William C. O'Neill Bike Path

William C. O'Neill Bike Path
The William C. O'Neill Bike Path in Peace Dale in 2013
William C. O'Neill Bike Path
Established	2000 (first section)
Length	6.8 miles (11 km)
Location	South Kingstown and Narragansett, Rhode Island, United States
Trailheads	Kingston station, West Kingston Mumford Road, Narragansett
Hiking details
Surface	Paved
Right of way	Former Narragansett Pier Railroad
Website	southcountybikepath.org

The William C. O'Neill Bike Path (also called the South County Bike Trail) is a paved rail trail extending from Kingston station parking lot in West Kingston, Rhode Island, to Mumford Road in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The whole path is in Washington County, Rhode Island. The trail is 6.8 miles (11 km) long, largely on the former right of way of the Narragansett Pier Railroad. A future extension will bring it to Boston Neck Road (RI 1A), and a second extension will provide a connection to the University of Rhode Island.

The Narragansett Pier Railroad opened in 1876 to connect mills in Wakefield and Peace Dale to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad at West Kingston. Passenger service ended in 1952, though freight service continued until the 1970s and the line was not fully abandoned until 1981.

In 1968, the line was proposed for use as a public school rail line, taking children to and from schools along the route, but this "visionary concept" failed to gain the requisite support. In 1981, Anthony Guariello—a local mill owner and town councilman—purchased the line with the possibility of conversion into a bike path for school children.

Conversion to a bicycle path was studied in 1991; in 1995, the Friends of the South County Bike Path was started to create the path. The first phase of the trail, running 4.2 miles (6.8 km) from Kingston station to Rodman Street, was completed in 2000. The 2.9-mile (4.7 km) Phase II was opened to Route 108 in 2003. Phase II, started in 2009, and opened in 2011, extended the trail a further 0.8 miles (1.3 km) (including a short section on a residential street) to the intersection of Mumford Road and Riverside Drive in Narragansett. According to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, at 7.8 miles, the South County Bike Path is the fourth longest bike path in the state.