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• Winter Walking: Snowshoeing Family Fun
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ice skating + sledding
List of indoor and outdoor rinks: (click here)
Places to go sledding: kidoinfo.com/ri/sledding-in-rhode-island/
skiing
Yawgoo Valley Ski Area
Location: Yawgoo Valley Road, Exeter, RI
Directions from Providence: Route 95 South to Route 4 (Exit 9). Take Exit 5B for Route 102 North. After one mile, turn left onto Route 2 South. At four miles, Yawgoo Valley Road is on the left.
Phone: (401) 294-3802 for ski information; (401) 295-2276 for tubing
Website: www.yawgoo.com
Fee: Weekend lift passes for adults are $38, with reduced rates for half-days, children and seniors. Weekday rates: $27. Season passes, lessons and rentals are available.
Blue Hills Ski Area
Location: 4001 Washington St. (Route 138), Canton, Mass.
Directions from Providence: Route 95 North to Route 128/93 split. Turn right onto 93 North and take Exit 2B onto Route 138 North. Blue Hills is about 1 mile on the right.
Phone: (781) 828-5070
Website: www.ski-bluehills.com
Kids programs: www.ski-bluehills.com/programs.html#wee
Fee: Weekend lift passes for adults are $33; weekdays are $21. Season passes, lessons and rentals are available.
Wachusett Mountain Ski Area
Location: 499 Mountain Rd., Princeton, Mass.
Directions from Providence: Route 146 North to Worcester, then Route 290 East to Exit 19 (Route 190 North) to Exit 5 (Route 140 North). Wachusett’s access road is 12 miles north on the left.
phone: (978) 464-2300, snow reports: (800) SKI-1234
Website: www.wachusett.com
Kids Programs: wawa.wachusett.com/learn/kids_programs/default.cfm
Fee: Weekend lift passes are $49; weekdays $44, with reduced rates available for half-days, nights, children and seniors. Season passes, lessons and rentals are available.
annual holiday events
Find more events listed in the Events Calendar. Want to submit a listing? Contact us.
Downtown Providence Tree Lighting (early December)
Enjoy the Providence Preservation Society’s Benefit Street & Downtown Stroll and then join Mayor Cicilline to light the tree at City Hall.
location: Providence City Hall
Cutural Holiday Celebrations (December)
Rhode Island State House offers festive ethnic Holiday displays and noontime Holiday concert performances in the rotunda.
location: Captial Center- 82 Smith Street, Providence, RI.
phone: 401-222-2678
web: www.preservation.ri.gov
Festival of Lights (First weekend in December)
The charm of this historic village comes alive as thousands of beautiful white lights transform it into a winter wonderland. Tree lighting, window decorating contest, hayrides, music, and entertainment are included in the festivities as well as Breakfast with Santa.
location: Wickford Village – Brown & Main Streets, Wickford, RI
phone: 401-295-5566
web: www.wickfordvillage.org
Christmas in Newport (December)
Month-long festival of more than seventy-five events featuring concerts, dance, house-tours, inn tours, tree lighting ceremonies and children’s events all to highlight the Christmas season in historic Newport.
location; Newport, RI
phone: 401-849-6454
web: www.ChristmasInNewport.org
Pawtucket’s Winter Wonderland in Slater Park (December)
400 decorated and lit cut christmas trees. Trees are lit every evening from 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM through Dec. 31. Twenty victorian buildings for kids to explore. Special events on December weekends leading up to Christmas – including Frosty the talking snowman, free visits w/santa, photos w/santa, train rides, hay rides, carousel rides, a tented food court serves hot dogs and hot chocolate, and free entertainment. Check website for details. Free admission & parking.
location: Slater Memorial Park – Armistice Blvd/Newport Ave., Pawtucket, RI
phone: 401-726-3185
web: www.pawtucketwinterwonderland.org
Holidays at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center (December)
Come visit New England’s newest attraction, enjoy poinsettia displays among our lovely gardens of palms, orchids, water features, and carnivorous plants. Adults – $3, Children (6-12) $1, Under 6 are free. Open Tuesday through Sundays, 11 am to 4 pm. Special events include Frosty the Snowman (Tuesday through Sundays 12 to 4 pm) and weekend storytelling. Check website for details.
location: Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island
phone: 401-785-9450
web: www.providenceri.com/botanical-center
Providence Preservation Society’s Holiday Festival
and Benefit Street & Downtown Stroll (December)
This family-fun event will feature a patron’s reception, a private tour of homes followed by a stroll along Benefit Street, which will be decorated with garlands and bows. Enjoy carolers serenading the crowd while dressed in period costume, holiday shopping, horse-drawn carriages, hot chocolate and chestnuts roasted on open flames. This year, PPS has expanded its Stroll to include downtown Providence. Come celebrate this wonderful city’s revitalization during the holidays! Many new shops have opened. Streets and sidewalks have been buffed clean. A unique combination of public and institutional improvements and private investment is transforming our downtown into a dynamic arts and culture center. Come stroll down from Benefit Street to Kennedy Plaza and celebrate this rebirth as we join Mayor Cicilline to light the tree at City Hall. Stores will be open late for holiday shopping.
location: Benefit Street & Downtown Providence
phone: 401-831-7440
website: www.ppsri.org