Yeah I'm actually reviewing a rest area.
This is a fairly new rest area but besides the obvious, it also serves as one of the many entrance points to the Blackstone River Bikeway, this one is right off a major interstate highway (I - 295). So bring your bike or skates, or running shoes and go enjoy yourself for a few hours, within minutes you'll be in the wild. If you approach the visitor center the path goes around the back on the left side of the building.
The path drops down (a lot) to the River below where you can see all kinds of wildlife, the path itself is the old towpath for the canal so it is quite flat, for miles and miles.
When you're done, you'll have to climb back up that nice pleasant drop, when you do there's a Dunkin Donuts / Baskin Robbins waiting in the Visitor Center for you, that's why I park here over the many other access points along the Blackstone. It's opened 24/7 and the RI State Police has a small office there too.
The only complaint - they should provide access to travellers going southbound. read more