We'd had the bike trail bug ever since that first Wallkill Valley Rail Trail and as both of us had upgraded jobs during the "Great Resignation," we decided it was time we also upgraded our bikes (especially since C had more or less returned his to the Troy Bike Rescue before we moved to Rhode Island, effectively making it a $25 year and a half long rental). C got a brand new gravel bike with fancy disk brakes from the nice folks at Blackstone Bicycles after getting a recommendation from one of the guys at Providence Bicycle given his ride style (far and on mixed terrain and factoring in the terrible road conditions we'd witnessed so far in RI). I settled for a couple weeks spent on Facebook marketplace looking for someone trying to offload an aspirational pandemic purchase. Incredibly, I ended up with a well-loved and pristinely maintained women-specific XS Giant Avail roadbike from a biking club couple that recently upgraded to full carbon fibre bikes. Listen, while I will ALWAYS love my pandemic beater bike for the adventures and freedoms it gave me when there were no bikes to be found, this bike turned me into an enthusiast. I own multiple sets of padded bike pants and a couple different racing jerseys now.
Getting our money's worth from these bikes is easy in a place like Rhode Island where there are several dedicated bike paths (my preference) and plans to connect these trails into a greater system with dedicated bike lanes (although if you don't mind sharing with cars, you can theoretically complete a RI century ride). Here's a collection of all the RI Bike paths, including trail maps, as well as the Providence Journal bike trail guide. I'm less about distance and more about making a day trip out of my bike tours, so I have all my stops mapped below and my recommendations for how to tackle each route.
The East Bay Bike Trail is undeniably the best bike trail in Providence and has to be one of the top three premiere scenic trails in New England. I did it at least three times in the Spring and Summer of 2022, parking in different areas and trying different stops to get the full experience.
The complete trail there and back is about 30 miles, so choosing which end to park on depends on where you'd like your break point or finish point to be. If you choose to start south from Bristol, Naragansett Brewing is a great halfway stop, but it also makes an equally good finishline. While their beers are refreshing and a good motivator, they don't have the greatest food selection after a heavy ride. Starting from the North side at India Point, The Beach House is a lovely halfway point for outdoor drinks and appetizers overlooking Bristol harbor and Quinto's is a fun way to finish with seafood and dock seating.
It's 10 miles from India Point Park to Warren and 5 miles from the Bristol end, which has the best food selections. So sometimes we'll make Warren the 20 mile break (15 all the way, plus 5 back up) starting from India Point or we start at Bristol, go all the way to Naragansett Brewing for a beer and then stop for lunch (and mayhaps another drink) in Warren on the way back down.
The best part about East Bay Bike Trail is that there are just so many opportunities to choose your own adventure. Need a caffeine or sugar boost? Borealis Coffee and Del's Lemonade are right on the trail. Venture a street or two down and you can get Korean, Portuguese, Italian, or a New England classic clam basket. Want to picnic? Warren Town Beach is a just off the trail and has a lovely waterfront park with picnic tables and bathrooms.
Pro-tips:
Do stop at the Audobon Center and Aquarium in the summer. Ospreys and their chicks will most likely be roosting all along the boardwalk.
Do not miss the turn off for the Spooky Bottom Dock. It's a great way to elongate the spectacular view along the Narrow Beach stretch.
The Washington Secondary Bike Trail is less scenic, so the focus is more on biking, which I appreciate. It's the longest of the bunch at just under 38 miles (18.8 end to end), but instead of the bike crawl nature of the East Bay Bike Path, the Washington Secondary Bike Trail is best for a long ride with a quick pit stop for donut, ice cream, or a weenie.
My personal preference is to get a donut at RI Homemade Donut 7.6 miles in, bomb down to the end, have a breather and then crush it on the way back and reward myself with Dee's Deli at the end. But with such a long trail, I can imagine others might need a bloody mary pick me up or a more substantial lunch option. Note that in the map most of the booze and food options look like they're right by the path's route, but are not accessible from the path itself, so you may need to plot out where the nearest road crossing is or plug it into your phone's GPS.
As my original hometown bike path, I usually treat this one as an exercise route, as opposed to a lengthy biking outing. Unlike East Bay and the Washington Secondary, this bike path is flush with the river and doesn't intersect almost at all with the main roads until the southern most section, which is patchy and a lot less protected, so I prefer to stay on the Lincoln to Woonsocket section which is about 9 miles. Free of distractions, this route is good for working on pacing or for just doing something pleasantly active after work. Terminating at two different parks, this one is a perfect candidate for packing a picnic. However, if you want to reward yourself for the full 18 mile bike ride, Lincoln Creamery is a local staple and a three all the way awaits you at New York Lunch. If you're equipped with a rear basket or saddle packs, it's also a decent path for running a quick errand as a part of the path hits a shopping complex that includes Stop and Shop and Dollar Tree. If you need to purchase and get a back rack installed or need some kind of repair Blackstone Bicycles is just up the road.
This is my least favorite bike path of the bunch because despite it clocking in at a mere 7.2 miles in length, it has the most road crossings through busy thoroughfares, so it feels like you're having to start and stop a lot. Not at all like the long glides of the other three. Both the East Bay and Washington Secondary have maybe three major road crossings where you have to watch for cars and even then, most of the cars in the area are used to the bike crossing and drive pretty slowly. Not so on the Kingston trail.
However, if you want to do an adventure outing via bike, the South County Bike Path has a lot to offer. We biked from the Kingston Amtrak station start all the way down to the end and then back up to where Whaler's Brewery and the Peacedale Rock Spot are clustered. We ordered takeout from Jayd Bun—incredible, authentic, perfectly spiced food, would recommend—and in the hour it took to prepare it, we went rock climbing, then picked up our food and then ate it at Whaler's. 10/10 winning combo even though it was a bit of a haul to finish the last 5 miles back full of food and beer in the fading light of the day.
I can easily imagine other versions of this route. Maybe going down to Rock Spot, climbing, continuing on the path and dropping down from the path for oysters at Two Ten Oyster Bar & Grill or going past the trail and towards the Naragansett coastline to have dinner at the outdoor section of the US Coast Guard House or get a bowl of chowder and clamcakes at Monahan's.
So is this a good bike path? For me, no. Is this a fun way to spend the day? Yes. Is it worth doing? Absolutely, especially when you want to change it up from the other three paths.