STARTING AUGUST 15 UNTIL LABOR DAY

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has announced that Scarborough South State Beach in Narragansett will be closed weekdays starting Monday, August 15, and open weekends only for the last three weeks of the summer beach season. All beach facilities will close for the season the day after Labor Day, Monday, September 5.

For several years, DEM has closed Scarborough South on weekdays in late-August as it contends with a shrinking summertime labor force with lifeguards, rangers, and facility attendants returning to college and high school. DEM Division of Parks and Recreation will concentrate the remaining seasonal staff at Scarborough North to ensure this popular facility has full staff coverage. While food concessions will remain open at Scarborough South on weekends, the swimming area will be reduced to Scarborough North’s lifeguard area and restrooms and showers will be closed, however, additional portajohn units will be brought in for this period. Patrons will still have access to the facilities at Scarborough North State Beach and all other surf state beaches during the week through Labor Day.

For more information on DEM programs and initiatives, visit www.dem.ri.gov. Follow DEM on Facebook, Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM), or Instagram (@rhodeisland.dem) for timely updates.

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...