Rhode Island's newest bike path is the Blackstone, running north and south from the new Blackstone River State Park Visitor Center on Route 295 in Lincoln, for what will be a distance of 13 miles once Department of Transportation construction work at the Martin Street Bridge is completed.

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Your turn: Which bike paths do you ride? Why?

For this summer, though, the continuous Blackstone Bike Path is only about half of that, with some of the portion south of Route 116 closed to bicycles for the DOT work on weekdays. (On weekends, riders can access the part of the path south of Route 116 and continue to Lonsdale, but only by portaging over a Jersey barrier at the Martin Street construction area.)

If you're not into that kind of enterprise, the best direction to ride once you've parked at the new Visitor Center on Route 295 in Lincoln is north. (The Visitor Center is the best place to park and to access the Blackstone Path and also to pick up bike maps and get updated information from the Department of Environmental Management regional parks office there.)

The northern leg of the path takes you through woods and along the Blackstone River to Manville, where the bike path now dead-ends. Long-term plans call for an extension as far as Worcester, but those stages of the path are still in the planning stages.

You can also access the two-mile paved section of the Blackstone Path which has been cut off by construction from Front Street in Cumberland, according to DEM regional park manager Kenneth Rogers, who adds that DOT construction work has been delayed by scheduling but is underway to repair a couple of washouts on the Blackstone path that occurred during last fall's rain deluge.

The two washouts are clearly marked with wooden barriers, says Rogers, and they have not caused any safety problems. Bicyclists have about three-quarters of the width of the path left to get by, and he himself in-line skates the path frequently on his lunch break. "We at DEM would love to have those washouts repaired this summer, but it depends on the work schedule of the DOT and Lynch Construction. We're trying to help work that out."

Sights to look for along the northern leg of the Blackstone Path include the historic Kelly House Museum, just south of the turn across the river at the Ashton Dam. The small historical museum is an 1835 house built by sea captain Kelly, who left his career at sea to become an early industrial-era entrepreneur of the Blackstone Canal. Exhibits inside relate to Captain Kelly, the Blackstone Canal, and the history of transportation in the Blackstone Valley.

The museum is open daily 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April through October. Admission is free.

For information, call (401) 333-0295 or visit www.riparks.com.

-- KATHERINE IMBRIE

kimbrie@projo.com / (401) 277-7630