Projo — Shifting sands: Who has access to Lloyd's Beach in Little Compton?

Beachgoers wander toward Sakonnet Point on Lloyd’s Beach in Little Compton. Questions about access to one of Rhode Island’s most beuaitufl stretches of shoreline have gone unresolved for more than 200 years. Paul Edward Parker / The Providence Journal

Oct 21, 2021

By Paul Edward Parker — LITTLE COMPTON — This is a place well suited to keeping secrets.

Tucked into a remote corner of the state with the ocean on two sides, it's not on the way to anywhere. Some jokingly call it the end of the world.

Its 3,616 residents don’t relish discussing their affairs with outsiders.

Especially when it comes to Lloyd’s Beach and who's allowed access to the primordial strip of sand and rocks at the town's southernmost tip: Sakonnet Point.

Many consider it the most beautiful spot in Rhode Island, with its view of the Sakonnet Point Lighthouse, spectacular sunsets, unspoiled nature and one of the darkest, most star-filled night skies in the state.

But some perceive ugliness at the beach’s entrance on Rhode Island Road: a gate in a chain-link fence. A sign warning that only Little Compton residents are allowed to enter this paradise. Sometimes, a guard is posted nearby to dissuade outsiders.

Laura Kelly, of South Kingstown, sees it both ways.

"This place is just so primitive," said Kelly. "It's beautiful."

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