Rhode Island Open Space Recreation
Welcome to the recreation side of Open Space in Rhode Island! Rhode Island is blessed with an array of outdoor possibilities, including hiking, biking, golf, and swimming along our incredible coastline. The Division of Parks and Recreation, within the Department of Environmental Management, has worked hard to provide Rhode Islanders with the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors, and the beauty that New England has to offer.
This site is designed to provide a set of background information that will show the trends that exist in open space recreation. How much land do we have? How do we compare to other States? What opportunities exist, and do we have enough availability for the demand? As you will see, there are some negative trends which RI is faced with. Our per capita acreage for RI State Parks is very low in comparison with our neighbors, and we have not been acquiring land for recreational purposes within the past few years. The recent increase in State Park attendance (50% in the past three years) tells us that while the demand for recreation opportunities has increased, the needs of Rhode Islanders may not be met with the present infrastructure. The Greenways Project discussed here could be the answer for RI residents, and the passing of that plan will change the face of RI in an area where RI needs it.
As you will see most of the data presented here are on the
state level. The State Park Directors Association puts out a database that
allows us to compare RI to the rest of the country. In some cases, Rhode Island
is shown compared to Delaware and New Jersey, because DE is closest in population
size, and NJ is similar in population density to RI. Please see the further
research page for a discussion on how the lack of available data
on private land recreation makes showing trends within the State difficult.
Certain activities, such as hunting and fishing, are not included in this
study, as many of the areas open to hunting and fishing are not listed as
recreation sites. Due to a lack of available datasets, these local management
areas are included only in the totals presented on the Open
Space Home page.
Site Contents:
How do we compare? - State park acreage per capita.
Everybody outside! - Visitation rates.
Keep it growing! - Land acquisition.
What's the plan? - The future of RI recreation.
What Next? - Ideas for further research.
|
Photos courtesy of RI Recreation and Parks Dept.
|