I grew up going to Rocky Point. For a kid, it was magic. Rides, food, noise, lights, the ocean, and that feeling that something exciting was always about to happen.
The amusement park is gone now. The rides are gone. The crowds are gone. But the land is still there. The water is still there. And if you stand there at the right time, especially before the rest of the world wakes up, you can still feel something of what was there.
I photograph Rocky Point differently now than I would have imagined as a kid. The excitement is gone, but there is something else in its place. Quiet. And maybe a little bit of memory.
Since I made these photographs, the city has replaced the old pier with a new fishing pier — a genuinely nice piece of work, and I’m glad Rocky Point has it. But if I’m honest, I still have a soft spot for the old one. It had character. It told stories of days gone by, a real throwback to what this place used to be.
If you walk the park today, you’ll find an informational sign telling that story — and one of my photographs is on it. The city reached out to use it, and I’ll admit, that one meant a lot.
The Prints
Three more — Sunrise Behind Rocky Point Pier I, Sunrise and Flowers at Rocky Point, and Ice-Covered Rocks at Dawn — are shot and in the works, coming soon.
Behind the Print
→ Rocky Point Winter Sunrise Rhode Island
→ Rocky Point Rhode Island Sunrise Tree
Visiting Rocky Point
Rocky Point is a free public park open dawn to dusk. It was once a beloved Rhode Island amusement park; today the shoreline and remnants of the old pier remain as a quiet coastal park on Narragansett Bay, now home to a new fishing pier.
Explore More of Rhode Island
Rocky Point is one stop on the map — here’s where else the camera has been.