About 20 inches on Block Island and the southeastern bay shore, 40 to 55 inches in the west
When a roof beats a permit
Three of the five state campgrounds close their gates to anything without permanent tanks or four wheel drive, the beach campgrounds can be cancelled outright for plover nesting with a full refund, and management areas allow camping only where the department has designated it.
There are cabins in the state system, four at George Washington and twenty at Burlingame, and the regulation prices primitive cabins separately from campsites. Beyond that, a room is often the simpler answer for a short trip in a state where nothing is more than an hour from anything else.
Nobody plans a trip around motels, and almost every long trip uses a few. After a week of wind, when the weather turns, while the truck is in a shop, or when the people you travel with have simply earned a hot shower.
What makes lodging work for overlanders
It comes down to parking and attitude.
01Room to park tall and long vehicles, and trailers without unhitching
02Parking you can see from the room, or that is lit
03Late arrivals and early breakfasts
04A hose, a laundry, and no fuss about dust
05Staff who know the local roads and what is open
Before you book
Call rather than click when you have a big vehicle.
01Ask about parking for your height and length.
02Ask about the access road in wet weather.
03Ask about pets, and about leaving gear on the vehicle.
Questions people ask
Will my rig fit?
Ask before you book. Roof tents, campers and high-roof vans do not fit many parking garages, and trailers need pull-through space. Small-town motels and lodges are usually easier than city hotels.
Is it safe to leave gear on the vehicle?
Use judgment, park where you can see the vehicle or under lights, and bring in what you cannot replace. Ask the front desk where they would park it.
How high is Rhode Island?
From Galilee at 5 feet to Jerimoth Hill at 812.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
West GreenwichBig River, Wickaboxet and Tillinghast, one exit off the interstate546 ft
ChepachetThe village at the George Washington Management Area gate428 ft
CoventryThe eastern side of Big River and Nicholas Farm426 ft
PascoagBurrillville services for Buck Hill and Black Hut422 ft
ExeterThe northern approach to Arcadia on Ten Rod Road272 ft
WyomingOn Route 138 between Arcadia and the Carolina area115 ft
Hope ValleyThe Arcadia headquarters village, and the nearest fuel to the area82 ft
PawtucketOld Slater Mill and the Blackstone park headquarters39 ft
WesterlyMisquamicut, Woody Hill and the Quonochontaug sand trail37 ft
NewportAquidneck Island services, and the way to Sachuest Point28 ft
CharlestownBurlingame, the Breachway and the East Beach sand trail22 ft
New ShorehamBlock Island itself, about twelve miles offshore20 ft
ProvidenceThe one full-service city, and the last of it before the western woods9 ft
JamestownConanicut Island, Beavertail and a bridge at either end8 ft
WakefieldSouth Kingstown services, and the coastal council’s own office6 ft
GalileePoint Judith, the state boat ramp and the year-round island boat5 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Jerimoth HillThe state high point, in Providence County. USGS publishes 812 feet; our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point gives 811812 ft
Durfee HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Providence County, above the 2,466-acre management area of the same name805 ft
Buck HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Providence County, above the 3,192-acre management area of the same name736 ft
Bald HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Kent County629 ft
Beacon Pole HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Providence County544 ft
Mount TomOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Washington County. The Arcadia motor route includes a Mt. Tom Road431 ft
Tower HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Washington County183 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
