Roger Williams Park

How lucky we are to have such a treasure in Providence, especially this time of year. Plenty of walking trails and a path around the perimeter of the park. Wildlife ranges from water fowl to carp to heron to muskrats. Large lakes where you can canoe or fish....or ride a swan boat! A carousel and HUGE play area for the kiddos, too. There is a botanical center on the property that costs $5 or so for admission and a Japanese garden. I love a nice long walk during the fall season. Just gorgeous!!!

A historic park named after a theologian, author, and minister, Roger Williams. He also created a settlement and called it Providence Plantations, which is present day Rhode Island. The park was his family farm and gifted to the City of Providence when the last decendant, Betty, passed away. It is located in Providence and bordering Cranston.

This park was in close proximity to where I used to live as a child. My family would frequent it on nice days. A few of the notable spots were the Temple to Music, boat house, botanical center, Japanese Garden, trails, lakes, and a picnic area with a small manmade waterfall over stairs. The park is pretty during the day and is a popular spot for locals.

I used to drive through the park at night and it's super creepy. Whether it be from paranormal or sketchy characters. There are many ghost stories that I heard growing up. I am actually more concerned with the sketchy characters since there have been bodies found there. The lakes are dirty, I wouldn't advise swimming in it or eating the fish lol.

Roger Williams Park turned out to be quite a bit larger than anticpated.  It's got lots of things to see and check-out, including lakes, ponds, monuments, and gardens - there's even an old building that at one time housed a casino.

Friday nights in the summer time is a great time to visit.  At that time, you'll find the park replete with food trucks and the sounds of live music :-)

Over and above the many other attractions, there's also a decently equipped playground, with enough stuff to keep a typical kid busy for at least 20 or 30 minutes.  There's also an old fashioned Carousel where kids can take a ride for just two dollars.  Overall this is a very nice park to visit - you won't be sorry if you take the time to stop by.

This park is the "Central Park of Providence". It has so much to offer and it's so big. We go frequently for walks or for events. We often see regulars on their daily jogs or runs along the nice sidewalks.

The Roger Williams Park (RWP) was created in 1871 on land bequeathed to the City of Providence by Betsey Williams, the last descendent of Roger Williams to inherit his land.

Today, the park's 435+ acres offer opportunities for all to play and learn, truly making it "The People's Park." The park is home to many attractions for locals and tourists, including:

- The Carousel Village
- The Botanical Garden
- Museum of Natural History and Planetarium
- The Zoo.

The Rhode Island Foundation, a non profit organization in the state, began a renovation effort in the park in 2016 as a celebration of their centennial, beginning with the park's historic bandstand. The renovations expanded to other park buildings and entrances. A few years later, a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane was added to Frederick Green Memorial Boulevard as part of these renovations.

Entrance into the park to just walk or to attend a festival is free. Parking is plentiful.

This is the one of the best known state parks in Rhode Island, managed and beautifully maintained by the Providence Parks Department and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It's also a kind of little engine that could for our state. There are lovely clean and well-maintained walking trails that take you either on paths around the tree-lined lake or on paved roads around and within the park's green space. (That lake I mentioned? In season you can rent a swan shaped paddle boat that puts you directly on the water.) The park has a zoo that has begun to host several special after-hour events (for extra fees beyond the zoo entrance fee): the Halloween season Jack-O-Lantern Festival, and a Chinese Lantern Festival are true standouts. The beautiful marble columned open air Temple to Music hosts... wait for it... free musical performances. We have a modest Museum of Natural History that has a planetarium. There's a botanical garden (and a community garden), and horse stable - and a working carousel, playground, and pony rides for the kids. I've attended a wedding in the repurposed former casino, and observed numerous brides having there formal wedding pictures taken on the gazebo that spans the lake. And Food Truck Fridays?!

Seriously, this is an ideal spot for a day in nature, right in Providence (with an entrance/exit just over the line in Cranston). It's a relaxing way to spend a day - although I'm here frequently to get some exercise walking the paths.

