in the woods this not it, but to be able to walk to the ocean for beachs, fishing, block island ferry, and great seafood you can not beat it; $20 with full hookup. It is such a good deal that you need to reserve a site twelve months in advance on the day they open up, even then don't wait but book it at 8am.

Boondocking at it's best! On the shore of the beautiful Block Island Sound. Upon checking in, pull over to air down...truck @ 20#, trailer @ 15#. If you haven't filled your tanks at home, you can fill here w non-potable water. Bring your poles for surf casting, generator during the day. No air conditioning, but w Maxx fan and ocean breezes, I've never felt the need. Wifi is spotty, as is tv. Bring plenty of wood for campfires. You're less than 3miles into town for replenishing supplies. Shovel, snap line, and you're good!

Have been going here for the past few years with my family. Definitely sad that the virus messed that up for us this year and we weren’t able to get a refund for a circumstance we couldn’t control. Nice place to go with the RV to relax and to go around the area to shop, go the beach, or head over to Block Island. Also the fact that pricing increased pretty significantly for out of state residents was unexpected but is still cheaper than other campgrounds in certain circumstances. Also sad to be missing out on the clams.

The best!! Our site was perfect for tent camping and pets!

Rainy nasty October weekend but nonetheless facilities were spotless. Hookups were awesome and easy. Layout is amazing, mostly pull through and pet friendly. Definitely a summer destination next year.

Love this campground, very clean grassy sites. Brand new bathrooms and GREAT location to the beach (3 min ride or short bike trip), block island ferry, restarants and shopping. Yes you can hear traffic, this is not a remote camp, if you want remote go somewhere else like Burlingame. Downfalls: tough to get reservations, you MUST book really early. We stayed in Area 2 site 33. The septic connections are a bit higher than the paved parking spot for your RV which makes it very difficult to dump on your site. We had the keep raising the hose the get it to empty which took a long time. Had I realized how tough it would be I would have just dumped at the dump station on exit. Many of the sites in area 2 are like this, so you need a really high RV to dump normally. Also the last row in area 2 is very slanted (sites 54 thru 64). Most sites have shade in this area and shrubs to give privacy between sites. Not alot of activities but they have tennis a d basketball courts, horseshoe pits, volly all net and playground area. The rangers are very nice, we locked our keys in the camper and they brought a ladder for us to crawl through our slideout window. Staff was very friendly. We will definitely be back

Hundreds of sites, some level some not, some dirt sites, some grassy, some with a ton of shade, some out in the open, excellent for bikes, there are in-camp roads, so big you can get lost(sorta), store was good, credit card purchases pay an additional 4% at store, water spigots were not in abundance but were available in each camp, yes this place is so big there are different camps within the park. Good for pets, there are two dumping spots each with two dumps,I would definitely go back.