The Rhode Island attorney general argues the path is public and wants the CRMC to make it a state-designated public right-of-way to the shore. The right to enjoy the beach — any beach in Rhode Island — is actually enshrined in the state constitution. Legislation enacted in 2023, known as the Wrack Line Law, clarified that beachgoers are entitled to occupy 10 feet landward of the seaweed line (a/k/a the wrack line), formed by debris deposited on the shore at high tide. The narrow zone that activists say was historically the public right-of-way has long since been allowed to overgrow into an impenetrable thicket. “What’s at stake is this beach and your right to use it during the summer,” said Cordio.