THE PARKS...
Arcadia Management Area
Phone - (401) 539-2356
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Exeter; from Interstate 95 take Exit 4. Go three miles north to a blinking yellow light. Go left on Route 165 West and turn left at the sign for the forest office.
The Park
Arcadia is the largest management area in Rhode Island, keeping almost 14,000 acres in a natural state “more or less,” as the state says. Almost the entire area is blanketed in forest cover with a nice mix of leafy deciduous tree and scented white pine. Elevations range to 541 feet and canine hikers can take advantage of dirt access roads and narrow foot trails, often cushioned by a layer of paw-friendly pine straw.
The Walks
The sheer variety and quality of these shady trails conspire to make Arcadia the best place in Rhode Island for a day of hiking with your dog. Route 165 neatly bisects the forest to use as a starting point for your explorations. There are 30 miles of trails broken into out-and-back segments so you will need to create your own circuit loops or bring two cars for a shuttle to avoid return trips in your own pawprints. If you want your dog to tackle some of the most rugged hiking in Rhode Island - although it is a stretch to call it strenuous save for the distance - try the Tippecansett Trail, the longest trail in the Arcadia system sliced into three equal three-mile legs by two highways. You’ll get varied terrain, rocky ledges and swimming ponds on this ramble. For an exceedingly peaceful hike take the Ben Utter Trail north of Route 165 to visit Stepstone Falls. The soft dirt path traces the lively Wood River under giant pines that escaped logging due to their awkward location by the stream and passes foundations of old mills. Another water-enhanced option is the John B. Hudson Trail that follows Breakheart Brook to Breakheart Pond. The North-South Trail, a greenway that travels 75 miles for the length of Rhode Island, passes through Arcadia as well. Look for the blue-and-white markers to follow this footpath for awhile. There is a trail map that you will want to have in hand before heading out; they are not available at trailheads but can be picked up at the forest headquarters on Arcadia Road. The named trails are not designated at the trailheads and the colored blazes -yellow and white - correspond to trail systems rather than individual trails so you will need to stay alert in your wayfinding.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Mountain bikers and horses can use the trails but you are likely to go hours without seeing any other trail users on most days. Many dirt roads are gated but others that are not support active vehicular traffic. When hunting season is in progress 200 square inches of blaze orange is required for users of any state management area.
Workout For Your Dog - Many hours to a full day possible
Swimming - There are several ponds to serve as doggie swimming holes and many streams for splashing
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are permitted on the Arcadia trails, campgrounds and in picnic areas but not in swimming areas
Something Extra
If your dog is after views and sniffing in every direction, include the Mt. Tom Trail on your agenda. This pleasant trail skirts Parris Brook and climbs quickly but easily to the 430-foot summit - not the highest point in the park but blessed with 360-degree views of miles of treetops from the rocky ledges.
Beavertail State Park
Phone - (401) 423-9941
Website - http://www.riparks.com/beaverta1.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Jamestown; From Route 138 exit towards the town of Jamestown on North Main Road. Continue to South East Avenue and pick up Beavertail Road to the end.
The Park
The first lighthouse built at Beavertail was the third in the country when it was constructed in 1749 - after only the Boston Harbor Light (1716) and the Great Point Light on Nantucket (1746). Four years later the Newport Light, as it was called, became America’s first lighthouse to burn to the ground. The rubble tower that was built next lasted a full century until it was replaced by the current granite tower that guides vessels into Narragansett Bay today. The United States Navy took control of this point in World War II and erected Fort Burnside in honor of Civil War general and Rhode Island governor Ambrose Burnside. In 1980 the state acquired the land as surplus property.
The Walks
Canine hikers can come to Beavertail for the Cliff Walk without the tourists - especially in the off-season. You can hike with your dog from one end of the park to the other atop the rocky shoreline on park roads and a narrow dirt path. If the weather is calm and the seas benign you can include the craggy rocks in your route. The views will be spectacular at almost any point in your hike with four specific overlooks designated. Interpretive signs describe the area, including the Beavertail fault with its geologic story of ancient Rhode Island. Make sure to bring plenty of fresh water for your dog at Beavertail. There isn’t much shade out on the point and no drinking water. A trail option at Beavertail State Park takes your dog down on the rocks around the historic lighthouse that has stood since 1856.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Boulders, paved roads and grassy shoulders
Workout For Your Dog – Without sightseeing, there is less than an hour of hiking here
Swimming - If the waters are calm your dog can catch a swim in a tidal pool but you don’t want her to get too adventurous.
