<p>I’m only interested in nature. I love green, trees and waterfalls/rivers/lakes. How is it like in Providence? Does it rain a lot? (i love rain as well-i know, weird! :))</p>
<p>you will definitely get 4 distinct seasons in providence- snow, rain, sun, fall foliage
there is a river that runs through the city (waterfire in the summer is awesome), and the beach is nearby as well.</p>
<p>Brown is nice but its a "hip' suburban/ urban environment. There are lots of grassy places, but all of which are surrounded by buildings. Dartmouth is the "rivers, mountains, stars, ponds, outdoor skating rink, sledding hills" Ivy.</p>
<p>Honestly there is not much nature within an easy walk or bike ride. Providence is not on the ocean like Boston, New Haven, or New York City, so therefore not that close to the beach. (yes, it is not too far if you drive, but not something you can go to that easily or even walk to... there is technically a port there and in surrounding towns, but it is not anywhere the kind of ocean you're probably thinking of with huge parks, sand beaches, promenades, old fortresses, beach mansions, etc like what you have in Cape Cod, Gloucester, Coney Island, Jones Beach, the Connecticut shoreline, or Maine). </p>
<p>The area's park system is not as well developed as those other cities I mentioned, either. There are a few urban parks, but they aren't nearly as large or as "natural" as what a large city, state or national park would be like, where you have 100s of miles of hiking trails and stuff. </p>
<p>Also, the city is totally surrounded by tons of suburban sprawl, so compared to many other cities and towns it's very hard to avoid the bright lights and really escape, unless you are willing to drive away.</p>
<p>^^^agreed.</p>
<p>If all you care about is nature, I'd look at swarthmore, where it feels like the forest is reclaiming the campus.</p>
<p>Dartmouth honestly sounds like the perfect fit for you...I'm pretty much into the outdoors (not in a high-powered hiking way, but in a snowball fight or jumpind off a rope swing into a river kind of way) and I loved it! Its the place for people who love going for a beautiful swim before class or who like to sled under the stars. Winters are awesome, when occum pond freezes tons of people go skating and drink the free hot chocolate. Dartmouth has tons of great things for all seasons (and we have our own ski slope!)</p>