Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park — Attraction in Pawtucket

We visited on a Saturday in mid-June 2025 around noon.

There was a large free parking lot which was a little difficult to find. There were maybe 3 or 4 other groups there with us the entire time.

The 2 rangers we met at first behind the desk were amazing. Super funny and a pleasure to talk to. They helped us get in contact with Roger Williams National Memorial because we had forgot our water bottle over there.

There was a 3rd ranger who gave us the tour of the old slater mill. If you have the chance and opportunity, you should do the tour. The guided tour was free and is Thur-Sunday 10:30AM, 12:30PM and 2:30PM. You can kind of look through the windows of the visitor center to see some of the things but the tour is the only way to get up close to everything. The visitor center itself is small and not many exhibits. There is a short film they can play for you. It's only really worth a visit I think if you can do the tour.

The ranger rang the bell for us and also the spinning machines. My kids also got integrated into the presentation and it was awesome. He talked about the child labor in those days.

The temperature outside was 60sF and it was great. The river was right there and also very cool. There is no merch store here, you have to go to the Roger William National Memorial visitor center. They do have 2 National Park Service Passport Cancellation Stamps.

The junior ranger here was a bit different than the typical and I think the kids enjoyed it.

They also have many picnic tables I'm guessing for field trips for kids. There were quite a few of them. Not much shade however.

Overall it was a great place to visit and learn the fascinating history. However, I don't think if it would be worth visiting a second time unless you lived relatively close by. We stopped by as part of a long road trip up...

Worth a stop if you’re in the area. There’s not a lot to it compared to som other NP sites, but it’s an interesting and quick stop to get information and maps to other highlights in the Blackstone River Valley. I spent about half a day or so driving the along the valley from point to point as outlined in the guide I picked up at the...

My girls did the Junior Ranger badge here. There was a volunteer on site who was super friendly and helpful. There were two indoor bathrooms that were very well maintained and clean. There was a short historical video in the visitors center that was informative. It had gorgeous views of the dams and it was a nice...