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome throughout Beavertail State Park.
Something Extra
The Beavertail Light celebrates its 150th year of operation in 2006 at the southern end of Conanicut Island. In addition to the lighthouse and a museum there is a small aquarium in an old fog horn building where you can see creatures from the tidal pools in the rocks below.
Brenton Point State Park
Phone - (401) 849-4562 (in season)
Website – www.riparks.com/brenton.htm
Admission Fee – None
Directions - Newport; The park is on Ocean Drive. Take Route 114 South (West Main Road) to 138 South to Broadway in downtown Newport. Follow the signs to Ocean Drive.
The Park
William Brenton was in his early 30s when he sailed for Boston from England in 1633. In 1637 he was part of the founding band of settlers of Newport. He became Deputy Governor of the towns of Portsmouth and Newport and took possession of some 2000 acres here in 1639. He named it “Hammersmith” after his home in England. Two centuries after the governor’s death in 1674 the property was acquired by Theodore M. Davis, a lawyer and famous Egyptologist. He built a large shingled mansion overlooking the sea called “the Reef ” that became one of the most distinctive residences in Newport, characterized by beautiful formal gardens. The Reef fell victim to messy divorces and World War II when the United States Army took over the estate and used it as a sight for a Coastal Artillery Battery. Following the war the mansion was never re-occupied and after years of vandalism eventually burned and was razed. In 1969 the State of Rhode Island took over the property and opened Brenton Point State Park in 1976.
The Walks
Your canine hiking day at Brenton Point is left to your imagination. There is a paved one-mile oceanfront walking path or you can explore the ruins of the old estate on access roads and wide grass paths. The debris from the Reef is buried under the mound overlooking the Atlantic but still standing are the remains of an elaborate L-shaped stable and a stone tower that your dog can climb to a viewing stand. Your dog can clamber up the steps to the top of an old stone tower and soak in views of the Atlantic Ocean and the ruins of the once-spectacular stables.
This is an easy go for any dog although the trails through the reeds at the back of the property can be a tight squeeze if attempted. Based on the places dogs are allowed to hike in Rhode Island it should be called the “Forest State” so this open-air outing for your dog is a real treat.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: This is the place to come for dogs to get the feel of the grounds of the fabled Newport estates.
Workout For Your Dog – An easy ramble for your trail pal
Swimming - This is not the place to test the roiling waves of the Atlantic
Restrictions On Dogs - Not here.
Something Extra
The grassy oceanside expanses at Brenton Point are not merely an awesome setting for a game of fetch but a mecca for kiteflying enthusiasts. In July the Newport Kite Festival brings together elaborate kites from all over the world to fly on the former grounds of the Reef.
Buck Hill Management Area
Phone - (401) 222-2632
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Burrillville; Follow Route 100 North (Wallum Lake Road) to Buck Hill Road on the left. The entrance is 2.3 miles down after the turnoff.
The Park
This parcel of 2000+ acres fits nicely into the far northwestern corner of the state, bounded by Connecticut and Massachusetts. The state has actively managed the land, transforming the former farmland into a vast woodland with wetlands created to attract wildlife.
The Walks
The premier hike in the Buck Hill Management Area is a loop of just under five miles using the yellow and white trails - an ideal distance to cover before your dog starts getting bored. The entire preserve is virtually under deciduous tree cover making this an excellent autumn choice for a canine hike. This is easy going for any dog on dirt roads and well-marked trails. Along the way you will pass into Connecticut and Massachusetts and hopefully spy the tri-state marker.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: The main trail is hiker-only. When hunting season is in progress 200 square inches of blaze orange is required for users of any state management area.
Workout For Your Dog – Several hours of woods walking on tap here
Swimming - f your travels bring you to Wallum Lake your dog can get superb dog paddling in at a boat ramp.
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome to join the fun at Buck Hill
Something Extra
When you come to the marsh you will see hundreds of ghost trees, killed when a dike was built to create the marsh. These skeleton trees - dead, still standing but not decomposed - are common sights in ocean dunesland but can be startling in an otherwise vibrant forestscape.
Burlingame State Park
Phone - (401) 322-8910
Website - www.riparks.com/burlinga.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Charlestown; Take Interstate 95 South to Route 4 South to Route 1 South into Charlestown. Turn at the Burlingame Picnic Area Sign.
