WESTERLY, R.I. — From top to bottom, Rhode Island’s 48-mile-long stretch contains nearly 400 miles of shoreline .
And for decades, private homeowners and the public have squared off in court — and on the beach — about just who can access it and how. The state’s constitution protects shoreline access, and so does a 2023 law that guarantees public access to 10 feet above the high tide line, known as the “wrack line” — “recognizable by a line of seaweed, scum, and other deposits left where the tide reached its highest point.” But where that line falls in a changing coastline can be tough to pinpoint, and tensions persist between property owners and those who seek the shore.
Appeals to the law continue to muddy the water in court , and a judge is set to rule later this month about its constitutionality. Those who hope to rent or buy along the Rhode Island coast are wading into that debate, and for realtors who facilitate these goals, not everyone agrees on the approach. Advertisement A preliminary ruling by Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter suggests she believes the law — which Governor Dan McKee signed — constitutes a taking of private property.
To shoreline-access advocates, a long walk on the beach should be a right anyone can enjoy. Navigating the ambiguity hasn’t been simple, either: Homeowners have hired security guards and placed homemade signs intended to limit access, while shoreline advocates host public-right-of-way orientation walks. Con.