Meet the Malibu of the North East. With some of the best public and private beaches in Rhode Island, Narragansett is both a year-round beach community and a favorite destination for summer tourists. One of the original sea-side retreats of New England, in the 1800s Narragansett was a miniature Newport and a casino-filled playground for Rhode Island’s rich and famous. Things took a turn in the twentieth century, when the city rebuilt itself in the aftermath of the Great Depression and the Hurricane of 1938, opening the door to new construction and new populations. Today, Narragansett has the best of both worlds, offering world-class beach living, surfing, and fishing, with a laid-back attitude— although the population can double in the peak summer months.