The Park
After World War I Americans fully embraced a love affair with the automobile that has never abated. Road construction exploded and the American people began heading for the great outdoors like never before. The result was the first National Conference on Outdoor Recreation, sponsored by the White House, in 1925. Out of this conference grew Burlingame Reservation with land purchased between 1927 and 1934. The park was named for Edwin Alysworth Burlingame who was the chairman of Rhode Island’s Metropolitan Park Commission at the time. The centerpiece of Burlingame’s more than 3,000 acres is the 573-acre natural Watchaug Pond. The waters, with an average depth of only eight feet, are a hotspot for bass fishermen and a magnet for kayakers and canoeists.
The Walks
The star walk at Burlingame is the 7.9-mile Vin Gormley Trail that circumnavigates the pond. Once you are in for a penny on this canine hike you are in for a pound since the only shortcut available is by boat, unless you choose to retrace your steps. Much of the way will be across rocky terrain and through pine forests (the official Rhode Island Christmas tree was harvested in Burlingame for years) and there is an inconvenient stretch of some two miles where you need to take your dog along narrow two-lane roads. To complete the entire yellow-blazed loop will take about four hours.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural – sometimes squishy - trails
Workout For Your Dog - Long hikes available
Swimming - Just try and keep your dog out of Watchaug Pond
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are not allowed in the public beach area
Something Extra
Burlingame has been synonomous with camping for Rhode Islanders for more than half-a-century. During the Great Depression, the reservation was the headquarters of Burlingame Camp,141st Company, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the first CCC camp in the state. Millions of men were put to work by President Franklin Roosevelt in rural areas building roads, working on flood control and beautification projects.During World War II several units of the Yankee Division, which did beach patrol, were stationed here. The old CCC buildings are still in use for youth camps today.
Clay Head Nature Trail
Phone - (401) 466-5675
Website - www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/rhodeisland/preserves/art3146.html
Admission Fee - None (ferry fee may benecessary; dogs sail for free)
Directions – Block Island; From Old Harbor, head north on the Corn Neck Road (the only road to the north end of Block Island) to the trailhead at a post marker about 2.5 miles from town.
The Park
David and Elise Lapham first visited Block Island for a vacation in 1951. Over the next decade they kept returning and finally decided to buy five acres on the island’s north end. While looking at a small parcel of land across the road they ended up instead with almost 200 acres atop the clay bluffs gouged out by retreating glaciers some 10,000 years prior. David Lapham discovered he had an affinity for trail building. He picked up a chopping machine and began clawing out brush and thickets in every direction. One day he set out to measure his walking paths and found out he had nine miles of trails on his property. With his trail system complete the Lathams began decorating the footpaths. Over the years more than 7,000 daffodil bulbs went into the ground. Thousands of trees were planted. From the beginning, the Laphams wanted to share their land with its spectacular setting. When they decided to leave the property in the stewardship of the Nature Conservancy it was with the proviso that the public would have access to the trails.
The Walks
David Lapham’s trail system has come to be known as “The Maze.” These grassy trails are unmarked but well-maintained and a delight for your dog. You can pop out at a stone wall or one of the best views on the East Coast. The Clay Head Nature Trail runs for about one mile along the top of the 70-foot bluffs. It is easy going but will be one of the longest miles you’ve ever taken your dog on when you factor in the frequent stops for watching the crashing waves or charting the progress of a passing vessel.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: This is one of the prime destinations on Block Island but there is plenty of trail space to spread out. Foot traffic only.
Workout For Your Dog – There is climbing around the head and if you have to make the walk from the ferry up Corn Neck Road to the trailhead this canine hike will last at least half the day, depending on how much time you devote to The Maze, the beach or the views.
Swimming - Take a trail to the beach and let your dog enjoy the waves.
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are allowed on the Clay Head Trail. The North Light is on land managed by the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge that is the only one of Rhode Island’s five national refuges that allow dogs but that could change.
Something Extra
Setting out from the northern terminus of the Clay Head Trail you can reach the North Light with your dog after about a 20-minute walk on a sandy beach. Dangerous shoals and frequent fog banks made the passage around Block Island a tricky affair for mariners. Between 1819 and 1839 alone fifty-nine ships wrecked on or near Block Island. The current granite lighthouse dates to 1868 and was the fourth light to be built here. The first three, dating to 1829, fell victim to shifting sands, faulty design and voracious waves.
