The Steere Hill farm Conservation Area and Phillips Farm is an absolutely gorgeous piece of land…read more It's one of those places that feels like several different hikes all rolled into one. Hundreds of acres of wetlands, wide-open fields, miles of trails, and nesting grounds for birds. The open fields here are definitely the highlight. Complete with historic cemetery, picnic areas, benches to soak in the view and listen to nature. On my last visit the lupine, wide variety of wildflowers, and steady summer breeze made me linger longer than I usually do when I'm trying to pack the miles in. The history is abundant here with old foundations, stone walls, abandoned hay balers and manure spreaders, former orchards, beech tree groves, areas where livestock roamed, and so much more. The trails were incredibly well marked. Their online trail map is precisely marked. Wildlife was abundant and included a possum, frog, birds, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and countless butterflies. Some sections were more popular than others so I had a mix of alone time paired with hiker encounters. I put in about 8.5 miles with very little repeating which is a nice perk when you're looking to increase mileage and have something interesting to look at while doing so. The trails are well maintained and fairly wide. Definitely check this place out!

I'm always on the look for a new trail running spot. This spot is a well maintained, multi faceted,…read moreinterwoven trail system. You can do shorter 2.5 ish miles or extend it to your pleasure. A nice mix of grass and gravel trails. Not too flat, not too hilly. Some spots offer supreme views of this part of the state. It even has a portapotty on the trail! Lace up and head out!

Gosh it's been a long time since we hiked these trails and long overdue. But it's just as…read morebeautiful and tranquil as ever! We followed a little different path this time, doing part of the blue loop but then cutting across it on the Woods Road which seems to be a less traveled trail. We also passed by the enigmatic stone cairns, stacked for who knows what reason (my hypothesis is that it was the start of a wall that Mexico didn't pay for ...). We plan to return cuz there's a whole other loop trail (red blazed) that we want to explore.

Drove by this a couple times in the winter, and now that's its warmed up decided to check it out. A…read morenice little getaway, you have multiple paths to choose from upon initially entering. Both paths were slightly overgrown a little bit into them, otherwise though it was a great time.

Newly re-opened trail. Small parking lot after traveling down a narrow dirt road. Elevated…read morewalkways, nice scenery, and peace and quiet. They did a good job fixing this up and getting it re-opened.

With approximately 2 miles of trails to traverse and diverse landscapes to take in, the Yawgoo Pond…read moreTrail in South Kingstown is worthy of a visit. From the parking area on Barbers Pond Road, hikers begin their adventure on the Loop Trail. Near to the shores of the Yawgoo, one can connect to the Founders Loop Trail. Both afford sweeping views of the pond and its lapping waters. I enjoyed this land immensely. It features a kettle hole bog, brook with bridge crossing, historic graveyard, incredibly tall white pine trees, and of course, Yawgoo Pond. The trail is very well maintained and easy to follow. South Kingstown Land Trust signs with clearly defined arrows mark the way along with colored blazes to keep you on track. In 2014, Troop 1 Kingston Eagle Scouts built a bridge that makes crossing the Mud Brook a breeze. The "stately" white pines were by far my favorite feature of the hike. Go experience the sounds of nature enveloping you as you quietly pad across beds of pine needles in the shade of these massive trees. You won't regret it.

We find this a very enjoyable place for a quiet walk. Although not all man made sounds are masked,…read morethe sounds of crickets and birds and the wind in the tree tops gently serenaded us on our most recent walk through the wood. Easy to find, the gravel car park is a very good size. There is a covered information kiosk off the car park and another three-sided sign board at the trail head, along with a small covered Trail Map box on a post. Signs everywhere tell you this is *not* a dog friendly location. The early part of this trail is one person wide, fairly even ground. It wends it's way along the edge of two meadows. After the second meadow, the path becomes much broader and remains fairly clear of roots and rocks until you reach the old stone fireplace at Carr Pond where the pathway turns into the wood and becomes more difficult to navigate. If you have a sturdy, off-road baby pram or wheelchair, you may be able to travers this early part of the trail with a little assistance. You will need to navigate around the 'no dog' sign in the middle of the path at the trail head and the narrow meadow portion. After that the trail widens and would be easier to traverse in dry conditions. We branched off on to the CP trail into the wood. The trail takes a short, steep climb at the beginning and then levels out. Single wide, the trail is clearly blazed, even under a carpet of autumn foliage. CP trail is the white trail mark and signs for other trails are very well signed. Carr Pond is about half way round on the CP trail, before looping back and returning to the meadow. We 'strolled' the trail, enjoying being in the wood, stopped at the pond a couple of times to enjoy the serenity. You can most definitely walk it faster, but we took about an hour to make the loop. There are no benches to rest on along this trail, or to sit and enjoy the pond views. In the wooded section you need to keep an eye on roots and rocks. There are a couple of short boardwalks over low area near the pond. It was cooler under the trees making me glad I remembered a hat and jacket along with my water. No facilities of any kind are available, so go, before you visit. Definitely an easy trail for those who are sturdy on their feet. Wear appropriate footwear, and enjoy the quiet peace of the wood and pond.

