Outdoor Adventures in Rhode Island

Four seasons of exciting outdoor adventures: The Preserve Sporting Club and Residences was built for exactly that. Set on 3,500 acres surrounded by thousands more acres of protected land, the resort’s list of activities is almost endless, from hiking, biking and zip lining to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, kayaking, canoeing and paddle-boarding. Go on a riding tour from the Equestrian Center, climb a rock wall, learn how to fly-fish in a pond stocked with trout or bass. Golf on an award-winning 18-hole executive course, go hunting for pheasant or quail, swim in the pool, play croquet or tennis or sit by the fire in the Scotch & Cigar Safari Tent experience! And don’t forget to relax in the on-site spa.

One of the best parts of taking the Block Island Ferry is all the fun outdoor activities around each port. Leaving from the main ferry terminal in Narragansett, RI [Point Judith]? Explore the charming fishing town of Galilee with its two beaches. If you’re departing from Newport, RI, take the Cliff Walk for dramatic ocean and mansion views. And once you’re in Old Harbor, of course, the outdoor world is your oyster (or quahog if you decide to go clamming). Surf, swim, paddleboard, or fish off the beautiful beaches. Go kayaking or biking or walk one of the trails in the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge or Rodman’s Hollow. Stroll the shoreline of Great Salt Pond. Go parasailing, visit a lighthouse, take a ghost tour, or go horseback riding.

Who says the best activities in a city are indoors? In Providence, RI, great outdoor attractions include everything from the amazing WaterFire event, where you can take a gondola ride down a river lined with bonfires, to guided historic walking tours (get a map at the visitor’s center) that help you explore the city’s unique neighborhoods, with great restaurants and shops. Take a foodie bike tour (there’s are loops for donuts, and beer), go ice skating at BankNewport City Center, meet the animals or go zip lining at Roger Williams Park Zoo & Carousel Village, arrange for a narrated architecture boat tour, or board a swan boat at Roger Williams Park. For more great outdoors things to do, visit GoProvidence.com

On land or sea, there are plenty of outdoor adventures for visitors to the year-round Save The Bay locations in Providence and Newport. At the Bay Center in Providence, the grounds—featuring walking trails, shoreline access, and, seasonally, a fishing platform, and kayak launch—are open from sunrise to sunset. Just outside the doors of their Exploration Center and Aquarium in Newport, you can take a stroll on Newport’s only ocean-facing beach. June-October, Save The Bay offers full-day lighthouse tours, and then, from October-April, you can hop onboard a Seal Tour in historic Newport Harbor.
Boat tours depart from Newport, Westerly, and Providence RI.