Cliff Walk
Phone - None
Website - www.cliffwalk.com
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Newport; he Cliff Walk begins at Memorial Boulevard and ends at the southern end of Bellevue Avenue. In the off-season there may be parking near the northern terminus at First Beach.
The Park
In the late 1800s wealthy New Yorkers began coming to Newport to escape the suffocating summer heat in the city. They built the most extravagant “cottages” ever seen in America on the rocky bluffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. No matter how impressive the mansion or how rich the owner, however, no one’s property could extend all the way to the shoreline. By virtue of “Fisherman’s Rights” granted by the Colonial Charter of King Charles II and a provision in the Rhode Island Constitution, the public is always guaranteed the legal right to walk along a small sliver of cliff. Not that the powerful residents on the other sides of the gates have always agreed with that right. In the past bushes were planted, walls erected and even bulls grazed to discourage use by the public. Other owners embraced the Cliff Walk and helped develop it from a mere footpath. Some tunnels were built and flagstones placed in muddy stretches. Eventually the federal government stepped in to help rebuild the path after erosion during hurricanes. In 1975, the Cliff Walk was named the first National Recreation Trail in New England.
The Walks
Today the Cliff Walk rambles for about 3.5 miles, about two of which are paved and easy to hike. The first mile calls to mind a stroll in a city park with manicured grass and an abundance of flowers. Your dog will be walking on nail-grinding asphalt and concrete sidewalk. As you move along the path deteriorates into broken asphalt and dirt but the views improve as you reach the jawdropping relics of the Gilded Age - mansions constructed as summer cottages from about 1870 to 1915. Continuing past the paved path, the Cliff Walk turns rustic with some walking on unprotected, open cliff faces and boulder hopping. It requires concentration but any level of canine hiker can negotiate the trip. If you continue to the end of the Cliff Walk you will drop to ocean’s edge and Reject’s Beach where your dog can get a swim. At the end of the Cliff Walk you have the option of returning by the same route along the black Atlantic rocks or exiting into the town and walking back on the sidewalks in front of the mansions whose backyards you have just walked through.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Mostly rocks and sidewalk
Workout For Your Dog – A round trip will cover seven miles an dinclude some bouding on boulders
Swimming - If the sea is agreeable there is the opportunity for an ocean swim at the beach and in some tidal pools
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome all along the Cliff Walk and Poop Bags are even provided at the start on Memorial Boulevard.
Something Extra
Adjacent to the northern end of the Cliff Walk is First Beach, open to dogs in the off-season. There is about 3/4 of a mile of sandy shoreline to hike with your dog here. Also at the beach is the New England Exploration Center with a hands-on touch tank and 1950s-era carousel.
Colt State Park
Phone - (908) 638-6969
Website - www.riparks.com/colt.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Bristol; west of town on Route 114.
The Park
Samuel Colt, whose uncle developed the revolver that won the West, was a New Jersey native who spent much time in his mother’s hometown of Bristol growing up. After graduating from Columbia Law School he returned to Bristol to make it his home In 1887 he organized the Industrial Trust Company bank and later took control of the bankrupt hometown India Rubber Company. He transformed the floundering enterprise into the U.S. Rubber Company, becoming the dominant producer in the industry. In Bristol he purchased several old family farms on Poppasquash Neck to create Colt Farm that he conceived as a beauty spot for the public to enjoy. He engraved an open invitation on the marble entrance gate: “Colt Farm, Private Property, Public Welcome.” After his death in 1921 the farm survived several development scares until it was acquired by the State of Rhode Island through condemnation in 1965. Three years later it was dedicated as a state park.
The Walks
Four miles of paved paths snake around the property that opens up on the Narragansett Bay but your canine hiking here will likely be free form. Combine the bicycle paths with the expansive lawns and open spaces to carve out an outing with your dog. The open spaces are sprinkled with flowering fruit trees and trimmed bushes. This is easy, pleasant walking with your dog, almost always with a view of the bay. Include a side trip over to the Bristol Town Beach to the north that allows dogs. There are no maps and no defined trailheads so just get out and start hiking.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Considered the gem of the Rhode Island state park system, Colt State Park is a crowded place with cyclists, joggers, picnickers and more.
