I've been coming to this corner of Rhode Island for years, and during many summers have invited friends to share the simple pleasures afforded by life along its shores: long walks on pristine beaches, fresh produce at local farm stands, the unhurried pace of its residents.
Invariably, however, what most impresses my visitors about Little Compton is their utter amazement at having finally found my door. One friend, frustrated after hours of navigating the town's maze-like unmarked byways after dark, railed at the police officer who came to her aid over the nearly complete absence of road signs in town.
''Oh," he answered sunnily, ''that's because people here take them down in the summer."
Granted, no part of Rhode Island is truly remote; the state's essence is summed up in its compactness. But Little Compton, a sprawling quiltwork of farms and summer homes between the Sakonnet River and the Atlantic Ocean, has always seemed, even to its neighbors, a place apart. When movie producers, impressed by this quintessential New England town, asked for permission to film ''The Witches of Eastwick" here in the 1980s, residents sent them packing: They didn't want the attention.
The idyllic quality that its residents defend so fiercely makes Little Compton a treasure to be enjoyed most immediately by bicycle. Pitched at the state's southeast corner, it is not on anybody's way to anywhere, so even its busiest roads are lightly traveled. The hills are modest, and a day's cycling along the following 15-mile tour will give visitors a relaxed, varied introduction to the town, with stops at Sakonnet Vineyards, Wilbour Woods, and Goosewing Beach.
Start out at the Commons, where most of Little Compton community life is centered. From Wilbur's General Store to the First Congregational Church and the historic cemetery behind it, this is what many people envision when they imagine an archetypical New England town center. It lost a staple of town life last year when the Commons Lunch restaurant burned down, but it still recalls a slower-paced time.
Use a map. Download a rudimentary one from the Internet (www.mapquest.com is a good site) or ask for one at Town Hall, the Brownell Library, or one of the real estate offices nearby.
From the Commons, head north on Willow Avenue, past fields with haystacks and old farmhouses, for about 1 miles to its end. Turn left onto Peckham Road; dense hedgerows surround you for a while before you come upon vistas of more farmland, including, on your right, acres of grapes cultivated by the owners of Sakonnet Vineyards, your first stop. After roughly 1 miles on Peckham Road, turn right onto West Main Road (Route 77), Little Compton's busiest road. A quarter-mile along on your right is the entrance to the winery, which itself is at the end of a half-mile lane.
Sakonnet Vineyards draws visitors for both its pastoral surroundings, perfect for a picnic, and for the tours and wine tastings it holds daily. Fifty acres are planted with grapes for chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, pinot noir, cabernet Franc, and vidal blanc, and the winery produces more than 30,000 cases of wine a year. The winery also operates a bed-and-breakfast on its grounds. One-hour tours are held every day on the hour, in summer 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and, starting next month, noon-4.
Bicycle back out to West Main Road, turning left to follow the eastern shore of the Sakonnet River south along rolling farmland. At various points on your right you will have views across the river to Middletown and Newport.
Shortly after recrossing Peckham Road, Walker's Roadside Stand will be on your right, the last chance to grab a snack or drink until you return to the Commons.
Farther south on your left is the Wilbor House museum, operated by the Little Compton Historical Society. Tours are available of the house, part of which dates to 1680, a barn built in 1850, the Peaked Top School, a replica of a one-room schoolhouse, and a small structure called the Peggotty, built over the hull of a small sailboat that served as the studio of artist Sidney Burleigh (1853-1931).
Roughly 3 miles south of Peckham Road, take a left onto Swamp Road, and within another half mile you'll see the entrance to Wilbour Woods on your left. A dirt road, roughly a mile long, tunnels through this parcel of densely forested conservation land. At times, the canopy seems to obliterate even bright sunshine. (Be warned: In certain seasons, clouds of mosquitoes will repel any visitors quickly.)
Inspirational verses from Lord Byron, Joyce Kilmer, and other poets are inscribed on hand-lettered signs posted on trees along the route, an unfortunate redundancy in such a setting.
Exit these woods -- lovely, dark, and deep -- the same way you came in, and go left on Swamp Road. Soon you will emerge from the thick vegetation, and Swamp Road becomes Brownell Road. Roughly 1 miles east of Wilbour Woods, take a right on South Shore Road (labeled on some maps as Wilbur Sisson Boulevard). This road, another 1 miles long, heads south and then east past densely packed houses before ending at the parking lot for the Little Compton town beach and the adjoining Goosewing Beach.
Leave your bikes here and take the mile-long walk eastward along Goosewing, perhaps Rhode Island's most unspoiled beach. Goosewing is managed by the Nature Conservancy, and for most of its length is untouched by nothing more than farmland and the huge brackish waters of Quicksand Pond, which is reached within a quarter-mile stroll. Crabs scuttle across the floor of the pond only 50 feet or so away from the waves of the Atlantic. Farther on, dunes along the pond protect nesting grounds of piping plovers and least terns. The beach is sandy except for a 100-foot stretch sprinkled with boulders, and is great for swimming.
Turn around and retrace your steps at a rocky point (close to the Massachusetts border). If you are there near sunset, you may see people preparing fires at designated fire rings at the edge of the parking lot; Little Compton is one of the few seaside towns to allow such fires. At night, the blazes make beach walking a unique pleasure.
To return to the Commons, bicycle back up South Shore Road, and turn left on Brownell Road. Roughly a half mile farther, go right on South of Commons Road and within a mile, you will be back at the Commons.
David Desjardins can be reached at ddesjardins@globe.com.
