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Fort Wetherill State Park, Jamestown, RI

Photo: K Rafanelli, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Fort Wetherill State Park

A former coastal defense battery on Conanicut Island, known for harbor views and scuba diving.

Fort Wetherill Road, Jamestown, RI · Jamestown, RI

About Fort Wetherill State Park

This state park sits on tall cliffs on the southeastern tip of Conanicut Island, facing Fort Adams State Park across the water. The site once served as a coastal defense battery and training camp. Visitors come for wide views of Newport Harbor and the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, and it has long been a vantage point for tall ship events and America's Cup races. The park's roughly 61 acres also draw divers who use the boat ramp year round, and it offers picnicking, boating, fishing, hiking, and exploring. Groups planning large gatherings need to arrange scheduling and may need a Special Use Permit.

  • #coastal fort
  • #scenic overlook
  • #scuba diving
  • #picnicking
  • #fishing

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What's around here?

The closest stops to Fort Wetherill State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Tours
    Outdoor Adventure

    Jamestown Newport Ferry

    $25–$50

    Hop on and off a seasonal ferry linking Jamestown, Rose Island Light, Fort Adams and downtown Newport across the bay.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Fort Adams State Park

    No admission fee

    Tour a 19th-century harbor fort, swim at a small bay beach and take in views of Newport Harbor.

    1.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Brenton Point State Park

    Check prices

    Fly a kite, picnic or fish on Newport's Ocean Drive, at the point where Narragansett Bay meets the Atlantic.

    1.9 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Ocean Drive

    No admission fee

    Drive 10 miles of Newport shoreline past beaches, Gilded Age mansions, Fort Adams and Brenton Point.

    2.2 mi awayMore like this

  • Tours
    Date Night

    Sightsailing of Newport

    $25–$50

    Newport Harbor sailing charters and sunset cruises from Bowen's Wharf.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    2.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Beavertail State Park

    Check prices

    A coastal state park at the southern tip of Conanicut Island, known for its lighthouse, rocky shoreline views, and tide pools.

    2.7 mi awayMore like this

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