Short answer
Good places to paint plein air in Rhode Island include Block Island Southeast Light & Mohegan Bluffs, Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge, Prospect Terrace Park, Green Animals Topiary Garden, Brenton Point State Park, Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Adams State Park and Castle Hill Lighthouse. PleinScout lists 39 spots in Rhode Island, each with parking, shade, restrooms and when the light is best. Always check current hours, fees and rules before you go.
These are places painters set up in Rhode Island, grouped by subject. Each one notes the things that decide whether a session works: where to park, whether there's shade, a restroom nearby, and when the light is best. The full map, with directions and spots added by local painters, is in the free PleinScout app.
Coast, beaches and harbors
Bristol Harbor & Independence Park
A waterfront park on Bristol Harbor, with moored boats and the town's red, white and blue Hope Street nearby.
Bristol · Best light: sunset · Parking: lot · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Colt State Park
Stone walls, a grand drive and open lawns along Narragansett Bay. It's one of the best sunset spots in the state.
Bristol · Best light: sunset · Parking: lot · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
East Greenwich Waterfront
A small harbor at the foot of the town's hill, with marinas, shellfish boats and Greenwich Cove.
East Greenwich · Best light: sunset · Parking: lot · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Beavertail State Park & Lighthouse
The southern tip of Conanicut Island: a granite lighthouse on wild rock ledges, with surf and big ocean horizons.
Jamestown · Best light: sunset · Parking: lot · Shade: none · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Fort Wetherill State Park
Old fort ruins on high granite cliffs across from Newport, looking over the harbor mouth and Castle Hill.
Jamestown · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Purgatory Chasm
A narrow cleft in the cliffs above Second Beach, with a dramatic drop to the surf and views along the coast.
Middletown · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: none · Restrooms: no · Free · Easy
Second Beach (Sachuest Beach)
A long surfing beach curving toward Sachuest Point, with dunes, marsh behind and St. George's School on the hill.
Middletown · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: none · Restrooms: yes · Seasonal beach parking fee; check current rates. · Easy
Galilee Fishing Port
Rhode Island's biggest commercial fishing port: trawlers, draggers, lobster boats and the Block Island ferry.
Narragansett · Best light: morning · Parking: paid · Shade: none · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Point Judith Lighthouse
An octagonal lighthouse on the point where Narragansett Bay meets the ocean, with boulders, surf and Block Island ferries passing.
Narragansett · Best light: afternoon · Parking: lot · Shade: none · Restrooms: no · Free · Easy
Block Island North Light
An 1867 granite lighthouse at the end of Sandy Point, reached by a sandy walk past the dunes and Sachem Pond.
New Shoreham · Best light: sunset · Parking: lot · Shade: none · Restrooms: no · Free · Moderate
Block Island Old Harbor
Victorian hotels with long porches line the harbor where the ferries come in. It's a lively seaside town scene.
New Shoreham · Best light: morning · Parking: street · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Block Island Southeast Light & Mohegan Bluffs
A red-brick Victorian lighthouse on top of 150-foot clay bluffs above the ocean. It's one of the most painted views on Block Island.
New Shoreham · Best light: afternoon · Parking: lot · Shade: none · Restrooms: yes · Free · Moderate
Bowen's Wharf
Cobbled wharf of 18th-century brick and shingle buildings on Newport Harbor, with fishing boats, yachts and lots of people to sketch.
Newport · Best light: morning · Parking: paid · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Brenton Point State Park
A grassy point on Ocean Drive where Narragansett Bay meets the open Atlantic, with stone ruins of an old estate and kites overhead.
Newport · Best light: sunset · Parking: lot · Shade: none · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Castle Hill Lighthouse
A granite lighthouse built into the rocks at the mouth of Narragansett Bay, reached by a short path past the Castle Hill Inn lawns.
Newport · Best light: sunset · Parking: lot · Shade: none · Restrooms: no · Free · Easy
Cliff Walk
A 3.5-mile public path between Gilded Age mansion lawns and the Atlantic cliffs. The mansions and surf together are a classic Newport subject.
Newport · Best light: morning · Parking: street · Shade: none · Restrooms: no · Free · Moderate
Rose Island Lighthouse
A small 1870 lighthouse on an island in Newport Harbor, reached by a seasonal ferry. You can even stay overnight.
Newport · Best light: golden hour · Parking: none · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Ferry and landing fee; check the schedule. · Moderate
Wickford Village & Harbor
An 18th-century harbor village of white clapboard houses and docks on a sheltered cove. It's long a favorite of painters.
