A white-blazed inner loop trail opened on the left, but I stayed straight, crossed a small bridge and passed what looked like an old nature study course for children. Historians say they may have been built from rocks cleared from fields by early settlers or by Native Americans for ceremonial purposes. I’ve seen those before in Exeter, Hopkinton and Coventry. Walking RI: Exploring Big River, site of the flood that never wasĪt the northern section of the path, I noted several small cairns in no apparent order. Walking RI: Losing the trail and finding a mystery in Exeter There are several sitting benches along the trail that passes through tunnels of mountain laurel in several places. I walked a few yards up a driveway for a private residence and turned right on the red-blazed, pine-needle-covered trail that ran up a small hill. ![]() Walking north across Pardon Joslin Road, I set out for the second loop through the other half of the preserve. The northern loop: Mysterious cairns and glacial erratics I turned right on the orange-blazed trail, which crossed two small bridges over streams and passed under oak and beech trees and by several fields before returning to the lot where I'd started. The blue-blazed trail goes left and returns to the parking lot. The trail crossed the walkway over the dam and reached a junction in about 50 yards. Walking RI: Rediscover Providence's Roger Williams Park on a serene hike around its ponds The headstones mark graves from the 1800s and 1900s for members of the Gardner, Sweet, Bailey and Hall families. In the middle of the meadow is a raised, stone-wall-lined graveyard on land that was once the old John Gardner (1754-1837) homestead and later the Reuben Brown farm. Walking RI: Best place for a hike and osprey spotting? Try the Great Swamp in South Kingstown Walking RI: A step-by-step guide to beautiful Stepstone Falls Without regular mowing, the fields would revert to forest land and be dominated in 15 or 20 years by shrubs and trees. A sign says it is mowed once a year in the fall to preserve the mix of grasses and forbs (herbaceous flowering plants) that are a natural habitat for plants and grassland animals. On the far side of the bridge, the trail skirts the lily-pad-covered Upper Pond, with several pastures on a hillside on the right, and several lean-tos built with thick branches under pine trees at the shoreline.Ī sign marks a side trail for a short walk up a hill on the right to a large, grassy field. Walking RI: Looking for a great birdwatching spot? Try this former Navy site in North Kingstown Walking RI: Family-friendly hiking at a former Girl Scout camp in Westerly Walking RI: The haunting legacy of Tiverton's Fort Barton Woods ![]() Walking RI: Start your day on the right foot with a hike at Cranston's Curran State Park It’s perfect for families and first-time hikers. One trail circles Upper Pond on the southern side of the 1,010-acre preserve managed by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. There are also a variety of birds to spot in a grassy, hillside pasture and, if you’re lucky, you may spot a mink by the water and streams. Parking: Available at a lot at the trailhead.ĮXETER - An old mill pond with a footbridge on one end above a beaver dam and a waterfall over a stone dam at the other are among the special features at the Fisherville Brook Wildlife Refuge.The preserve is open from sunrise to sunset. Drive 0.4 miles and turn right on Pardon Joslin Road for 0.7 miles to the parking lot on the right. Access: From Route 102, take Widow Sweets Road at the intersection near Exeter Town Hall.
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