Matunuck

Matunuck is one of the villages of South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island. The village's name is from a Native American word meaning "look out." The Narragansett tribe made a summer encampment at this location before the land was sold to colonists as part of the Pettaquamscutt purchase. It is mostly a summer community in Southern Rhode Island with a small, but strong base of year round locals.

Get in

By car

Matunuck is right off the highway, making it easy to get to by car. The Matunuck Beach Road exit is off of US Route 1 North, with convenient left lane U-turns for south-bound motorists.

By boat

Matunuck has no marinas or ports, making it inaccessible directly by boat. However, there is some dockage in Matunuck located behind several houses that border Potters Pond on the east most side of Matunuck. Its neighbor, East Matunuck, has several legitimate marinas and docking areas.

Get around

Matunuck is such a small area that motorized transportation is not really a necessity to move within it. Most places are easily within comfortable walking distance. However a bike, or if you're adventurous, a skateboard would easily be the best option to navigating Matunuck.

See

• 1 Roy Carpenter’s Beach (off Card’s Pond Rd.). A small private beach nestled among a bungalow community. It is open to the public for a fee, but has a general store, snack bar, picnic tables, and bathrooms.  
• 2 South Kingstown Town Beach, on Matunuck Beach Road (Next to Roy Carpenter’s), ☏ +1 401 789-9301. This public beach charges a parking fee ($38 for residents, $75 for non-residents, good for a full year), but has a volleyball court, playground, picnic tables, bathrooms, and is within walking distance of several stores. This calm, family-friendly beach offers 1,300 feet of beautiful beach, including a boardwalk, playground, and communal volleyball court and picnic area. It is a short walk to local ice cream, pizza and deli restaurants. Requires a seasonal pass for residents or nonresidents if you need to park; free for walk-on only. 
• 3 Deephole Beach (at the end of Matunuck Beach Rd.). A parking lot for surfers, kiteboarders, windsurfers, and others who use the waters off the beach for recreational purposes. This beach along with the others in Matunuck are directly exposed to the Atlantic Ocean, because of this, Deephole and Matunuck can see some of the best surfing conditions in Rhode Island. On the flip side, Matunuck can also see some great windy conditions for windsurfers or kiteboarders who take advantage of the strong sea breeze that can develop there. 

Do

• 1 Theater By the Sea, 364 Cards Pond Rd, ☏ +1 401 782-3800. A theater built in 1933 that presents plays and performances. It is one Rhode Island's most historic landmarks. Tickets $52-78. (updated Jul 2019)
• Water recreation: surfing, kiteboarding, windsurfing, paddle boarding, kayaking, and more. Matunuck can offer some of the best surfing and windy conditions in Rhode Island, making it a prime destination for water-bound thrill-seekers.

Buy

• Matunuck Surf Shop, 706 Matunuck Beach Rd, ☏ +1 401 783-2566. A small local surfshop across from the entrance to South Kingstown Town Beach. The shop has a decent selection of surfboards, skateboards, wetsuits, surf accessories, and clothing. The prices are a little high but the proximity to the beach and water cannot be beat. 
• General ATMs. Two can be found in Matunuck. One is inside of the Ocean Mist and the other is inside the Seaview Marketplace, however a service fee is assessed by both. Also these machines are not re-filled very frequently so it would be best to use others outside of Matunuck.
• Matunuck Laundromat, next to Just D's restaurant.
• Seaview Marketplace, 682 Matunuck Beach Rd, ☏ +1 401-788-9000. The market offers a full service deli with a variety of meats, cheeses, salads, and sandwiches made with their homemade breads. Sunscreen, groceries, BBQ essentials. 

