What a beautiful experience!! Went with my family and what an informative event with top notch…read morestaff who truly love the volunteer work they do at the lighthouse. The boat ride was very relaxing and the entire trip was flawless by a very professional staff. It was very easy to find, it's 2025 folks just use gps on your phone and it's just over the Providence line. Found a great breakfast spot nearby afterwards All Favorites Cafe another gem. Highly recommend without any reservations!!

Maybe it's awesome but we never made it...the directions take you to a waste management site that…read moreyou can't enter. Really disappointing since we went out of our way to stop their on our road trip.

Benefit Street is a nice little walk and The Shunned House is a sweet little surprise. What I like…read moreabout The Shunned House is that you would have NO CLUE that this house was significant amongst the others in the surrounding areas. The armory down the street stands out a lot more than the lil house that HPLovecraft wrote about. Still it's a great side trip that will only take seconds out of your day if you are in or around the colleges in the area. This is obviously a residence and they have since named the house after someone but you can see the wall that used to be used as the front of the house and the descriptions stand strong in Lovecraft's writing. No big deal but I liked being there and seeing it.

I was going to write about this curiousity, but I realized I couldn't do any better than what…read morebrought me in the first place: "The house was--and for that matter still is--of a kind to attract the attention of the curious. Originally a farm or semi-farm building, it followed the average New England colonial lines of the middle eighteenth century--the prosperous peaked-roof sort, with two stories and dormerless attic, and with the Georgian doorway and interior panelling dictated by the progress of taste at that time. It faced south, with one gable end buried to the lower windows in the eastward rising hill, and the other exposed to the foundations toward the street. Its construction, over a century and a half ago, had followed the grading and straightening of the road in that especial vicinity; for Benefit Street--at first called Back Street--was laid out as a lane winding amongst the graveyards of the first settlers, and straightened only when the removal of the bodies to the North Burial Ground made it decently possible to cut through the old family plots. "At the start, the western wall had lain some twenty feet up a precipitous lawn from the roadway; but a widening of the street at about the time of the Revolution sheared off most of the intervening space, exposing the foundations so that a brick basement wall had to be made, giving the deep cellar a street frontage with door and two windows above ground, close to the new line of public travel. When the sidewalk was laid out a century ago the last of the intervening space was removed; and Poe in his walks must have seen only a sheer ascent of dull grey brick flush with the sidewalk and surmounted at a height of ten feet by the antique shingled bulk of the house proper. "The farm-like grounds extended back very deeply up the hill, almost to Wheaton Street. The space south of the house, abutting on Benefit Street, was of course greatly above the existing sidewalk level, forming a terrace bounded by a high bank wall of damp, mossy stone pierced by a steep flight of narrow steps which led inward between canyon-like surfaces to the upper region of mangy lawn, rheumy brick walls, and neglected gardens whose dismantled cement urns, rusted kettles fallen from tripods of knotty sticks, and similar paraphernalia set off the weather-beaten front door with its broken fanlight, rotting Ionic pilasters, and wormy triangular pediment. "What I heard in my youth about the shunned house was merely that people died there in alarmingly great numbers. That, I was told, was why the original owners had moved out some twenty years after building the place. It was plainly unhealthy, perhaps because of the dampness and fungous growth in the cellar, the general sickish smell, the draughts of the hallways, or the quality of the well and pump water. These things were bad enough, and these were all that gained belief among the persons whom I knew. Only the notebooks of my antiquarian uncle, Dr. Elihu Whipple, revealed to me at length the darker, vaguer surmises which formed an undercurrent of folklore among old-time servants and humble folk; surmises which never travelled far, and which were largely forgotten when Providence grew to be a metropolis with a shifting modern population." H.P. Lovecraft, The Shunned House Be mindful that this is a private residence. Please be respectful.

