Fort Wetherill Road, Jamestown, RI 02835
Fort Wetherill was a favorite destination of mine when I was a little kid. It is home to a massive old military fort, complete with pitch black halls of rubble and graffiti, huge gun emplacements, winding paths and secret stair cases overgrown with shrubbery. Or so it all seemed as a child. Nowadays it's still pretty cool, but the mystique and adventure of it has gone down a bit. My favorite thing about this park now is the view of Narragansett Bay.
The fort was originally just an earthen embankment created during the Revolutionary War to look out over and help protect the entrance to the bay. It briefly passed into the hands of the British and French before falling dormant after the war. The area was known as Fort Dumpling starting around 1800 but was renamed its current name in 1900. The fort was used briefly during WWII and became a state park in 1972.
Although the fort continues to crumble and visitors are not allowed inside, it's still a historic ruin and the views of Narragansett Bay are breathtaking. You can walk right out to the high cliffs overlooking the ocean, and I think there are a few benches. It's a relatively quite place most of the time, with few visitors---perfect for relaxing by yourself or with close friends and family.
State Park Web Site
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