North Kingstown · Best light: morning · Parking: street · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Goddard Memorial State Park
Bayfront woodlands, a beach and lawns on Greenwich Bay, with old trees and a carousel building.
Warwick · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: lots · Restrooms: yes · Rhode Island state parks charge seasonal parking (higher for out-of-state plates), roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day. Check current rates. · Easy
Napatree Point
A mile-long barrier spit of dunes and beach curling west from Watch Hill. It's wild and quiet once you walk past the village.
Westerly · Best light: sunset · Parking: paid · Shade: none · Restrooms: no · Free · Moderate
Watch Hill Lighthouse
An 1856 granite lighthouse on a rocky point at Watch Hill, with Fishers Island Sound and Napatree beyond.
Westerly · Best light: afternoon · Parking: none · Shade: none · Restrooms: no · Free · Easy
Lakes, rivers and waterfalls
Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge
Salt pond, barrier beach and coastal shrubland on an old naval airfield, with big open marsh views.
Charlestown · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge
A rocky peninsula of salt marsh, coastal shrubland and ledges with views back to Newport, rich in birds and seals in winter.
Middletown · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: none · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Scituate Reservoir
The state's largest body of fresh water, wide and wooded. It's best seen from the causeway roads.
Scituate · Best light: golden hour · Parking: street · Shade: some · Restrooms: no · Free · Easy
Stepstone Falls
The Wood River tumbles over wide granite ledges in the Arcadia woods, quiet and shaded.
West Greenwich · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: lots · Restrooms: no · Free · Moderate
Mountains, canyons and overlooks
Prospect Terrace Park
A small College Hill park with a statue of Roger Williams and a sweeping view of downtown and the State House.
Providence · Best light: sunset · Parking: street · Shade: some · Restrooms: no · Free · Easy
Towns, historic sites and gardens
Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum
A seaside estate with gardens, a famous giant sequoia and lawns that sweep down to the bay.
Bristol · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Admission; check current prices. · Easy
Chepachet Village
A small mill village with a historic main street, antique shops and a river running through.
Glocester · Best light: morning · Parking: street · Shade: some · Restrooms: no · Free · Easy
Little Compton Commons
A tiny village green with a white church, an old burying ground, stone walls and a general store. Quiet farm country all around.
Little Compton · Best light: morning · Parking: street · Shade: some · Restrooms: no · Free · Easy
Narragansett Pier & The Towers
The stone towers of the old casino arch over Ocean Road above the seawall, with the town beach and surfers nearby.
Narragansett · Best light: morning · Parking: street · Shade: none · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Fort Adams State Park
A huge 1820s stone fort on the harbor mouth, with sweeping views of Newport Harbor, the Pell Bridge and passing sailboats.
Newport · Best light: golden hour · Parking: lot · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Rhode Island state parks charge seasonal parking (higher for out-of-state plates), roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day. Check current rates. · Easy
Slater Mill
The 1793 birthplace of the American factory system, on the falls of the Blackstone River.
Pawtucket · Best light: afternoon · Parking: lot · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Green Animals Topiary Garden
The country's oldest topiary garden: animals, birds and geometric shapes clipped from privet and yew above Narragansett Bay.
Portsmouth · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Preservation Society admission; check current prices. · Easy
Rhode Island State House
A white marble capitol topped by one of the largest self-supporting marble domes in the world, on a hill above downtown.
Providence · Best light: morning · Parking: street · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Roger Williams Park
A 427-acre Victorian park with lakes, a bandstand, a casino and Japanese garden.
Providence · Best light: morning · Parking: lot · Shade: lots · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Waterplace Park & the Providence River
A downtown basin and riverwalk with arched bridges and gondolas, famous for WaterFire nights.
Providence · Best light: golden hour · Parking: paid · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Tiverton Four Corners
A crossroads village of 18th-century houses, galleries and farm stands in coastal farm country.
Tiverton · Best light: golden hour · Parking: street · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Pawtuxet Village
A historic village where the Pawtuxet River falls into the harbor, with a stone bridge, colonial houses and boats.
Warwick · Best light: morning · Parking: street · Shade: some · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Wilcox Park
A Victorian park in downtown Westerly with a pond, a fountain, specimen trees and perennial gardens.
Westerly · Best light: morning · Parking: street · Shade: lots · Restrooms: yes · Free · Easy
Run a plein air group or sketch chapter in Rhode Island? Get it listed free, with a link to your page.
Find more spots in Rhode Island
Painters add new spots to PleinScout every week, with photos, parking and the light. Get the free app to see them on the map, or find a paint-out near you.
Hours, fees and rules change. Always check with the park or venue before you go.