Workout For Your Dog – Easy going amidst the bay breezes
Swimming - Your dog can expect first-rate swimming here - at the very least your dog can swim in the Narragansett Bay at the boat ramp
Restrictions On Dogs – Bring your dog through the gates
Something Extra
It was Samuel Colt’s dream to breed the world’s finest herd of Jersey cows. To that end he outfitted his massive stone barn with cork and rubber-covered flooring and thick beds of fresh straw. The barn was heated in the winter and the herd was attended to by a large staff with a ratio of one man for every five cows. The bulls’ horns were polished and their tails washed every day. The prized herd travelled to county and state fairs around the country in specially padded railroad cars. At the entrance to Colt State Park this bovine legacy is remembered by bronze statues of two Jersey bulls, sculpted in France. The one on the right was one of Colt’s favorites, a champion sire. The other was another champion brought to breed but soon after arriving in bristol killed a farm worker. The bull was destroyed and buried behind the stone barn.
Cumberland Monastery
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee – None
Directions – Cumberland; the trail system is accessible behind the Cumberland Library at 1464 Diamond Hill Road (Route 114) in town
The Park
1825 Dom Vincent founded the modest Abbey of Petit Clairvaux in Tracadie, Nova Scotia. The order remained productive until 1892 when a fire destroyed the abbey. Seeking a new home for the Monastery of Our Lady of the Strict Observance, Dom John Murphy found 530 acres of land in Cumberland in August of 1900. The monks quarried stone on the property to build the new Abbey of Our Lady of the Valley and cleared the fields. The monastery was completely self-sufficient with a community of over 100 monks. In 1950 another fire struck. It took 10 fire companies to bring the conflagration under control. No one was killed but the cost to rebuild was estimated at two million 1950 dollars. The order moved instead to Spencer, Massachusetts. The town of Cumberland now owns the property and the public library rests on the site of the former Cistercian monastery.
The Walks
The main drag at the Cumberland Monastery is a rambling crushed gravel path that slips in and out of the wooded hillsides. One stretch in the back of the park ambles through open spaces that is actually one of the few open air hikes you can take with your dog away from the coastline. The open area could come in handy if confronted with a phantom horse rider that is said to “come upon you out of nowhere” from the woods. Other tales of haunted trails at the Monastery report of the ghost of a child running near the swamp area on the back trails. Pay attention if your dog’s ears perk up for no apparent reason here. The paths are wide and the understory light that gives these paths a big feel. Other trails run to the edges of the property that stretch the trail system here to several miles.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: wide natural paths for the most part
Workout For Your Dog – An hour or more outing can be cobbled together
Swimming - There are two small ponds on the property that may be clean enough for a dog swim
Restrictions On Dogs - There are so many dog walkers at the Monastery it almost seems to be a requirement
Something Extra
King Philip’s War (1675-76) is one of the most overlooked, yet bloody, conflicts to have occurred on American soil. In the battle between colonists and Native Americans in New England one in ten soldiers on both sides was wounded or killed. The English were almost pushed back to the shoreline. One of their worst defeats came on Sunday morning March 26, 1676, when Captain Michael Pierce and a company of 63 English and 20 friendly Wampanoag Indians was ambushed in a ravine near Attleborough Gore on the Blackstone River by about 500 Narragansett led by chief sachem Canonchet. Most of the Colonists, including Pierce, were killed. Nine Englishmen were taken to a spot on this property where they were tortured and killed.The mens’ remains were buried by settlers in a spot marked by a boulder monument to Nine Men’s Misery.
Fort Barton Nature Walk
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Tiverton; From Route 138, take Route 77 south to Lawton Avenue. Turn left and follow Lawton two blocks to its end at Highland Road. The park is directly ahead on top of the hill; parking is available at the base of the hill.
The Park
The British occupation of Newport in December 1776 inspired the Tiverton Heights fortifications of July 1777. Its first commander, for whom the fort was subsequently named, was Lieutenant Colonel William Barton. In just his first week of command, Barton successfully led a raiding party of 40 men across Mount Hope Bay to kidnap occupation commander General Richard Preston in his bedroom in Middletown. Barton was hailed as a hero and celebrated for his boldness. The Americans had received the morale boost they were longing for. Later Fort Barton was the launching point for General John Sullivan’s invasion force during the muddled Battle of Rhode Island. In a bizarre postscript, William Barton was remanded to debtor’s prison for 14 years for refusing to pay a judgement on Vermont land he had purchased. When the Marquis de Lafayette, who coordinated the French naval forces in the Battle of Rhode Island, visited the United States in 1824 he discovered Barton in prison and paid the claim.
