Seaside to city streets, R.I. is big on walking trails

October 25, 2009|Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Rhode Island is a small state custom-made, it would seem, for walking, by the ocean, through the countryside, or down city streets. It seems natural to hoof it here at a slow, steady pace, enjoying the many sights and sounds, particularly at this colorful time of year when the air is crisp and clean.

So while you could perambulate almost anywhere in Rhode Island and have a good time doing it, consider these 10 paths worth walking.

The Narragansett sea wall is a half-mile walk by the sun-dappled ocean that can be a bit chilly when the wind whips off the water. Start out near the last remaining section of the Narragansett Pier Casino, also known as The Towers, which back in its day was more high society than Newport. Walk south on Ocean Road about a mile and hit Black Point Park, a popular fishing spot and home of the Malcolm Grant Trail, a winding, wooded dirt path that opens to beautiful ocean vistas that include the Newport Bridge on the far horizon. Use extreme caution on the rocky, steep shoreline: Three people have died here in recent years; the rocks can be slippery and the ocean turbulent. 35 Ocean Drive.

For a short walk long on history, take a trek around the 22-acre Conanicut Battery National Historic Park in Jamestown. From 1776-1783, this was an earthen fortification built by colonists and later occupied by the British and likely the French. It is now a beautiful, wide-open meadow. In World Wars I and II, there were six Army command posts here that, among other things, controlled minefields in the east and west passages of Narragansett Bay, of which the battery had a commanding hilltop view. The six in-ground cement stations are still visible, buried in the earth, narrow observation slits sticking up above ground. Walking trails are well marked with information on the history of the site. Battery Lane, off Beavertail Road, just south of Fort Getty Road.

Mount Hope Farm in Bristol is one of those best-kept secrets that are hard to hide and fun to find in such a small state. This site is historic - here is the Governor Bradford House built in 1745 by Isaac Royall, then one of the country’s wealthiest men and which is now a private inn. All around it are 200 heavily wooded acres and streams, fields and ponds, connected by myriad walking trails. Many paths open to sprawling water views of Mount Hope Bay and the Mount Hope Bridge spanning the bay and connecting Bristol with Portsmouth. The farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 4, 1976. 250 Metacom Ave., mounthopefarm.com, 401-254-1270.