Blackstone River Bikeway – Providence, Rhode Island
If you are someone that enjoys seeing the natural beauty of a place then you will certainly want to visit the bike paths of Rhode Island. Here, beginning in Providence, you will ride for 10 miles in Central Fall, Lincoln, & Cumberland. The ultimate end will be a 48 mile path leading from Providence to Worchester, MA. Currently there are just the 10 miles open but it’s still worth the trip.
There are an additional 2.5 miles of bikeway completed in Worchester and Millbury, MA. When the path is completed the project will result in a mostly off-road alternative transportation facility passing through the historic John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. It will connect New England’s second and third largest cities and link may of the Valley’s significant natural and historic features.
This is a federal transportation funded project with cooperation from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Massachusetts Highway Department and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
Another 1.5 miles of the trail in Rhode Island should be open by the end of the summer of 2009.
In Ashton, RI, the Bikeway follows the route of the Blackstone Canal for three miles, mostly on top of the historic towpath. While at Ashton, visit the Captain Wilbur Kelly House Museum, a newly opened museum and visitor center adjacent to the Bikeway that offers free tours.
Interim on-road routes stretch north to Woonsocket, RI, home of the Museum of Work and Culture, and south to Providence, RI. While in Pawtucket, RI visit the Slater Mill, the Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution and the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center. From here, one can follow city streets into Providence to make a connection with the popular East Bay Bike path that travels 14.5 miles along Narragansett Bay to the historic waterfront community of Bristol, RI.
Bring you bike, stay a few days and enjoy not only the bike paths but also the historical sites in the area. Rhode Island will welcome you with great hospitality and delightful sights.
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This is the "real" New England at its best. Go to Tourblackstone.com for all the details. Check out the Birthplace of America’s Industrial Revolution, the Museum of Work and Culture, the Kelly House Transportation Museum and cruise the Blackstone on the riverboat Blackstone Valley Explorer.