The landmark Watch Hill Light was constructed in 1856. The first lighthouse was built in 1808.

The Providence Journal / Tom Meade

Winter is the best time for a walk in Watch Hill. The village is like a ghost town then. A charming ghost town.

A walker can select a variety of routes, from a little more than a mile long to several miles by extending the route to include the village of Avondale. You can also walk along the water from East Beach in Watch Hill to Misquamicut.

Start in the large parking lot at the Watch Hill Yacht Club, and enjoy the view; winter is the only season when you will see this much parking space. Or look out to the harbor. Normally as flat as a mirror, the scenic cove on Little Narragansett Bay can be churning during the winter. During the storm on New Year’s Eve, the little cove was raging with wind and seas.

For a short, scenic hike, leave the parking lot by turning right toward the Flying Horse Carousel. Then turn left up a slight hill on Larkin Road. On the right, find a narrow road, marked by a pair of red signs warning cars to stay out unless they are being driven by someone who is disabled or older than 65.

That’s the road to Watch Hill Light, one of Rhode Island’s most stately aids to navigation. The walk to the light is between .2 and .3 miles, downhill, along a winding, narrow road. It is smooth enough for a wheelchair or stroller. Just before the lighthouse gate, stop at the big yellow house on the right, and note the beautiful garden fence and trellis, made of twigs, Adirondack style. (During the summer, the lovely fence surrounds a cook’s garden that will make your mouth water.)

The original Watch Hill Light was built in 1808, on the orders of Thomas Jefferson. It was replaced in 1856 with the current granite block tower.

From the lighthouse, you can see Fishers Island, N.Y., Stonington, Conn., and Block Island. From May to November, the rocky shore around the lighthouse is a refuge for striped bass and a gathering place for anglers from all over the Northeast.

Returning from the light, turn right onto Larkin Road, then immediately turn left onto Bluff Avenue. Notice the Ocean House Hotel, being rebuilt on the shore to your right.

Bear right onto Westerly Road. (Many of the street signs are missing here, but bear right to keep the ocean on your right.)

Look to the left for the sign on the corner of Everett Avenue. Turn right there, and walk down to a public right of way to the beach. When you reach the water, look left — that’s east –– toward Misquamicut or right toward Watch Hill Light. Because the lighthouse is to the west, this is the spot to take dramatic photos of the lighthouse silhouetted by the setting sun.

Walking the beach to the east will give you an aerobic workout unless you decide to dawdle, hunting for beach glass.

If you leave the beach the way you entered, you can cross Westerly Road, walk along Everett Avenue, and turn left at the T-junction to return to your car. Along the way, notice the statue of Ninigret, chief of the Niantic Indians, with fish along the harbor on the right. Farther along, notice the statue of a boy gazing out on the water.

During spring, summer, and autumn, the Olympia Tea Room, across the street from the parking lot, serves contemporary American and European cuisine, braced by a 2,000-bottle wine cellar. Most of the restaurants in the village close during the cold months. The Cooked Goose on Watch Hill Road is open for breakfast and lunch through the year.

tmeade@projo.com