I’m so glad that Providence finally built a pedestrian bridge from South Water St to Dyer St. Seriously, I’ve been wanting this for years. It runs parallel to the Point St bridge and the “new” I-195 bridge. Anyways. There is a little something called the Canal Walk, and depending on your mood, you can do a couple of routes. I’ll highlight each of them separately. Each of these routes can also be mixed & matched with each other.
Core Canal Walk
So this is the core of the Canal Walk. It’s a loop, and you can start wherever you like. For ease, I’ll have the starting point being Plant City (the corner of James St. and S Water St.) because it is an easy landmark, parking is ample, and you might want to stop in for some lunch. Walk from the Providence River Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge north along S Water St to Memorial Park. Take a stroll through the park, then continue over the Crawford Street Bridge across the river to Memorial Boulevard. Head south on Dyer St, following the Providence River Greenway past the Rhode Island Irish Famine Memorial. You can either stick to the coastal greenway, or walk along Dyer St. Once you make it to the corner of Dyer and Ship St. – or the end of the greenway – cross over that beautiful bridge and get back to your car. Don’t forget to admire the beautiful views though.
+ India Point Park
Want to park for free? Park near India Point Park! There is a designated parking lot near the Hilton Garden Inn Providence, but parking anywhere along India St. is completely free – and safe. I’ve left my car there for entire days, and even throughout the night. But that’s just one of the perks of starting over here. In truth, India Point Park is beautiful. It’s great for picnics, walks, jogs, yoga classes, photoshoots, you name it. It’s also a great sunset spot. If, on this walk, you pass by Fillippou’s Pizza, PVDouts, or Tallulah’s Tacos, don’t be afraid to stop in.
So, if you start on India St, you also have two basic options. Option 1; Park on India St. Walk through India Point Park and head toward the India Point Park Pedestrian Bridge. Then, walk through the park that runs along George M Cohan Blvd, until you reach Wickenden St. At the 2nd traffic light, you’ll be able to see Plant City, and you know what to do from there. Once you finish the Core Canal Walk, continue straight down S Water St (under I-195) until you get back to India St. You can also do this loop in reverse. And that brings us to Option 2; which just omits walking across the India Point Park Pedestrian Bridge. Instead, after parking, just head toward S Water St, and continue to Wickenden. Same as Option 1 from here.
+ Roger Williams National Memorial
This version of the walk gives some Rhode Island history, which is always fun. When starting with the Core Canal Walk, when you get to Memorial Park, just continue walking on S Main St. until you get to Meeting St. On this portion of the walk, you will pass by some extremely historic buildings, including much of the RISD campus, the Rhode Island Courthouse, the First Baptist Church in America, and Market House. Once at Meeting St, cross the street to enter Roger Williams National Memorial. It is similar in size to Memorial Park down the street, but this one offers history on Roger Williams, the founder of Providence Plantations. Once you’ve enjoyed the park, head southward on Canal St. Once you cross Steeple St, Canal St turns into Canal Walk, which you will follow until you’re back at Memorial Park. Then, follow the Core Canal Walk to complete your historic journey.
+ Waterplace Park
This could also simply be called the WaterFire Walk, as it follows the same path as the popular summertime event, WaterFire Providence. If you’ve never been, by the way, you definitely should. It’s crowded and impossible to find parking, and definitely not COVID safe, but it can be a lot of fun to be around a massive crowd in the summertime. Anyway, this version of the Canal Walk follows that. Once at Memorial Park, continue through the park and along the Canal Walk until you reach Steeple Street. While crossing Steeple St, you might notice some small breakaway pedestrian paths. Follow those toward Waterplace Park. You’ll be able to tell that you arrived at Waterplace Park because there will be a large amphitheater, and many restaurants.
There’s nothing really to do here, but I think it’s a cool perspective of the city. If you were here during a WaterFire, it would be full of people, vendors, artists, and performers. It’s quite literally the center of WaterFire. When leaving Waterplace Park, make sure to leave through the mosaic-tile tunnel. It will lead you out to Kennedy Square, and from there make your way back to Memorial Boulevard.
+ State House
If you’re at Waterplace Park and you have the urge to go just a bit further, walk up to the Rhode Island State House. If you’re feeling cheeky, you might even go inside. Either way, walk around the lawn and check out the beautiful views of the city. To the east you see the beautiful and historic East Side. To the south, view Downtown Providence and the Providence River. To the west, I-95 and Mount Pleasant. It’s an ideal spot for sunset viewing, and it might even prove to be a great picnic spot. Once you’ve had enough of the views, head back toward Waterplace Park. The two slight detours would be to walk through Providence Place Mall (perhaps for some dinner) or to walk through the Amtrak station.
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