East Bay Bike Path - East Providence, Rhode Island - Rails to Trails on Waymarking.com

The East Bay Bike Path follows the old rail bed of the Providence and Bristol Railroad along the eastern shore of the Providence River from Providence to Bristol, Rhode Island. Eight parks are connected along its 13.8 mile north-south route.

"The East Bay Bike Path is the first bicycle facility undertaken by the State of Rhode Island. It was built in four phases by the RI Department of Transportation between the years of 1987 and 1992. It encompasses 13.8 miles and connects eight parks: India Point Park in Providence, Bold Point and Squantum Woods in East Providence, Haines and Veteran’s Memorial Park in Barrington, Burr’s Hill Park in Warren, and Colt State Park, and Independence Park in Bristol.

The nearly fourteen mile East Bay Bike Path offers a fascinating core sample of Rhode Island history while traipsing one of the most scenic, mostly bayside, former rail bed of the Providence and Bristol Railroad." (Source: Rhode Island Parks)

The northern end of the trail is in the capitol city of Providence at India Point Park, originally Providence's first port in 1680, and an 18th and 19th century shipyard, it was transformed into a public park in 1974. Fort Hill, overlooking Bold Point, is about a mile east. Four miles south is Riverside Square, known for its history of seaside cottages, now offers the smallest park on the trail and home to Dari-Bee Ice Cream. Continuing south to Barrington, the bike path passes through Haines Memorial State Park with playing fields, boat launches, and picnic groves. The path passes through Burr’s Hill Park in Warren, an historic ship-building town. Finally, the bikeway ends at Independence Park at Bristol Harbor - the entrance to the Bristol Waterfront Historic District. Bristol is home to the oldest Independence Day parade in the United States and its Historic District is filled with museums, restaurants, shops, and historical architecture.

A blue and white sign at Riverside Square, around Mile 9 on the path, reads:

The Riverside Square area was one of the several summer resort colonies that flourished along the East Providence shoreline from approximately 1860 to the early 1920's. This community, originally known as "Cedar Grove" and later locally called "the Maze" because of it's unusual layout of irregular curving roads, was served by the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad line and the New York New Haven and Hartford line. The bed of this railroad line is now the East Bay Bike Path.

Country: United States State/Province/etc.: Rhode Island Trail Start (town): Provedence, Rhode Island Trail Finish (town): Bristol, Rhode Island Trail Length: 14 Trail Surface: Paved Pack Animals Allowed: no Fees: no Rail-to-Trail Sign: The Riverside Square area was one of the several summer resort colonies that flourished along the East Providence shoreline from approximately 1860 to the early 1920's. This community, originally known as "Cedar Grove" and later locally called "the Maze" because of it's unusual layout of irregular curving roads, was served by the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad line and the New York New Haven and Hartford line. The bed of this railroad line is now the East Bay Bike Path. Internet Link(s): https://www.riparks.com/History/HistoryEastBayBikePath.html

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