Rocky Point Amusement Park is no more, now a pleasant park along Narragansett Bay: “Tichnor Quality Views”, Reg,U.S.Pat.Off., Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass., Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsKent County in Rhode Island sits in the middle of the state, stretching from the western border until it encounters Narragansett Bay. Warwick, the most populous of the county’s five towns, steals all the shoreline, even the Potowomut stretch of land, leaving East Greenwich with a feeble grasp on Greenwich Cove.
Warwick, established in 1642 (remember all those expatriates from Massachusetts Bay Colony) is famed for its opening act of the American Revolution, the sinking of the Gaspee. A great location for access to Providence, Narragansett and Newport, Warwick can nevertheless hold its own, even with TF Green International Airport sitting smack in the middle of the city. It is a place of suburban neighborhoods filled with well-kept modest homes and plenty of waterfront parks and beaches.
Be sure to check out the eerie remains of the beloved Rocky Point Amusement Park, while enjoying the beautiful Rocky Point State Park. Take a stroll through Apponaug Village, Warwick’s official downtown, location of City Hall and a throwback to a quiet suburban downtown.
In East Greenwich, the New England Wireless & Steam Museum and the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum are both worth a visit.
As one might expect, the population wanes as one moves west, with the long spindly Flat River Reservoir seeming to be the stopping point for suburban sprawl. Beyond that you’ll find farms and rural parks.
