Rhode Island, also known as the Ocean State, offers a range of lifestyles to those seeking the advantages of an exciting city or a relaxing country setting. Less than 50 miles wide, but graced with a 400-mile shoreline, Rhode Island finds its heart in beautiful Narragansett Bay. A rich saltwater heritage makes Rhode Island one of the sailing capitals of the world. Freshwater and saltwater fishing, swimming at more than 100 beaches, camping, music festivals, picnicking, surfing, skin diving and old-fashioned clambakes make Rhode Island an outdoor paradise.
Northern Rhode Island, which includes the bustling capital, Providence, is an area of wide expanses of quiet woodland and lake country.
Southern Rhode Island boasts some of the country's finest beaches, saltwater fishing, boating, resorts, art colonies, shoreline campgrounds and extensive woodland recreation areas.
The city of Newport, founded in 1639, became world famous early as a commercial seaport. Numerous colonial landmarks remain standing and preserved. The City by the Sea is home to international sailboat races, and is the site of the palatial "summer cottages" of the country's leading socialites from the turn of the century.
In the East Bay region, sailing and shipbuilding have played an important role in life along the eastern shores of Narragansett Bay since the 17th century. The famous Herreshoff Boatyard, where the seven America's Cup defenders were built, shares the coastline with old fishing villages and centuries-old homes.
Forests, meadowland and suburban residential development characterize the West Bay region. Sailing, clam digging, antique hunting, shopping in the commercial areas of Cranston and Warwick, and visiting the historic homesteads of General Nathanael Greene and James Mitchell Varnum are rewarding activities.