**November 2025: Sunday Morning Visit**…read more My friend and I were starting our Rhode Island Troll Hunt and kicked it off with Mrs. Skipper. She's located right before the University Orthopedic Kettle Point Building and there's a very small circular lower level parking lot to park your car. From that small parking lot to the pier to which you can see Mrs. Skipper is about a 15 minute walk partly on a dirt road and partly on a boardwalk. You can walk on the little peninsula where Mrs. Skipper is located; however, there were signs that said "at your own risk and since it was 22 degrees I did not want to risk slipping on the rock and accidentally falling into the icy cold bay. There is a pier where you can view her from her side profile which looked beautiful with the sunrise, but I just wished it wasn't so dangerous to see her upclose (hence the removal of one star).

I enjoy the Thomas Dambo's recycled sculptures and they are now on my list of things to see when…read moretraveling! Mrs. Skipper is on a small rocky peninsula near a boardwalk over the bay. You are not supposed to walk out on said rocky outcrop and a sign at the entrance says the area is off limits. Still, plenty of intrepid adventurers were out there getting a closer look. There is plenty of parking for the Urban Coastal Greenway behind a huge Orthopedic building. Follow the paved trail down to the main trail, turn left and then take your first right. This part of the path is in a bit of disrepair, but I did see a couple of strollers on the path here so it's passable. Once on the boardwalk, you can look off to the south and see Mrs. Skipper perched on her rock. I am sad it's not easily accessible to the little one's. The details though are all there and it's Mrs. Skipper seems to be enjoying her perch.

Months before the American Revolution started, colonists destroyed British tea in protest. You know…read moreabout that, right? Well maybe not. Because this plaque doesn't commemorate the 1773 protest known as the Boston Tea Party, when Massachusetts colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor. Instead, it refers to a later incident in Providence, RI, when its colonists burned the British stash of the "Needless Herb" in protest against the Crown. This happened on March 2, 1775. It's an inspirational story of patriotism, defiance, and solidarity. Based on the urgings of the Continental Congress, Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly agreed to show support against British tyranny. They did so by lighting a bonfire on Market Square, and after speech making and the ringing of bells, hundreds of pounds of British tea were tossed into the fire. One month later, things had reached their breaking point with the killings at Lexington and Concord. The Revolution was under way. The plaque's inscription reads: Near this spot the men and women of Providence showed their resistance to the unfair taxation by burning British Taxed tea in the night March 2nd 1775 Erected 1894 by Rhode Island Societies of Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution. Too bad the plaque is in such tough shape, how awesome would it be if this treasure of American history could be restored?

Historical marker at the spot in a building where Tea from England was protested and burned in the…read moreyear 1775. Call it the Providence Tea Party! A revolution that started, against burdensome taxation. Traffic cones and trash in front. Plaque is in need of more attention and paint, barely legible.. The building itself looks like an old custom clerks office. Needs much better management. Rebel review: 4

We took a girls trip to RI over a long weekend and stayed at this quaint house. Local artists…read moredesign the wallpaper which is changed periodically. We found the house on Airbnb. Each room is unique and very adorable. We couldn't stop gushing about it. They offer snacks downstairs throughout the day and provide a delicious breakfast in the morning. There is free parking but also within walking distance to several delicious bakeries and coffee shops. I hope to stay here again if I'm in the area.

Great place to stay in Providence! Anna and the staff were excellent. They served us the best…read moreFrench press coffee we've ever had. Breakfast got us to a great start everyday. We highly recommend this b&b.

Carrie Tower is that tall bell tower that you see when you walk on Waterman Street from downtown…read moreProvidence towards the Brown University Campus. We have past it many times and have admired the smooth lines that make up the landmark. It's a beautiful brick tower that has a lot of history behind it. Carrie Tower was erected in 1904, a gift of Paul Bajnotti of Turin, Italy, and a memorial to his wife, born Caroline Mathilde Brown, granddaughter of Nicholas Brown 1786, for whom the University is named, and daughter of Nicholas Brown 1811. She died in Palermo in 1892 after sixteen years of marriage to Bajnotti, who also erected a fountain in her memory in Burnside Park in Providence. Carrie Tower was designed as a tower of red brick (95 feet high). There are festoons of fruit near the base, and at the top, above four clock faces on the sides of the tower flanked by eight panels of fruit, are in rising succession, 32 carved urns, eight capitals, four shields, and at the very top, four urns with flame. On the foundation is inscribed "Love is Strong as Death."