This is one of my favorite hikes to do with little kids. It has a great loop with a second longer…read moreloop if you want it. I love the pond that it surrounds and we always see signs of beaver activity by it. There's an old fireplace on the hike that is my kids go to spot to stop for a snack. The only downside to this hike is in the winter if it snows and you'd like to snow shoe. It's NOT well marked when there is snow on the ground. The trail markers for one trail are white which make it very difficult to follow after a fresh snow fall. A friend of mine and I did it years ago and ended up having to turn around. If there is snow on the tree trunks it made it impossible to follow the white trail markers. The yellow trail is the longer loop and we never made it that far to find those markers. That's my only complaint!

We parked at the W.W. Greenway lot on Jr Street and started walking to the east. A sign along the…read moretrail indicates the River walk is 'that way', so we turned left at the crosswalk on Hay Street and followed the road to McCarthy Field. There, on the right side of the field, is the entrance to the Senator Donald E. Roch River Walk. The upper area next to the field is flat, paved and lined with shrubs and on this spring day, crocus. Walk under a wooden arch and the path turns to scree and takes a deep dive down. Chose your steps carefully here. Once at the bottom of this hill, the path becomes mulch covered. It has rained recently and there are tire tracks on the trail leaving behind deep ruts filled with water. The first half of this lower level of the pathway was very uneven, strewn with plant debris and looks like it has recently had fresh mulch added here and there. It definitely looks like the trail is a work in progress. The hillside has been 'cleared' of underbrush leaving downed trees and plant debris. Some of the cleared material has been used to create landscaping breaks/retaining areas with the assistance of landscaping fabric. The path appears to have been leveled out and raised to keep it above water level. It's a nice wide trail and with a bit of leveling would make a very enjoyable pathway. Where the path first meets the river, there is a bench to sit and enjoy the view. Another bench is located toward the second half of the trail near a stone structure that may (or may not) have been a mill on the river. At one point there is a 'government building' and the path appears to end there in a heap of mulch, but on the right is a small pathway between trees going toward the river. Once over this short rise, the path opens up again. This section is more 'natural', no mulch. The entire trail runs parallel to the river. Further along the trail you come to a police training facility. Here the path splits. To the right it continues to follow the river for a short distance before heading up a steep incline where it ends. The left branch runs close to the building and is covered in a similar scree material as the beginning. These two paths come out within feet of each other on the opposite side of the field. IMO, this trail is not accessible to strollers or wheelchairs of any type. The beginning and end are too steep, the mulched area uneven and the later section unpaved with roots in places. Even though the mulched pathway was wet in many places, and I almost tripped a couple of times on debris, I actually enjoyed this walk. The sound of the river is very nice and the trees along the river provide shade and plenty of habitat for wild life. It's a short walk and made a very nice change of pace from the bike path nearby. A nice natural get-away in an urban environment.

Soccer baseball and a…read more river River Point Park is one of those park that looks a bit rough around the edges. Hard to explain exactly why but even though they are trees and everything is pretty clean this is one of those parks that just isn't very attractive. I suspect that are the right time of day or year the park is very well used. Some very well maintained soccer and baseball fields are scattered about as well as basketball courts, a small skateboard park and a gazebo picnic area. Certainly lots to do and it even though not many people were around when I went, It looks like this park is a place that people utilize. There even is a riverwalk on the side of the park with a nice entrance and memorial. The walk does indeed go down to a river but seems very rough and overgrown. The river itself isn't exactly breath taking and I suspect many of the large mills and factories in the area spent many years dumping all kinds of nasty stuff in the water. I'm not sure how far or where the riverwalk goes because it got to infested with thorns and prickers and tall grass. Kind of gives the impression that it isn't somewhere I would want to be a night. This is one of those strange parks that doesn't grab your eye and don't expect something beautiful or aesthetically pleasing. This is a very practical, useful and fun park that is much cooler than it first looks.

Wasn't a planned stop, but I saw it on the way home and I stopped and took a look. I am so glad I…read moredid. I'm not exactly a nature or trails person, but I enjoy one from time to time. Loved this one. It's unique in the sense, there is a platform slightly raised off the ground you walk on, so you don't have to worry about ticks, weeds, tree roots, and other creepy crawly things as much. without a doubt if your a nature person you should check it out.

Took my twin daughters here today. The weather was perfect. The trail was short enough that they…read moredidn't get tired or bored. Bonus was the kids playground across from the trails. They had a blast.

