The Enchanting South County Gardens You'll Want To Explore This Summer

Photo by Darwin Brandis/iStock/Getty Images

Okay, we just missed peak azalea season last month, but there are plenty of other reasons to grab your mask du jour (one of this summer’s big style trends is matching your face mask to your outfit) and motor over to this peaceful 6 acre oasis in Kingston.

A few summers ago, my friend S. and I were strolling near The Towers in Gansett and started chatting with someone intent on cluing us in on what he called secret gardens in the area, somewhere near the URI campus.

Light Bulb Moment: Much later I realized that guy was talking about the Kinney Azalea Gardens.

The Faellal family, direct descendents of Lorenzo Kinney Jr., the 4-H director at URI who created the original gardens back in 1955, still tend the grounds to this day, also managing to keep everything open to the general public for FREE (a very big deal if you ask me).

Search it on Instagram and you’ll see that it has been a wildly popular local spot for photos amongst those already in the know. Prom pix. Fairy Garden themed stuff. Pregnancy snaps. All that and more, more, more. Also, the moon gate in particular (see bottom photo) is Insta Famous with parents, kiddos, and Instagram Bloggers alike. In addition to that, there are holly trees, tons of trails to explore, and an old-timey wooden foot bridge.

You can even purchase, with proper distancing and masking of course, native plants from their on-site stand.

Photo Courtesy of the Kinney Azalea Gardens Facebook Page

While there is no entry fee to speak of, the family does in fact welcome donations, which help them to continue to maintain and preserve the property for future guests and generations..

This year they are also asking that photographers interested in doing social distancing photo sessions there first request dates via their site and upon approval, leave a check for client fees ($35 per person) made out to Kinney Azalea Gardens in one of the various donation boxes on the premises on the day of.

Photo Courtesy of the Kinney Azalea Gardens Facebook Page

A few more things to know before embarking on a visit…

Keep your eyes peeled for the tiny (easy to overlook) sign out front, and that the parking for visitors is behind the owners’ residence and extremely limited.

***Kinney Azalea Gardens are located at 2391 Kingstown Road, Kingston, RI 02881.***

This post has been updated from one that has appeared on this site previously.