Eat

• Joyce’s Family Pub, 907 Matunuck Beach Rd, ☏ +1 401 284-4391. Rhode Island’s oldest Irish bar & grill. It is a small, quaint establishment with a definite Irish atmosphere. Its menu is designed for transient beach goers, consisting of burgers, fries, chili, chicken tenders, and the like. There are also seafood entrees and nightly dinner specials. 
• The Ocean Mist, 895A Matunuck Beach Rd., +1 401-782-3740. A beach-side club, bar, and restaurant with daily specials. Every Tuesday night after 8PM it’s “Ticket Tuesday” with $5 admission (includes 2 drinks), free billiards, young crowd, and pumping reggae music. Along with Tuesday night, Monday night is 'Taco night' (3 tacos for $3), Wednesday night is 'Wing night' (6 wings for $2), Thursday night is 'Two for one' (get any two Mexican meals for the price of one), and Friday night is fish and chips with a free bowl of chowder all day long. There is always a $3 draft beer of the month.
• Vanilla Bean, 757 Matunuck Beach Rd, ☏ +1 401 334-8959. Open in the summer. This small ice cream shop is next to the beach and directly off the main road. 
• Just D's, 706 Matunuck Beach Rd, ☏ +1 401 284-2231. A small diner next to the Matunuck Surf Shop across from the entrance to South Kingstown Town Beach. It offers a cheap diner breakfast and lunch menu. There's not too much room to eat in the shop so it would be best to go somewhere else to eat your food. 
• Seaview Marketplace, 682 Matunuck Beach Rd, ☏ +1 401 788-9000. Daily 7AM-7PM. It is a small grocery, deli, and sandwich place. The deli in back of the market has unique subs and premade food as well a decent selection of cold cuts, steaks, cheese, and fish. 
• Seaview Cafe, 682 Matunuck Beach Rd, ☏ +1 401 788-9000. Next to marketplace. From 10-11AM diner-style breakfast is served, and from 11AM-2PM diner-style lunch is served. After 2PM, it becomes Seaview Pizza which offers a variety of specialty pizzas, calzones, bread, and pasta dishes. It closes around 8PM. 

Drink

• 1 Ocean Mist, 895A Matunuk Beach Road (right on the water), ☏ +1 401-782-3740. They have Reggae nights every Tuesday and bands play occasionally on the weekends. It's right on the water and has great views of the ocean. Tuesday nights are very popular because of Ticket Tuesday when entry is $5 and patrons receive two tickets good for any two drinks that you want at the bar. Awesome place for music artists as well. Arrive before 9PM on Tuesdays to avoid having to wait in line or getting stuck waiting as the line becomes one person in, one person out. 
• Tara’s Joyce Family Pub, 907 Matunuck Beach Road, ☏ +1 401 284-1901. Tara's Joyce Family Pub celebrates its Irish roots with live traditional Irish music weekly. Nightly food and drink specials, including Wednesday night spaghetti and meatballs and Friday night fish and chips, have kept a devoted local following for years. This family operated bar has served Rhode Islanders for decades. 

Sleep

• 1 The Admiral Dewey Inn, 668 Matunuck Beach Rd, ☏ +1 401-783-2090. A Victorian bed and breakfast built in 1898. It is a two-minute walk from the beach, and boasts a breathtaking view of Block Island Sound. Rooms are spacious and cozy, and rates range from $100 to $150. The continental breakfast is not to be missed. 

Go next

East Matunuck offers more of the same coastline but doesn't offer many establishments open year round. It is one exit farther north off of Route 1 north.

Charlestown is the second biggest town on the southern Rhode Island coast. It has more shops, places to eat, and things to do than either Matunuck or East Matunuck. It is also home to Ninigret Park. The park is open to the public from sunrise to sunset year round. Many different recreational facilities are available throughout the park. Various special events and festivals are held throughout the summer months. It is a 10-minute ride down Route 1 south, but to get to the exit a U-turn must be taken since the exit is off of Route 1 north.

Providence is the capital of Rhode Island and offers a diverse and dynamic city setting with its feature attraction being the Providence Place Mall. It is about a 45-minute ride north of Matunuck but is worth the ride with a large variety of things to do and see.