This is another piece of contemporary art made by Boris Bally, a local legend in our state. This is…read morea significant statement, one of many made by this creative, thoughtful person. Many of Boris' pieces are made from discards, including his repurposed street signs.

Standing 12 feet tall in front of Providence's Federal Courthouse is this unusual monument…read moreconstructed out of steel, concrete, and used handguns. The "Gun Totem" was constructed in 2001 with guns from a firearm buy-back program in Pittsburgh. Altogether, more than 1,000 guns went into the construction of the pillar, which was commissioned by the Providence Parks Department. All of the guns included in the project were disabled and fossilized beneath concrete, and bits of the pillar were chipped away so people could see the deadly layer beneath the its exterior. This is a monument for all who want peace and want to trade in their guns to make a permanent symbol of harmony and amity.

I am still not sure why this trail has "10 mile" in the name when it's only 3 miles long, but I try…read moreto not think too hard about it. Anyways, I decided to come here for the first time on a weekday afternoon and it was very pretty and peaceful, well maintained, and the perfect running distance for me. I parked on the street outside the carousel entrance of slater park, towards the Pawtucket country club which is where the trail splits. To my left was about half a mile of trail and to my left there was about 2.5 miles of trail. To the left there wasn't much to see, but there was a lot of green, so it was pretty. At the end of this chunk there is a big parking lot. To the right the trail does have more to see, especially since it cuts through slater park, there is a river, and even a dirt bike riding area. At the end of that is also a parking lot and a baseball field. The terrain is mostly flat but there are some tiny hills/slopes that can be challenging towards the end. I was able to see a red cardinal and a couple other birds.

Very nice paved trail that is well maintained, has clear markings and boasts peaceful scenery…read more I would rate the trail as easy, there are some inclines and declines but none that are extreme or difficult to navigate. The entire trail is 3 miles one-way. There are approximately 3 trailheads and 2 additional entry points.

I can't imagine a time when Providence didn't have this bridge to connect the city like this! It is…read moreso beautiful and I love all the events that they have!

A beautiful addition to the city of Providence! Every time we visit, we would make a stop there…read more This bridge was renamed to the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge in 2020; it opened in August 2019. It was built on existing piers from the old highway, I-95. The bridge goes over the Providence River and connects two neighborhoods, Fox Point and the Jewelry District. There's a park nearby, called District 195; events are hosted at this location. The bridge was beautiful to walk on day and night. There were railings, benches, tables, and chess tables; at night there were LED lights that brighten the area. A wonderful area for walkers and cyclists. The view of the city skyline was breathtaking. One evening we were there, we saw the star-link satellite flying by, it was awesome. The downfall was, this bridge cost the city $21.9 million when the original budget was supposed to be $2 million. People were opposed with building this bridge because RI had the highest amount of bridges with structural issues. In the end, the bridge was built and it's become a popular attraction and landmark.

Didn't feel like doing the guided tour, but having never been here as a lifelong RI-er I figured…read moreI'd take the plunge. Nice, historical sight with loads of history and information even without taking the tour. Just on the out squirts of the shady part(s) of the state, but right next to the police station. The water was really bustling on this day. On a day where I have more time I'll definitely have to take a more extended look.

This is a free historic site that has a really great tour. The site is just off the river and there…read moreare a few buildings on site, but not all of them are open. But there are multiple tours during the day, so after perhaps watching the intro video, you can join one. The guide took us into the mill and demonstrated multiple machines used in various stages of cotton to thread production. It was great to see the process in front of us, and it was quite a complex process that required a lot of engineering using waterpower to get completed. I found it very informative, and the guide was able to answer all of our questions, so it's a great experience for kids and adults. No gift shop though, but there is a bathroom on site. The building was described to me as "yellow" when it's peach, but I won't fault that, just saying if you're looking for it, look for peach. There is parking across the street and a small lot next to it.