Welcome to the ExploreRI Mapper
This mapper will help you locate boat launches and other points of interest to for small boat recreation throughout the state of Rhode Island. To get started, click anywhere on the map to zoom in on that area. To zoom out use the zoom control to the left of the map. Once you have zoomed in, boat launches and other points of interest will show up on the map as clickable red icons (see the key below the map). Click on an icon to get more information about that location. If you prefer to search by criteria or simply look up a site by name, try the boat launch search page. If you have a high-speed Internet connection (e.g., DSL or Cable), you may want to try our Google-based mapping system which also includes sites in the Narragansett Bay Watershed in Massachusetts.
KEY
Hand Carry Boat Launch
Boat Ramp
Portage
Other Type of Site
The location you clicked on is a site for launching hand-carried boats such as canoes or kayaks.
Site Name: South Water Street Landing
Alternate Site Name: Harbor View Park
Town: Providence
Driving Landmarks: From I-95 North or South take at Exit 22A in downtown Providence. At the first light, go straight onto Memorial Boulevard. At the sixth light, turn left onto Crawford Street, which will put you on a bridge across the Providence River. This is the last bridge across the river before the I-195 bridge. After you cross the river the road makes a sharp right turn. You are now on South Water Street. The landing is about 2/10 mile ahead on your right, near the round gazebo and the circular silver sculpture. There is on-street parking on both sides of the street near the landing.
ADA Accessible Boat Launch? no
Shoreline: There is a hard surface ramp (not usable by trailers) leading down into the water as well as broad concrete steps next to the ramp. The adjacent shoreline is stabilized.
Float/Dock: no
Approximate Length of Carry between Car Access and Water: 50 feet
Hours of Operation: 24/7, year-round
Parking: on street, no overnight parking
ADA Accessible Parking Spaces? no
Water 'Features' At Site: estuary, ocean/bay
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:This boat launch is at the southern end of the "canal" that carries the Providence River through Providence. So, it is a good place at which to launch or take out for trips on the Providence, Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck Rivers. It is also a suitable launch for trips down the Bay. Great caution should be exercised if you go beyond the hurricane barrier because of the heavy commercial traffic in this area. When Waterfire is taking place the river is closed to traffic just up river from this site.
This put-in is on the new Roger Williams Trail that traces the route Roger Williams and his followers took in 1636 when they paddled by canoe from what is now East Providence to Providence, to settle and found what would become the state of Rhode Island.
For more details see the full site report
The data on this website comes from many sources, including volunteers and organizations across the state of Rhode Island and nearby parts of Massachusetts. We have done our best to make sure the data are accurate and up to date, but any information critical to the success of your trip should be confirmed before you start. The maps and information on this website should not be substituted for nautical charts, topographic maps, or other more detailed maps and guides. We welcome corrections and additions. To send a correction or provide other feedback, please use our feedback form.
Credits: The data for the base maps was provided by the Rhode Island Geographic Information System (RIGIS) and the Office of Geographic and Environmental Information (MassGIS), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. The site data came from numerous sources and organizations. Much of it was collected through the hard work of volunteers for various conservation, watershed and outdoor recreation groups around the state of Rhode Island.