Experience Westerly Like a Local
Here’s something we tell guests staying at our New England bed and breakfast all the time: if you can visit Westerly during the week instead of the weekend, do it. You’ll have access to the same beaches, same restaurants, same coastal Rhode Island charm, but you’re not fighting for parking or waiting an hour for dinner.
We’ve been hosting guests for years, and the ones who come Tuesday through Thursday always have a different experience than the weekend crowd. Easier, more relaxed, more time to actually enjoy things. Here are the best things to do in Westerly RI when you’re here midweek.
Enjoy Westerly Beaches and Attractions Without the Crowds
Some of the most popular things to do in Rhode Island are right here in Westerly, and they’re even better when you don’t have to share them with everyone else.
Spend the morning at Napatree Point and Watch Hill’s East Beach, with plenty of room to spread out your towel and settle in. Walk through Watch Hill Village without navigating weekend foot traffic, taking your time browsing the boutiques along Bay Street. Make your way to the iconic Watch Hill Lighthouse, where you can take in sweeping coastal views without feeling rushed or waiting your turn for photos.
Downtown Westerly’s shops and galleries along High Street and Canal Street are open during the week, and you’ll find the owners have time to talk about their collections, their craft, and the stories behind the pieces. If you’re easing into the day, start with breakfast at the inn, a coffee from Junk & Java, and a quiet walk through Wilcox Park. Midweek, it’s especially peaceful with locals walking their dogs, the gardens in bloom, and plenty of space to take your time before heading toward the coast or into town.
Get Into the Restaurants You Actually Want
One of the biggest perks of visiting midweek? You can get into the restaurants you actually want to try.
Westerly is home to some of the best restaurants in New England. River Bar made Esquire Magazine’s Best New Restaurants of 2024 list. Ella’s chef is a seven-time James Beard Award nominee. Coast at Ocean House is the only New England restaurant on CNN Traveler’s World’s Best Waterfront Restaurants list. During the summer, a local midweek favorite is The Olympia Tea Room, which has been “fabulous, not fancy” for over 40 years and offers the best sunset views. On Friday and Saturday nights, these places are booked solid, so if you don’t book a reservation weeks in advance, you might miss out.
Tuesday or Wednesday night? You can get a reservation with a day’s notice, sometimes the same day. The kitchens aren’t slammed, so your food comes out the way the chef intended. The dining rooms are quieter, so you can hear your conversation. Everything about the meal feels easier, more relaxed, more enjoyable.
Check out all of our favorite restaurants and bars in Westerly for more ideas.
Take Advantage of Weekday Happy Hours and Events
Several bars in Westerly, RI run happy hour specials Monday through Thursday. Owl & Dove, High Hope Tavern, River Bar, and Ella’s all have drink and food deals during the week. Times vary by place, but it’s usually late afternoon into early evening.
Perks & Corks, a coffeehouse by day and martini lounge by night, hosts live music on Monday evenings with Songwriter’s Open Mic and Wednesday nights with their Songwriters Series. The historic building, the sophisticated cocktails, and the acoustic performances all make for a perfect weekday outing.
If you’re here on a Tuesday, Surf Cantina does Trivia & Taco Tuesday with DJ Trivia RI. It’s casual, the food is good, and it gives you something to do if you don’t feel like just sitting at the inn.
Catch Weeknight Shows
Weeknights in Westerly and nearby Connecticut are anything but quiet. They’re actually one of the best times to catch live entertainment without the weekend rush.
United Theatre in downtown Westerly hosts movies, concerts, and events throughout the week in their beautifully restored 1926 building. For larger shows, both the Great Cedar Showroom and Premier Theater at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, CT, host national touring acts, comedians, and musicians just 25 minutes away from our inn.
Check their calendars to see what’s happening during your stay.
Weeknight Wellness at Zen Zone
Weekdays are the perfect time to slow down and try something you might skip during a packed weekend schedule. Zen Zone offers weekday wellness sessions designed for deep relaxation. Mindful Mondays feature sound bath meditation. Tuesdays bring Salt + Sound Bath sessions in their salt cave. Wednesdays offer crystal sound baths using singing bowls and instruments to create an immersive experience.
It’s a different kind of vacation moment, quiet and restorative, and often unexpectedly memorable. The kind of thing that sounds a little unfamiliar until you try it, and then you understand exactly why people keep coming back.
Work Remotely If You Need To
If you need to check in while you’re away, or are planning a midweek escape with the goal of getting some remote work done, you’ll find Margin Street Inn is an easy, comfortable place to settle in and stay productive.
Set up in the seating area of your room, or move to the living room when you need a different view. Take calls from the sunporch overlooking the gardens, or bring your laptop to the front porch where you can work with the river in the background. Answer emails in the morning, explore Westerly in the afternoon. Handle your meetings, then walk to dinner downtown.
It’s still work, but at least when you close your laptop, you’re already exactly where you want to be.
Why Midweek is the Best Time to Visit Rhode Island
Weekends may get most of the action, but weekdays are when Westerly feels most like itself.
The best time to visit Rhode Island really depends on what you’re after, but if you have flexibility in your schedule, Monday through Thursday gives you distinct advantages. Better accommodation rates, easier access to everything worth seeing, more room to move through your days without feeling rushed or crowded.
Peak season for coastal Rhode Island runs late spring through early fall. Within that window, midweek visits give you the same weather, the same beaches, the same restaurants, just with a completely different feel. September and October are particularly ideal. Still warm, beaches remain open, restaurants run their full menus, but the summer intensity has passed.
Plan Your Midweek Westerly Trip
If your schedule lets you travel Tuesday through Thursday, take advantage of it. You’ll do all the same fun things in Rhode Island that weekend visitors do, just with less hassle and more breathing room.
Stay with us, and we’ll help you discover the best things to do in Westerly RI during your visit, from where to grab a quiet beach spot to which happy hours locals actually go to. We’re within walking distance of downtown, a short drive to the coast, and perfectly positioned to help you experience Westerly the way it’s meant to be.