The location you clicked on is a site for launching hand-carried boats such as canoes or kayaks.

Site Name: Howard Conservation Area Canoe Launch

Alternate Site Name: Knight Street Canoe Launch

Town: Warwick

Driving Landmarks: From Interstate 95 north take Exit 14B for Route 37 west OR from Interstate 95 south take Exit 14 for Route 37 west. Once on Route 37 west, take Exit 3 for Pontiac Avenue. At the end of the ramp turn left onto Pontiac Avenue. Go 1 mile south on Pontiac Avenue and turn left to stay on Pontiac Avenue. In 0.3 miles Pontiac Avenue will turn into Knight Street. 0.2 miles ahead, Knight Street bends sharply to the right and the parking lot for the put-in is on the left at this corner.

From Interstate 295 north or south take Exit 3B for Route 37 east. Once on Route 37 east, take Exit 3 for Pontiac Avenue. At the end of the ramp bear right onto Pontiac Avenue. Go 1 mile south on Pontiac Avenue and turn left to stay on Pontiac Avenue. In 0.3 miles Pontiac Avenue will turn into Knight Street. 0.2 miles ahead, Knight Street bends sharply to the right and the parking lot for the put-in is on the left at this corner.

ADA Accessible Boat Launch? no

Shoreline: stone steps leading to a gravel shoreline

Float/Dock: no

Approximate Length of Carry between Car Access and Water: 25 feet

Parking: parking lot, 6 spaces

ADA Accessible Parking Spaces? no

Water 'Features' At Site: flatwater/slow moving river

Note: Because one boat launch can access, say, both a lake and a river or both the upstream and downstream portions of a river, not all paddling trips at a given site will necessarily encounter all of the features listed.

Comments & Overview:NOTE: The dam at the mouth of the Pawtuxet has recently been removed. This has significantly changed the river conditions on the lower Pawtuxet River. The normal river level at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet has dropped 2 to 3 feet and there is more current in some areas that used to be nearly still water, such as under the Warwick Avenue Bridge.

This new put-in, built in 2008 by the Pawtuxet River Authority, provides access to the Pawtuxet River 6 1/2 miles above Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, where you can take out. With the recent removal of the dam at the mouth of the river you can also paddle out of the river into Pawtuxet Cove, 1/3 mile below Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, as long as you time the tides right. For more very important details about the area at the mouth of the river see the description for the put-in at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet.

At normal water levels, the paddle from Howard Conservation Area to Rhodes on the Pawtuxet is a scenic paddle on a quiet, slow-moving river, with some occasional areas of slightly faster moving water and shallows if the river is low. A wide variety of wildlife has been seen along the river here, including herons, occasional osprey, red tail hawks, cormorants, turtles, river otters, and deer. The riverbanks are wooded the entire way and the river feels surprisingly remote for a river running through a dense suburban neighborhood.

We have received a report of a tree down across the river about a mile below the Howard Conservation Area put-in. It it is reportedly possible to slip by on the far left.

Floods have also reportedly left large quantities of garbage along the river.

If you want to, you can also paddle a mile upriver from the Howard Conservation Area put-in before you will be stopped by the dam at Pontiac Mill Falls.

2.6 miles below the put-in at Howard Conservation Area you will pass the mouth of the Pocasset River on the left. It is possible to paddle up the Pocasset for some distance.

For more details see the full site report