Rhode Trip! A few fun winter weekend activities in Rhode Island
Those who know me know I’m not the biggest fan of winter in Rhode Island.
Winter is the state’s longest season, typically beginning in November as darkness descends and the last leaves fall, and ending sometime in late April as the weather warms and color returns to forests and gardens. Yet in my opinion it’s the hardest one to enjoy, because the Ocean State’s location makes it a sort of winter purgatory. It’s not quite cold enough for the kind of consistent snowfall that allows for plentiful skiing, snowshoeing and outdoor ice skating, but it’s also not quite warm enough for some plants and flowers to grow year-round or for many residents to fully enjoy long hikes and walks. Living in Rhode Island in the winter, then, means spending a lot of time indoors gazing out at a barren, brown landscape.
That said, over the last few years, I’ve found a handful of failsafe ways to perk myself up amid the winter doldrums, and I wanted to share them with other Ocean Staters who struggle to thrive during the coldest, darkest days of the year. Some of these are outdoor activities, while others take place indoors. Some cost money, while others are completely free. But a few basic concepts unite them: They get you out of the house and out of your own head; they’re easy to do on a budget; and they’re all just a short drive or bus ride away from any Rhode Island town.
Ice skating on Goat Island
Ice skating is a great way to stay warm even in sub-freezing temps — and pandemic bonus: it’s the perfect social distancing activity! In Rhode Island, there are only a couple of outdoor ice rinks that stay open all winter long, even if it’s unseasonably warm, and the most scenic by far is the lighthouse-adjacent rink at Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina. Situated on Goat Island, just a bridge away from the center of Newport, the small, beginner-friendly rink provides skate rentals for those who need them and is open for both daytime and evening skating.
Skating here is an event in itself, but it’s also a great way to cap off a day of wandering around Newport or kick off an evening out on the town. This season, I’m tempted to book an hour or two on the ice in the late afternoon, followed by drinks in the Gurney’s lounge and dinner at Midtown Oyster Bar.
Cost: $7-$12 for admission, $10 to rent skates
Winter brewery hopping
In Rhode Island, it’s possible to sip craft beer at hilltop farms, renovated textile mills and industrial warehouses…all in one day. There’s an incredible variety of beers and backdrops to explore in this teeny state, and an app created by the Rhode Island Brewers Guild makes it both fun and easy to to do. With the RI Brewery Passport app, you can keep track of the breweries you’ve visited by checking in each time you walk in the door. Each check-in earns you a passport “stamp,” which could later earn you some fun merch and other rewards.
If I were to make a day of it, I’d probably start with pizza and and a pint for lunch at Grey Sail Brewing in Westerly, a walk at Fisherville Brook Wildlife Refuge followed by a hazy IPA at Tilted Barn Brewery in Exeter, and a delicious vegan breakfast-for-dinner plate at Julian’s capped off with a brew at either Moniker or Beer on Earth on the west side of Providence.
Cost: Varies
Birding at Napatree Point
I’ve always been drawn to coastal places that feel like the edge of the earth, and Napatree Point in Watch Hill is one such place. This long, lonely sand spit is marks the westernmost point in Rhode Island, reaching so far into the Block Island Sound that it’s possible to see Connecticut’s Stonington Village from its rocky endpoint.
Napatree Point has transformed many times over the years. It was once a heavily wooded peninsula, until a gale leveled it in the 1800s. It was briefly a military outpost at the turn of the 20th century, before the federal government discovered a major design flaw and was forced to close it. In the 1920s and 1930s, developers constructed homes on the point — only to see them totally wiped away in the infamous hurricane of 1938. That storm also caused a breach in the peninsula, separating Napatree and Sandy Points; the latter is now an uninhabited island that straddles the Connecticut-Rhode Island border.
Today, the 1.5-mile-long beach is a protected area where it’s possible to see majestic ospreys nest and hunt year-round. In the winter, it’s quite a meditative place to visit: The whole village of Watch Hill tends to shut down after summer wanes and seasonal residents pack up, so there are very few people around.
Cost: Free
Walking in a winter wonderland
To embrace the best of winter, lace up your biggest, warmest boots, grab your snowshoes and head to the western side of the state after a snowfall. Rhode Island’s western towns are slightly higher in elevation and farther away from the temperature-moderating ocean, so they’ll always see a few more inches than their coastal neighbors. The western side also seems to have more evergreen trees mixed into the bare hardwood forest, giving beautiful winter scenes an additional pop of color.
Some of residents’ favorite winter wonderlands include Pulaski State Park in Chepachet, George Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge in Coventry, and the Arcadia and Carolina Management Areas in Richmond. If you go during hunting season, make sure to wear at least 200 square inches of fluorescent orange to distinguish yourself from the wildlife. More information about hunting seasons is available on the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management website.
Cost: Free
Luxuriating for less
Each January, Rhode Island Hotel Month gives locals a chance to bag nights at some of the state’s nicest hotels for a bargain. This mutually beneficial arrangement helps keep the state’s tourism industry in the black during the off season, and it affords residents like me the rare opportunity to stay at some of the plush places I’ve always eyed without paying those eye-watering summer prices.
Last winter, Ian and I took advantage of this time by booking a night at Stone House Inn, a historic home that was recently converted into several spacious suites, almost all boasting their own huge soaking tub. We were thrilled to plan a relaxing staycation at the nexus of forests, farms and picturesque rocky beaches in Little Compton, one of our favorite places in Rhode Island.
Cost: $100-$400 per night
Duckpin bowling
Much like regular bowling, duckpin bowling involves rolling a ball down a polished wooden lane with the object of knocking down 10 pins. But in this variation, the pins and ball are smaller, and the bowling alleys themselves are more old-school than the ones I remember from childhood birthday parties.
Some history suggests that duckpin bowling originated in Southern New England, with newspaper articles about the game appearing in the Boston Globe and New Haven Register as early as the 1890s. In its heyday, there were hundreds of duckpin bowling alleys; now, just 41 remain across 9 states in the East.
A couple of years ago, some friends and I headed to Wickford Lanes and stepped into a charming blast from the past. We recorded our own scores by hand — no computer with silly music and animated pins! — and laughed as we accustomed ourselves to the smaller bowling balls. The company was good, the drinks were cheap, and the owner even let us order pizza to the building when we got hungry. Easy, affordable fun!
Cost: Varies by venue; usually $10-20/hour/lane plus $2-7 shoe rental.
I hope some of these ideas help make winter in Southern New England a little more bearable! Tell me: What’s your favorite way to embrace this season?
