STATE & NATION TRAVEL · alerts
Rhode Island adds Willow Lake to Roger Williams Park algae advisory
By Staff Writer · Published October 31, 2026
Visitors should avoid water contact, fishing and boating at Willow Lake and use caution around all connected park ponds until state sampling supports lifting the advisory.
Official announcement: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and Rhode Island Department of Health · October 30, 2026
Source: Rhode Island DEM and RIDOH Willow Lake advisory
Rhode Island health and environmental officials are advising visitors to avoid contact with Willow Lake at Roger Williams Park in Providence because of a harmful cyanobacteria bloom. The October 30 notice applies until further sampling shows the bloom and toxins have cleared.
The agencies classify swimming, fishing, boating and kayaking at the lake as high-risk activities during the advisory. Visitors should not drink untreated lake water or eat fish from the affected water, and pets should not be allowed to swim or drink there. Because blooms can move through connected ponds, the state also urges caution throughout the Roger Williams Park pond system.
The advisory concerns water contact, not a closure of the entire 435-acre park or its land-based attractions. Travelers can still plan around gardens, paths and other facilities, but any itinerary that includes pond access or boating should be changed while the notice remains active.
Rhode Island generally keeps a cyanobacteria advisory in place until a visible bloom is gone and two representative sampling rounds at least a week apart show cell counts and toxins below state thresholds. Water that looks clear is therefore not proof that the advisory has ended; visitors need to check the state's current tracker.
What Travelers Need to Know
Keep people and pets out of Willow Lake and avoid swimming, fishing, boating and kayaking until Rhode Island removes the advisory. Use the DEM cyanobacteria tracker on the day of a visit rather than relying on the original October 30 publication date.
Avoid contact with any park pond that shows green scum, mats, paint-like streaks or cloudy discoloration. Do not let a pet drink from the water or lick algae from its coat.
If contact occurs, rinse skin with clean water, shower and wash clothing; wash a pet immediately with clean water. Contact a medical professional or veterinarian if symptoms develop, following the state release's exposure guidance.
Land-based park attractions are not identified as closed by this advisory, but hours, tickets and access are controlled by each operator. Confirm those separately and remove any planned pond activity from the itinerary.
About the Location
Roger Williams Park was created in 1871 after Betsey Williams left 102 acres of farmland and woodland to Providence for public use. Landscape architect Horace Cleveland shaped the early park, which later expanded to more than 435 acres and now includes a zoo, museum, botanical center, lakes and recreation areas.
Willow Lake is one of several connected ponds within the park. The water system supports scenery and recreation, but that connection also means an algal bloom can shift beyond the shoreline where it was first reported, making a lake-specific warning relevant to visitors elsewhere around the ponds.