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.
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Hand Carry Boat Launch
Boat Ramp
Portage
Other Type of Site
The location you clicked on is a portage. This typically means there either is no road access to this location or that the site is not recommended as a launching site for some other reason. The portage may be around a dam, whitewater, or some other obstruction.
Site Name: Pratt Dam Portage
Town: Cumberland
Driving Landmarks: For driving directions see the listing for the Blackstone River and Canal near Front Street.
ADA Accessible Boat Launch? no
Shoreline: Gravel shoreline both above and below the dam.
Float/Dock: no
Portage Length: 1200 feet
Parking: parking lot
Water 'Features' At Site: dam, 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:The Pratt Dam here must be portaged!! To continue downriver take out on river right before the dam and walk up to the bikeway on top of the dam. Turn left along the bikeway and put in at the steps that will be on your right about 850 feet down the bike path.
You can also turn right when you get to the bikeway and carry across the dam and river to the canal on the west side of the river and the Front Street parking lot for the bike path. This is about a 1000 foot carry (0.18 miles). When you get to the end of the bridge over the river and dam keep going straight following the bike path to get to the canal put-in and the parking lot, both of which are on the other side of the canal, which is crossed by a short bridge. The put-in for the canal is on the left just just after the bridge. The parking lot is just beyond. The canal provides a way to go back upriver parallel to the river all the way to Blackstone Valley Park. For driving directions and more details on paddling up the canal and on paddling the Blackstone River below Pratt Dam see the listing for the Blackstone River and Canal near Front Street.
CAUTION: Do not attempt to paddle through the stone arches of Pratt Dam. Paddling through the arches is not recommended for anyone. People have drowned trying to paddle through these arches.
Portions of this description were adapted from the very useful Blackstone Valley National Heritage Corridor guide to the river and the bike path in this area.
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.