Our drive from East Lyme CT to Burlington State Park Campground was short, so we arrived much earlier than usual. Most campgrounds have a checkout time of 11am and check-in times can be as early as Noon and as late as 3pm at most campgrounds. In most cases if you get there early, the campground host will let you go to your site if it is ready, but this is not the case at Burlington State Park in Rhode Island. When we arrived at noon, I went into the office and asked if we could check in. “Sorry, not yet sir” the lady behind the counter snarled as she pointed to the sign that said no early check-ins. I felt like if I pleaded for her to make an exception, she might burst out and say, “no campsite for you!”, so I went back to the truck to tell Kandace we needed to kill some time before we could check-in. Rather than sitting around and waiting an hour for the clock to strike 1, we decided to unhook the camper and leave it in the parking lot so we could go to the grocery store and stock up on our food supply for the next few days.
Burlington State Campground is a massive campground with over 700 large campsites all throughout the park. To give it some perspective, our site was down by the southern shoreline of the Watchaug pond which is over a mile away from the campground entrance.
Our site was large enough to fit 2 or 3 campers and since there were no hookups at this campground, we were able to put the camper anywhere we wanted on the campsite. With primitive campsites, we need to make sure our 30-gallon freshwater tank is full, and with only 300 watts of solar, it’s best that we limit our energy use as to not drain the batteries too quickly.
We only spent a few days in Rhode Island and there were many places we wanted to explore, so here’s a peek at how we maximized our time there:
After we got settled in at camp, we drove down to the coast to check out the beaches and the homes which were both amazing in their own unique way. There is just a certain charm about the white sand, fescue grass, story book homes, and wooden fence pathways that lead to the tranquil beaches.
Once we had our fill of gawking at the homes along the beach, it was time for some food! We made our way to Matunuck Oyster Bar for a stuffed quahog or “Stuffie” as they are most often called. A stuffie is basically clam stuffing which is baked and served in a large half shell. It was delicious! Next stop was across the street for a stuffed clam sandwich at Captain Jack’s, for an extra dose of goodness to fill our bellies. It wasn’t the best we have had, but it was a fun experience trying out a variety of seafood items at different locations.
For our first full day, we decided to head 30 minutes west back to Connecticut and explore the small town of Mystic. Our first stop was to an interesting shopping center called Olde Mistick Village which is a one-of-a-kind shopping experience. Each building’s design was as unique as the items inside with a variety of stores from jewelry to books to kitchen gadgets to pet supplies. As we were walking around, we felt like we were meandering through a mayberry town movie set which brings us to our next destination – downtown Mystic. As we window shopped our way down Main Street, we eventually ended up at the restaurant that was made famous by the movie starring Julia Roberts called Mystic Pizza. The restaurant proudly displays movie paraphernalia and clearly took full advantage of being put on the tourist trap Hollywood map. We played into the tourist attraction buzz, took pictures of the Mystic Pizza sign, and ordered a couple slices of delicious pepperoni pizza. The only thing missing was having Julia Roberts take our order 😉
Other than enjoying a slice of pizza, the main thing to do in Mystic is to go shopping at the various retail stores along Main street and if you are lucky, you will get to witness the eerie silence that falls on the town when the horns blare warning everyone within earshot that the drawbridge is about to open and let a few ships cross by on the Mystic River!
After our time in Mystic, we made two more stops for the day. Stop one was to an abandoned fairy tale themed amusement park called Enchanted Forest. Despite the chained-off area and no trespassing signs, we decided to poke around a bit in hopes that we might be able to catch a glimpse of what this park used to look like. Had we made this visit 10-15 years ago, there may have been more to see but most of the old rides and buildings that were there had been torn down and removed over the years. All that is left are telltale signs that this place has been long forgotten. The Enchanted Forest entrance sign is mostly covered by foliage, there are tires arranged in an oval shape with an old rusted metal rail where bumper cars used to collide, and an overgrowth of plants and weeds covering the walking paths due years of insufficient human interaction. It was an interesting experience, but a little underwhelming as there isn’t much to see there anymore.
Our last stop for the day was to The Fantastic Umbrella Factory, which is not a factory nor are there any umbrellas :-/. This place is an interesting hippie village with a few retail stores selling T-shirts, hand crafted jewelry, musical instruments, and funky soul type items. There are also a few emus that will happily feast on the bird feed available at the general store, and a small bamboo forest that is fun to explore.
Our final day in the area was spent exploring Newport Rhode Island.
One of the main touristy things to do in Newport is to visit the historic mansions. You can literally spend an entire day visiting the 11 mansions along Bellevue Avenue and the surrounding area. This time portal into the past is made possible by the Newport Mansion Preservation Society as they have prevented many of them from being destroyed and turned into parking lots or shopping centers. They have also restored many of the mansions with furniture and other items in order to give visitors a feel for how they looked in their prime. For a nominal fee, visitors can enjoy a quick walk through the mansions and take in the beauty of the architecture and décor or get fully immersed in the history by downloading the app for a self-guided tour featuring an “if these walls could talk” experience. And if a visit to Newport Rhode Island is not in the cards, anyone can take a 360-degree virtual mansion tour on the Newport Mansion Preservation Society website. With our limited time there, we opted for a 2 mansion visit and explored “The Breakers” and “The Elms” which were both amazing and unforgettable experiences.
The other highlights for us in Newport were the Cliff Walk, which is a picturesque 3.5-mile hike on a paved walkway along the cliffs of the Newport shoreline, shopping and taking in the sights up and down Thames Street, and enjoying an amazing lobster roll at Easton’s Beach Snack Bar.
On our way back to camp, we made a pit stop in Jamestown to snap a pic of the historic windmill on Windmill Hill.
If you ever find yourself in Charleston or Newport Rhode Island, now you have a list of adventures to add to your “things to do list” while you are there. Enjoy! 🙂
Cheers,
Tiny Trailer Trip Crew
Great photos and wonderful descriptions. It made me want to go there!
Great photos indeed. Loved the one with the “feet and the paws” on the City of Newport sidewalk and the clouds over the path to the beach. I’m thinking we definitely need to do more traveling next year. You’ve made me hungry with all your food pics so I’m going to fix dinner.
Hugs, Louise