Quonochontaug Pond

The Deepest and Saltiest Pond

Quonochontaug Pond is the deepest and most saline of R.I. salt ponds.  It is connected directly to the ocean by a breachway that was built in the 1950s. Much of the coastal barrier to the south remains undeveloped.  Quonochontaug, nicknamed “Quonnie,” is split in half between the Towns of Charlestown and Westerly.

Quonnie is primarily residential and includes some light aquaculture activity. It is the location of the Shelter Harbor Inn and the Weekapaug Inn, an award-winning hotel and restaurant located in the southwest corner of the pond. In the early 1900s, Quonochontaug Breachway was a bustling community of hotels and shops, and the Shelter Harbor neighborhood was once home to a music colony that attracted New York performers. The streets of Shelter Harbor are named after famous composers, such as Wagner, Verdi and Rossini. 

The western end of the pond is home to a shellfish spawner sanctuary. Additionally, like many of the ponds, Quonnie acts as a nursery for many finfish species.  During the breeding season, it is common to see an abundance of horseshoe crabs in the pond.

The marshes surrounding the pond are crucial habitat for birds and wildlife. Sand eroding from the oceanside of the barrier beach is transported into the ponds via the breachway where it settles and creates shoals.  SPC along with partners including the Town of Charlestown, Coastal Resources Management Council, and Save the Bay help to restore marshes threatened by sea level rise using thin layer deposition of sediment dredged up from Quonochontaug Pond; including from shoaled areas.  The marshes are then planted with native plants to encourage recolonization of the area.