Both named after a sister-city in Great Britain, Bristol Harbor and the town of Bristol are located in the northern part of Narragansett Bay on the Bristol Neck west of Mount Hope Bay. Bristol Harbor is 13 miles up East Passage from Newport and 12 miles southeast of Providence.

Inside the harbor you will find some of the best-equipped marinas in the Narragansett Bay Region, but only one of the five marinas here accepts transients. A large mooring field that is popular with visitors opens up to the north. The town of Bristol has excellent opportunities for provisioning and marine repairs. Along the waterfront are three marinas, two of which can facilitate repairs. In town are a couple of groceries, drug store and a laundry.

Use NOAA Chart 13221.

There are two approaches to Bristol Harbor: One to the east of Hog Island near the entrance to Mount Hope Bay and one to the west of Hog Island near Popasquash Neck. Of the two entrances, the one to the west is preferred, as currents coming down from Mount Hope Bay can make the east entrance a little tricky.

From Narragansett Bay depart the channel at flashing red buoy “2,” and then chart a course for the flashing red red and green buoy at Popasquash Point (unnumbered). Once you have reached Popasquah Point, you will turn to the northeast toward the flashing red light at Castle Island (north of Hog Island), and then to green can “3.” Past green can “3” to the north, be especially mindful of the series of rocks marked by the red and green nun (unnumbered) - some of them are as shallow as four feet.

Once you have cleared Hog Island and the rock outcrops to its north, you will see the town of Bristol and three of the harbor’s five marinas on the town waterfront to starboard. Farther up into the harbor red nun “6” is a large mooring field. Four of the five marinas in Bristol maintain their own portions of the moorings, and instructions for payment or launch service are usually labeled on the moorings themselves.

Local Notices to Mariners are now exclusively available online from the U.S. Coast Guard.