Enchanted Forest, Crescent Park and more: Remember these closed RI amusement parks?

"Come with your family. Come with your friends. That's the Rocky Point tradition because it's summertime again."

We dare you to not keep singing the jingle.

While theme parks used to be a Rhode Island summer tradition, today they've largely been squeezed out of the Ocean State. There's still Yawgoo Valley Water Park in Exeter if you're looking for a water slide, but roller coasters are in the rearview mirror.

Some of the old amusement parks can still be visited, and others are private property and closed to the public. Here's a look at four former Little Rhody amusement parks.

Crescent Park

East Providence was once described as the “Coney Island of New England,” and at the center of that title was Crescent Park. Going all the way back to the late 1890s, thousands of people visited the park every single day. The park had roller coasters, the whip, a hot-air balloon ride, dark rides, water slides, a pony track and so much more. The gem, though, was the Looff Carousel, a showroom piece. When Crescent Park closed in 1979 due to declining attendance, the community rallied to save the carousel, which is still turning today as the last vestige of Crescent Park.

The Enchanted Forest

Opening in 1972, The Enchanted Forest in Hopkinton was one of the parks that sprang up in the postwar, baby-boomer era looking to give families something fun to do. With a storybook theme — complete with Humpty Dumpty to greet guests on the way in — the park catered to young families with a petting zoo, a Little Red School House, a Ferris wheel and ponies to pull kids on wooden carts. Through the years, other rides were added, such as the scrambler, a Tilt-a-Whirl and swirling teacups. The park closed in 1995 and is now private property.

Rocky Point Amusement Park

Perhaps one of Rhode Island’s favorite memories, Rocky Point Amusement Park is still brought up regularly in conversations. The park had a Ferris wheel with a stunning view of Narragansett Bay, plus The Skyliner for another aerial view. There was a midway with an abundance of games. There were rides like The Bug and The Enterprise. Of course, there was the Olympic-sized swimming pool that once hosted Olympic trials and the baseball diamond where Babe Ruth once pitched. After a 148-year run, Rocky Point Amusement Park closed in 1995. Today, it’s still beloved as a state park, and the remnants of some of the rides are on display, plus new features like the fishing pier.

What and Why RI: It's filled in now, but in its prime Rocky Point pool hosted Olympians. Here's the story.

Water Wizz of Westerly

The most recent of the Rhode Island amusement parks to close, Water Wizz drained its pools in 2020. The Misquamicut business, which opened in 1979, had three types of slides – the giants, the super speeds and the Little Dipper – in addition to other water features to splash around in.

The Island Park

This park closed after the Hurricane of 1938, so it's unlikely there are many out there who will remember it. But before the hurricane, thousands of people visited the Portsmouth park. It began in 1897 as a trolley park, according to East Bay RI, and grew from there. The first attractions were a merry-go-round and a shooting range. Over time, the main draw became a roller coaster called The Bullet, added after the Cashman family bought the area in 1925 and renamed the park after themselves. It's said to have been the second-largest roller coaster in New England, at about a quarter-mile long.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Closed RI amusement parks from Rocky Point to Crescent Park