15 Rhode Island Attractions For Families

Our nearby state of Rhode Island may be the smallest of the 50 states but it is still packed with lots of family friendly attractions.  With summer and vacation time approaching I thought I'd make a list of all our favorite Rhode Island attractions; with links to a post or two whenever possible.



1.  Roger Williams Park Zoo-- We have spent so many days exploring this wonderful zoo and there is always something fun and new to see.


2.  Providence Children's Museum-- while small, this museum has a huge variety of hands on exhibits that are perfect for families with younger children (probably up to age 10 or so).   They are all about learning through play and we always had the best time visiting.


3.  Newport Harbor Cruise-- My boys and I spent a fabulous afternoon cruising around Newport harbor and learning all about the mansions that make Newport such a popular tourist destination.


4.  Touring Fort Adams-- I just love family outings where we all learn a little something.  In touring Fort Adams we learned a bit about the history of the fort and even got to go on a flashlight tour through some of the tunnels under the fort.  My boys thought that was great and still talk about it to this day.


5.  Natural History Museum-- This small museum located inside Roger Williams Park costs just a few dollars to tour and has so much to see.  My kids really enjoyed the scavenger hunt packets the museum puts together for kids of all ages; and they loved picking out a free prize when they completed it!


6.  Botanical gardens at Roger William's Park-- We visited the gardens during their fairy house week but even without the fairy houses the gardens were amazing!  They had room upon room of exotic flowering plants.


7.  Touring the Newport Mansions-- There are a few mansions to choose from but we have enjoyed each and everyone we've been through so far.  We've toured The Breakers (twice; once at Christmas and once during the regular season), the Elms, &  Marble House. With handheld listening devices these self guided tours are pretty amazing.  Wouldn't you love to own one of these "summer cottages?"




8.  Walking the cliff walk in Newport-- located right next to the Newport mansions the cliff walk is a long path that curves along the breaking wall of the ocean.  Often you can see the backsides of the mansions too.



9.  Spend a day on Block Island-- we took the ferry over to Block Island for the day and had a wonderful time exploring this old island town just off the coast of Rhode Island.


10- 12  Visit historic Jamestown and check out Fort Wetherill, Beavertail park, and the Light house museum there.  There are 21 lighthouses in Rhode Island and the museum at Beavertail park has a bit of information about them all.




13.  Visiting one of the many beaches-- It's called the Ocean State for a reason and there are many to choose from!  But just a warning; even in the middle of summer the water is usually pretty cold.



14.  Biomes Marine Education Center-- This center had so much information about marine animals.  With tank upon tank of fish, eels, lobsters and more we had a great time learning and exploring.  My boys loved the scavenger hunt dry erase sheets they had to guide us; they really got us reading so many of the signs we might have missed otherwise.


15.  Slater Mill-- The first textile mill in America, touring the Slater mill was really fun.  We got to see many of the machines up close and see how they worked and progressed over time.  The tour included three buildings on the property and the guide was so knowledgeable.  


Have you ever visited Rhode Island?  What's your favorite thing to do there?

Linking Up with:

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Comments

  1. I love this! Thank you so much for posting. I have saved this post for when we make it up that way.
    Blessings, Dawn

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  2. What great suggestions. The Roger Williams is a favorite of ours. It was well worth the trip.

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  3. This is in my neck of the woods. Some of these are now on my summer must do list! Thanks. #MMBH

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  4. These all look like great places to visit in RI. My teen will be going off to college there in the fall. I hope we will be able to visit some of these places.
    Thanks for sharing this at our Cooking and Crafting with J & J.
    Julie

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    Replies
    1. There is so much to see and do in Rhode Island and since it's such a small state nothing is more than an hour's drive.

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  5. we've been to Roger Williams I don't know how many times and I never knew there was a museum there also. Something to check out this summer on our next trip #familyfun

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    Replies
    1. I said that same thing the first time we went to the museum! I had no idea just how big Roger William's Park was.. not only is the zoo there, but the natural history museum, a playground with carousel, and the botanical gardens/greenhouses are there too!

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  6. Great fun places and things to do for the whole family. PInned and shared.

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  7. What a great post! Fun and educational.

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  8. What a great post for those around the area. They sound like fun as well as historic and educational. The fact that your boys still speak of them says that they made some great memories.

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    Replies
    1. I do find that to be one of the greatest indicators of whether or not they had a good time.

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  9. Wow, so many great places. I love the look of the science museum and those mansions!
    Thank you for joining the #FamilyFunLinky x

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