The Otis Smith Farm and Rowbottom Preserve is a 55-acre preserve comprised of two parcels of land…read morefrom the Cumberland Land Trust. Located on the historic Otis Smith Farm land acquired from Brown University and the Kenneth and Barbara Rowbottom land, this preserve is a wonderful setting for some Rhode Island hiking. There are 4 color-blazed trails at the time of this review: --Yellow & White = Otis Lippitt Trail --Red = Rowbottom Trail --Blue = Rocky Ridge Trail There are technically 3 trailheads to delve into these interconnected trails, both the Otis Smith Trailhead on Scott Road (2 of them) and the Rowbottom Trailhead on Lippitt Ave. I started on Scott Road and found the White trailhead very easily, pulling my car off at the pictured/numbered green sign labelled "Cumberland Land Trust"...a big American flag waving in the wind. I spotted the Yellow trailhead on Scott Road as I was driving away marked with a very small homemade sign and no clear pull off for cars. I suggest driving down the road a bit and catching the White trail, much easier. All in all, the trails cover about 1.7 miles. Not a strenuous hike, but there are some interesting sights and changes in the landscape as you make your way through. Many of the trails follow historic farmer's cart paths and are intersected frequently with stone walls. There are signs of the old farm all over the place... look for the irrigation ditch that flowed from Little Pond to bring water to the fields. The trail markers are mostly well placed. There were a couple of times that I had to backtrack because I was following what looked like a path but in actuality I was straying from the trail. Take it slow and look around to be sure you are headed in the right direction. The White Trail brings you through a darkened area of the forest lush with ferns. It was really neat making my way through this dense green part of the woods (especially since the caterpillars have been feasting on the green overhead all spring/summer this year). The Red Trail brings you through a number of pine needle beds, soft and squishy underfoot. Lastly, the Blue Trail boasts some large rocky outcroppings of greenstone... and one really large, angry, bird going through feather molt who was not happy to have my trekking near his/her nest. Although this is a very beautiful area of Cumberland (and what drops this preserve down a star for me), on the Blue Trail there appears to be a makeshift wooden shelter up against the rocks. I wouldn't mind so much seeing this here but it is clear that teens trek out to party in the middle of the night. Evidence of campfires against the rock, broken glass, and trash were strewn about this area. I also came across some disturbing makeshift weaponry (think... thick sticks with nails and screws driven into one end, brandished like a medieval mace). A Lord of the Flies-type scene fluttered through my mind and I scurried away, finishing the loop and heading back for my car. Overall a decent hike... I simply wouldn't recommend poking around the shelter too much, especially with children in tow.

This is a fun little trail! It's about 0.6 miles if you take the Otis Lippitt trail. It's a nice…read morelittle walk for the dog or family. Bring big spray though!

Beautiful and spectacular lake out in Foster, with a gorgeous waterfall over the reservoir dam…read more Though technically you're trespassing on this land (being the reservoir for the city of Providence), lots of people walk the trail loop around the lake. On this bright mild winter's day, the walk was pleasant and tranquil through stately spruce stands and beguiling views of the water. We plan to come back in the spring when the trees start greening; and in the fall when the colors are in full glory.

A place with water…read more trees stones and lots of dead people Even though you can't actually go on the water Barden Reservoir is still a great place to hike. Since there are little dirt roads with virtually no traffic, many individuals and hiking clubs use a loop around the reservoir as a place for a nice hike through the woods when the snow or mud makes a trek through the deep woods difficult. Of course the primarily attraction of Barden Reservoir is the water. The huge reservoir is punctuated with small islands and looks like it would be a fantastic place to canoe or kayak, but I suspect the authorities would view someone boating on the public water supply rather harshly. Best just to view the reservoir as well as the cool waterfalls and numerous streams from a small distance. Another thing that becomes quite obvious is the huge abundance of stones. Boulders and walls everywhere. The whole area was heavily glaciated 20,000 years ago and the glacial debris must have made the area a nightmare for people to farm. Yet they managed quite nicely. One of the curious things that new people to the state notice is the large number of small cemeteries scattered about everywhere. Not only in the middle of the woods but also in cities and on quiet little side sides in the suburbs. Rhode Island has a thing for historical cemeteries and has preserved and protected over 3,600 on them. Most are very old and tiny things with a just family or two. There are a number of these diminutive graveyards in Barden Reservoir and I suspect they contain the remains of the original settlers that first turned the land. There is a project going on to record and document every name on every stone. Unfortunately many of the stones are sandstone which erodes very quickly and the names are no longer legible. Barden is a nice place for a easy hike, especially when you don't want to trudge through deep snow or mud and history drips from every wall and foundation. Great water views on all sides and plenty of wildlife to observe. Just make sure you thread lightly and don't disturb the dead.