Just when I think I've discovered every attraction in Providence, I always find something new! Besides housing the Roger Williams Park Zoo, Natural History Museum, and Botanical Center, Roger Williams Park is a beautiful destination in its own right!

The 3.2 mile loop around the lakes is a great path for a long, peaceful walk or even a brisk trail run. The paths are all well-labeled and maintained. There's ample parking at multiple spots around the park. Wildlife is all over, including birds and turtles. The Temple to Music is an interesting location for a picnic or even (dare I say it) an Instagram photoshoot.

The only downside is that it's a little difficult to get here without a car, although I believe the #1 bus line goes here.

Overall I highly recommend Roger Williams Park for a fun, FREE activity in the heart of Providence!

This is a beautiful park and quite expansive. According to their website, the park was created in 1871 after Betsey Williams bequeathed 102 acres of farmland and woodland to the city of Providence to be used for public purpose. A portion of the gift included land that was shared with her great, great, great grandfather, Rhode Island founder Roger Williams, by the Narragansett sachems Canonicus and Miantonomo. It was intended to serve as an escape for those working in highly industrialized Providence in the late nineteenth century. Twenty years after Betsey's bequest, the Park quadrupled in size and daily attendance had grown to 15,000 visitors. Today the park has more than 435 acres offering something for everyone including family picnics, community festivals, weddings and other events, running, fishing, kayaking, swan (pedal) boats, a museum and planetarium, a zoo, indoor carousel and more. Dogs are allowed on a leash. Each year over 1.5 million visitors enjoy the the "People's Park".

For those not familiar with Roger Williams, he was quite the progressive. After finishing school in England, Roger Williams traveled to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His "radical views" on religious freedom and pro Native American leanings earned him the wrath of church leaders - he was banished from the colony and fled to Narragansett Bay with his followers. He purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and established a new colony, which became a haven for Baptists, Quakers, Jews and other religious minorities. Williams's notion of religious freedom and the separation of church and state inspired the framers of the U.S. Bill of Rights.

Roger Williams Park is about 5 miles from downtown Providence and well worth the 10 minute drive. With so much to do there, it's not surprising that it's a very popular spot. Note that it can get very busy during in warmer weather months.

All the time I lived in California ( almost 20 years), I missed this park so much! The parks It is the one thing that truly says Rhode Island to me. It holds such fond memories for me, as I was growing up and once returning, spending time with my young daughter there. My mother worked the graveyard shift, at the state hospital. In the summer, she'd come in from work, pack up her cot, some sandwiches and koolaid and take all five of us kids out to the park to run wild and play. She'd sleep, while we'd play.( I was the nerdy child, who sat with my book, guarding her while she slept, while the others played.)
Now I love walking in the park and discovering how much peace it brings me. I'm still in awe of its' magnificence.
I wish people had more respect for this gorgeous gift and not litter so much. But I ordered a garbage picker upper stick and I'll do some cleaning next time I visit the park. I'll make it a habit.

This is a nice park in the city. The park has a carousel, swan boats, playground, botanical garden, planetarium, museum, Japanese garden, zoo, tennis courts, and much more!

It is a great place to have a picnic, ride a bike, fly a kite, take a hike, bring the kids, or do a photo shoot here. There are many spots in the park that provide beautiful backgrounds for photos like the bridges or the temple of music (made of pretty white marble).

They've recently added speed bumps and bike lanes to the park to make it safer. I think it's a great park overall, but took off a star as it doesn't always attract the best people. Being right in the city, there can be some pretty obnoxious people at the park blaring their music or doing other annoying things. The good thing is - the park is big enough that if you do encounter this, you can just continue driving until you find your own nice spot to hang out at.

Although I haven't had a chance to explore the entire park, I did take a walk around one of the lakes and it was just lovely.
We are members of the zoo and there is so much more to this park. Fishing. Walking. Natural history Museum. Botanical garden.
It's a beautiful park. Food truck Fridays in the summer at the Carousel, Casino to rent for events, zoo with child appropriate activities, an historic home to visit, statues, gardens, ponds. Totally worth a day, or two, or more. If you are thinking of it, do it!