Rhode Island scenic drives are gorgeous for fall foliage or year-round

Find directions for gorgeous scenic drives along coastline and through woods and forests, for year round and especially for fall foliage season. Be sure to visit Rhode Island's scenic drives, foliage drives, scenic highways, National Scenic Byways.

See more beautiful images of New England by Massachusetts photographer Jeff Folger.

Blackstone Valley Newport South County
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Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

Pawtucket, RI, to Uxbridge, MA, RI

The Blackstone River runs from Providence, Rhode Island, Worcester, Massachusetts. Its waters powered the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI, America's first successful textile mill. This creative spark began the nation's transformation from farm to factory. Today, the Blackstone River Valley is a living landscape containing thousands of natural and historic treasures.

Driving directions: The best way to trace this route is to travel from one regional Visitor Center to the next. At the Blackstone Valley Visitor's Center, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, (800-454-2882) view the award-winning film "Hidden in the Blackstone Valley." It tells the story of the rise and fall of the textile mill industry on the Blackstone River, and the role it played in setting the American Industrial Revolution in motion.

Lincoln Woods State Park, 2 Manchester Print Works Road, Lincoln, Rhode Island. Nestled between routes 146 and 123, Lincoln Woods State Park is one of Blackstone Valley's great treasures. A short ride from Providence, Pawtucket, and Cumberland, it is a popular get away for northeastern Rhode Islanders.

Museum of Work and Culture, 42 South Main Street, Woonsocket, Rhode Island (401-769-9675). This museum tells the story of the immigration and labor experience of the Blackstone River Valley, and provides visitor information for the entire region.

River Bend Farm Visitor Center, 287 Oak Street, Uxbridge, Massachusetts, (508-278-7604) is a pre-Revolutionary War dairy farm located in a 1,000 acre state park along the Blackstone River Canal and towpath. The Visitor Center is part of the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park. The scenic park-like setting of the canal belies the nearly unimaginable human labor that went into its construction 176 years ago.
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Conanicut Island

East Shore Road and North Main Road Jamestown, RI

Conanicut Island, home of the town of Jamestown as well as Beavertail Park, is located in Narragansett Bay between the mainland of southern Rhode Island and Aquidneck Island, home of Newport. Conanicut Island is a long, narrow, north-to-south strip of land, and it is a lovely drive past fields, towns, gardens, and salt marshes, with distant views of the bay, the mainland, and arching bridges. Two parallel north-south roads that travel the length of the island are East Shore Road and North Main Road. Toward the southern part of the island, take Beavertail Road to the magnificent Beavertail Park, with its expansive views of the bay, rocky shores, and lighthouse.

Ocean Drive and Fort Adams

Newport, RI

Length: 10 miles

In the early 1800s many wealthy New Yorkers escaped to Newport on "Rhode Island" during the hot summers. Today, Newport's Ten Mile Drive combines that history of a wealthy summer community with a fabulous Newport recreational treasure of public parks and miles of public access shoreline to rank as one of the most popular drives in the country.
Driving directions: From The Elms on Bellevue Avenue [just south of Memorial Blvd.], drive south to Narragansett Avenue. Turn left [east] onto Narragansett Avenue and drive down to Ochre Point Avenue. Turn right onto Ochre Point Avenue, where a number of the historic estates are located. At the end of Ochre Point Avenue turn right [west] on Ruggles Avenue. At the intersection of Ruggles and Bellevue Avenue turn left [south] on Bellevue Avenue to drive by the Beechwood, Marble House, Rosecliff, Belcourt Castle, and Rough Point mansions.
At the end of Bellevue Avenue turn right onto Coggeshall Avenue and take the first left onto Ocean Avenue. On Ocean Avenue drive along the ocean by Bailey's Beach, Hazard Beach, and Gooseberry Beach. Turn right onto Castle Hill Avenue; drive north to the first intersection and turn left onto Ridge Road to go by the U.S. Coast Guard Station and past Ocean Cliff. At the end of Ridge Road turn left onto Harrison Avenue to go by Hammersmith Farm and Fort Adams. At the next intersection turn left and then left again onto Halidon Avenue. Continue right onto Wellington Avenue to go by Newport's King Park. King Park is the southern end of Newport Harbor and the Newport Harbor Walk.
Click to view mapOcean Drive and Fort Adams Map

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Route 1A

Westerly, Charlestown, So. Kingston, RI

Route 1A is a delightful, scenic diversion from US Route 1. The road meanders along the coves and inlets, affording riders with views of water and the countryside. Accessible from Route 1 at several points in South County.

Shannock Village Road

Route 112 to Route 2 Richmond to Charlestown, RI

Length: 2 miles

Shannock Road stretches a short but scenic 1.7 miles from Route 112 to Route 2 through the Town of Charlestown and Richmond. The traveler is offered views of a variety of different landscapes such as woodlands, marshes, and even a farm field bounded by stone walls. Historic Shannock Village can be found along the byway. This village is historically significant as a small but well-preserved mid-nineteenth century rural textile mill village. Throughout the nineteenth century, small mills were constructed on waterways of Southern Rhode Island. Villages would form as houses were built for the mill workers. Shannock Village is is a good example of these villages. In 1983 the village was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.