I came here to mention All Trails. It's so helpful not only for finding places, but knowing the conditions before you arrive. Several times I was gonna hike somewhere and someone else said it was flooded out recently, so I didn't bother.

And yeah, as for ticks, I coat all my gear usually spring and fall and when I hike I put a "healthy" later of "OFF" everywhere. I also spray my dog with a natural Ceder bug spray and he's on meds. The spray is so so, but I've never seen one latched on (fingers crossed).

I'm not a native Rhode Islander and the hiking is one of my favorite things about the state because I grew up in a very urban area.