Pawtuxet Cove to Gaspee Point - February 28, 2015

At the put in

The snowshoeing has been fun this month  but it was still nice to get my boat out for a little paddling.  I met Jim, Frank and Earl at the Pawtuxet Village to paddle the Pawtuxet Cove and Lower Providence River.

The day was just beginning to warm as we put in at the Aspray Boathouse near Pawtuxet Park.  There was a considerable amount of ice along the shore, but the main channel was free.  We paddled up the Cove to the Broad Street Bridge to check out the Pawtuxet Falls. While we were there, a pair of bald eagles flew overhead and landed in some nearby trees.

Slushy ice

From there, we paddled back down the Cove, and then headed south along the breakwater.  We paddled past Passeonkquis Cove, which was filled with a slushy ice with the consistency of a slurpee.  There were hundreds of swans on this section of the lower Providence River along with geese, ducks and gulls.

We paddled down as far as Gaspee Point before turning back.  Gaspee Point was the site of the first hostilities of the American Revolution when the British revenue schooner Gaspée was grounded and burned by local Patriots. 

The Crew - Jim, Earl, Frank and Erik

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Earl’s Pictures

Pawtuxet Village – January 11, 2014

Put-in at Pawtuxet Village Park

I got my days mixed up. The RICKA trip I thought I was joining today is actually tomorrow, but I still did some paddling down at the Pawtuxet Village. 

Pawtuxet Village was established in 1638 – just two years after Roger Williams founded Providence, and one year after Richard Smith built the “Castle” in Wickford. Settlers were attracted to Pawtuxet for it’s sheltered harbor and for the waterpower available from the Pawtuxet Falls. The Native American term "pawtuxet" means "little falls". 

View from the breakwater

I put-in at 11:00 at the Aspray Boathouse at Pawtuxet Village Park. I paddled out to the breakwater, but decided not to venture out into the Providence River. I paddled back down the cove to the Broad Street Bridge to do some surfing at the Pawtuxet Falls before heading back. 

Pawtuxet Falls was the site of the old Pawtuxet Falls Dam. In the summer of 2011, the old dam was demolished in one of the largest dam removal projects in the state. The removal of the dam restored seven miles of free-flowing river habitat to one of Narragansett Bay’s largest tributaries. 

Pawtuxet Falls - site of the old Pawtuxet Falls Dam

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