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The East Bay Bike Path is a paved rail trail that runs about fourteen miles along the east shore of Narragansett Bay, from India Point Park in Providence to Independence Park on Bristol Harbor. It crosses the Seekonk River on the George Redman Linear Park beside the Washington Bridge, follows the Riverside waterfront past Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, then threads Barrington and Warren on two new bridges over the Barrington and Palmer rivers before reaching the Audubon refuge and Colt State Park. The grade is rail flat end to end. Riding it means alternating open water views with short wooded stretches, plenty of company on weekends, and towns with food every few miles.
East Bay Bike Path
Your comfort. Prognosticated.
-Cory
In a typical year the East Bay Bike Path has about 106 to 162 days of excellent weather for popular activities such as hiking, dog walking, running, e-biking, biking, birding, and walking, with April, May, and October the best months.
Hourly comfort scores for the next 15 days of weather, tuned to your activity and your own thresholds.
Plan your visit to this trail. Get the best windows for a comfortable outing.
Enjoy the East Bay Bike Path!
In half of past years, color along the East Bay Bike Path peaks October 29 to November 8, typically around November 3. The trail has 16% deciduous coverage, with the majority being red maple, northern red oak, and scarlet oak.
The Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad ran its first train over this shoreline on July 12, 1855. The Wampanoag and Narragansett people had lived along these coves for thousands of years before the rails came, and Bristol was already a deepwater port when the railroad linked it to Providence. The Old Colony Railroad leased the line in 1891, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford absorbed it in 1893. In 1900 the New Haven strung trolley wire over the route and ran electric trains every eight to ten minutes at peak, around a hundred a day. Electric service ended in 1934, and the last passenger trains ran in 1937. The line then hauled freight only, and by 1976 the track south of Riverside was abandoned for lack of business. Former state representative Thomas Byrnes of Bristol pushed a 1980 bill to study turning abandoned rail corridors into trails. Governor Edward DiPrete approved the conversion in April 1983. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation built the path in four phases between 1987 and 1992, starting at Riverside Square and finishing with the stretch into India Point Park. Governor Bruce Sundlun dedicated it on May 31, 1992, the state's first multi-town bike path. The Rail-Trail Hall of Fame inducted it in 2009. In 2015 the George Redman Linear Park replaced the old bridge walkway over the Seekonk River. The 1900 trestles over the Barrington and Palmer rivers closed in November 2019, and new bridges reopened the full route in April 2026.
East Coast GreenwayColt State Park bike trailsBlackstone River Greenway
