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So I went to East Matunuck State Beach today -- got the idea from mvpsharky. Thanks, mvpsharky! I wasn't planning on a beach day, but the wife and I took the dog and the 6-year-old for a walk through the woods in Goddard Park and when we passed the beach, my 6-year-old wanted to go in the water. We had to go home to get swimsuits, but when we got there, I decided I wanted something more adventurous than heading back down the street. I thought about Misquamicut and Horseneck, but it was already 3:30 and they were both 45 minutes away. East Matunuck was only half an hour.
Anyway, great beach! It was my first time. We got there at 4:03 and they just waved us in, no charge for parking. Probably thanks to a combination of the not-great weather and the late hour, it wasn't particularly crowded at all -- so much for "don't go on Labor Day weekend." The waves were perfect for a 6-year-old who loves getting splashed and occasionally knocked down, but at the same time you don't want him to die. (Many "kid-friendly" beaches don't really have waves at all, which isn't the best when your kid wants waves crashing against him.) Maybe it was just because it was low tide, but something I thought was unique about this beach was the long distance the water travels after the break. That allows for a nice, gentle wading area and a crashier, bigger-wave area if you go further out, without a steep dropoff.
I'll be back to this one. It's not at the very top of my list because Gooseberry and Second Beach still have better scenery and probably nicer sand (not that anything was wrong with the East Matunuck sand), but East Matunuck lacks their seaweed issues. At the very least, it's now in my top five Rhody beaches.
So I went to East Matunuck State Beach today -- got the idea from mvpsharky. Thanks, mvpsharky! I wasn't planning on a beach day, but the wife and I took the dog and the 6-year-old for a walk through the woods in Goddard Park and when we passed the beach, my 6-year-old wanted to go in the water. We had to go home to get swimsuits, but when we got there, I decided I wanted something more adventurous than heading back down the street. I thought about Misquamicut and Horseneck, but it was already 3:30 and they were both 45 minutes away. East Matunuck was only half an hour.
Anyway, great beach! It was my first time. We got there at 4:03 and they just waved us in, no charge for parking. Probably thanks to a combination of the not-great weather and the late hour, it wasn't particularly crowded at all -- so much for "don't go on Labor Day weekend." The waves were perfect for a 6-year-old who loves getting splashed and occasionally knocked down, but at the same time you don't want him to die. (Many "kid-friendly" beaches don't really have waves at all, which isn't the best when your kid wants waves crashing against him.) Maybe it was just because it was low tide, but something I thought was unique about this beach was the long distance the water travels after the break. That allows for a nice, gentle wading area and a crashier, bigger-wave area if you go further out, without a steep dropoff.
I'll be back to this one. It's not at the very top of my list because Gooseberry and Second Beach still have better scenery and probably nicer sand (not that anything was wrong with the East Matunuck sand), but East Matunuck lacks their seaweed issues. At the very least, it's now in my top five Rhody beaches.
Glad you enjoyed your beach day! I love Gooseberry as well, but E Matunuck is quicker to get to and has a lot of parking. All RI state beaches stop charging at 4pm ... but after this weekend you won't have to worry about it anyway lol. I'm heading to Beavertail this weekend to check out the wave action (to observe..NOT to go in lol).. should be pretty wild out there with the storm offshore. Its best place to check it out.
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