Providence River/Waterplace Park – February 16, 2020

Danny and Bill at the put-in

The forecast was cold on Saturday, but warming on Sunday, so Sunday was the day to paddle. Fortunately, I can always count on Bill to join me. His only requirement was that we do something local, so we decided on the Providence River from Bold Point. I posted it on the RICKA Flatwater Board, and Danny joined us as well.

“Many years ago - before there was a Waterplace Park, Waterfire or a River Relocation Project - there was the Woonasquatucket River and the many parking spaces over it in downtown Providence.” This is a quote from story that Bill wrote for the Paddler about his first RICKA trip on the Providence River back in 1978. In those days the river was covered with a deck along what is now Memorial Boulevard. “When someone asked what the widest bridge in the US was in 1978, the answer was the bridge and parking spaces over the Woonasquatucket River” Bill continued. 

Providence Skyline

Today, a paddle in downtown Providence is one of the finest urban paddles in the country thanks to the removal of that bridge deck and the completion of Waterplace Park in 1994. Located along sections of the Moshassuck, Woonasquatucket, and Providence Rivers, Waterplace Park is a four-acre park located in the heart of the city. Pedestrian bridges over the river connect over a mile of cobblestone-paved walkways known as the Riverwalk. The park is home to the popular summertime Waterfire events.

We put in at the Bold Point in East Providence and headed out across Providence Harbor towards the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. The water was calm with just a slight hint of wind-blown waves. Rounding Fox Point and entering into the Providence River we passed some tugboats before paddling through the hurricane barrier.

Danny near South Water Street

As we paddled upstream we passed under the new pedestrian walking bridge built on the piers of the old I-195 Bridge. We continued upstream past the South Water Street Landing and through downtown Providence to the confluence of the Woonasqatucket and Moshassuck Rivers. Bearing to the left we paddled up the Woonasqatucket River into the Basin at Waterplace Park.

The tide was up, so we paddled under the Providence Place Mall and upstream as far as the US Rubber Mill. The river was getting low, and I didn’t want to scratch my Spirit II, so we turned around there and headed back downstream. After a few pictures in the Cove, we headed back to Bold Point. Fun trip, as always!

Bill and Erik in the Cove

Links:

My Pictures

Bill’s story his first RICKA trip on the Providence River from the Paddler (page 5)