The Walks
Behind the grassy redoubt of Fort Barton a flight of steep wooden steps drop down into 80 acres of lush woodlands. Here are some three miles of sporty canine hiking that explore ravines and streambeds. The main route is along the Red Trail that makes a large buttonhook out and around a hill of boulders. The Red Trail is intertwined at several junctions by the Blue Trail that twists around it. Staircases and log bridges smooth out the rougher edges of this ramble. The centerpiece of the property is Sin and Flesh Brook, whose name derives from a grisly incident on March 28, 1676. Zoeth Howland, apparently a devout sort, was riding from Dartmouth to Newport to attend a Quaker meeting. He was following this very stream in Tiverton when he was ambushed by six Indians who killed Howland and left his corpse into the stream. When his body was discovered the brook got its name.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Woodsy dirt trails
Workout For Your Dog – About an hour of hiking in the fort Barton ravines
Swimming - Most dogs will not find the Flesh and Sin Brook deep enough for swimming
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Sitting on the site of Fort Barton is a 30-foot observation tower that affords superb views of Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River. Your dog can easily climb the wide steps and enjoy the westward views as well.
Fort Wetherill State Park
Phone - (401) 423-1771
Website - www.riparks.com/fortweth.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Jamestown; the park is on the east side of Conanicut Island. From Route 138 travel to and through Jamestown to Canonicus Avenue. Take Walcott Avenue to Fort Wetherill Road and the park.
The Park
For most of its time in American history these high granite bluffs looking down on the East Passage of Narraganett Bay has led a military life, albeit deactivated for the most part. Colonists built an earthern battery here and when it was known as Dumpling Rock the United States built Fort Dumpling in the early 1800s. As coastal defenses ratcheted up around 1900 the fortifications were beefed up and the fort was renamed in honor of Captain Alexander Wetherill, a local infantryman killed in the Battle of San Juan during the Spanish American War. During World War II the old fort saw its last active duty - as a training center. It closed in 1946; it’s guns hidden in the cliffs never used. In 1972 the State of Rhode Island acquired the property for a park.
The Walks
The canine hiking at Fort Wetherill is mostly on narrow dirt trails out to rocky promontories overlooking the sea. What they lack in distance they more than make up for in aesthetic appeal. At land’s end the short hike is to the remains of the old battery. The only marked trail is a Nature Trail but don’t get excited - it only goes up and down a small hill between parking lots. Don’t neglect it, however, for its views are riveting.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Little foot traffic picking through the rocks
Workout For Your Dog – Less than a scenic hour of trotting here
Swimming - Some of the best canine swimming in Rhode Island is available in the cove below the middle parking lot
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are free to use the Fort Wetherill trails
Something Extra
A spur up the hill from the Nature Trail leads to a concealed battery built in the hillside. The guns at Batteries Wheaton and Varnum in Fort Wetherill could launch 1,000-pound shells at a target for over six miles.
George Washington Management Area
Phone - (401) 568-2013
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Glocester; the management area is in northwestern Rhode Island on Route 44, two miles east of the Connecticut border.
The Park
In the Spring of 1965 over 300 Australian sailors were in the United States awaiting delivery on their guided missile destroyer, the HMAS Perth, that was being readied in Bay City, Michigan. The original HMAS Perth had been torpedoed in World War II at the Battle of Sunda Strait and sank with the loss of 350 of her crew and three civilians. Another 324 of the Perth’s crew survived the sinking and were taken prisoner. With six weeks down time ahead of them the problem arose of how to keep the men occupied. The Division of Forests in Rhode Island had a solution: come and help develop the George Washington Forest. So work groups of 100 Aussie sailors rotated on two-week tours in the Rhode Island wilderness felling trees, building picnic areas and carving trails. By all accounts the sailors had a splendid time with their enforced shore leave. They worked hard and played hard, enjoying swimming in the adjacent Bowdish Reservoir. Visitors have been enjoying their efforts ever since. After her commission on July 17, 1965 the HMAS Perth was deployed in Vietnam and came under fire four times. It was the only Australian ship to be hit by enemy fire and was awarded the United States Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation for her service. On November 24, 2001 the HMAS Perth was sunk as a dive wreck off the Western Australian coast.
The Walks
The Walkabout Trail contructed by the Australians is a six-mile loop with several cut-offs to shorten the canine hike. They appear to have done a superior job in scouting the peripatetic route for as you walk along the trail seems to pass through the prettiest scenery on the property. Those surroundings include rock outcroppings, marshlands, a white Cedar swamp and a grove of dark, Eastern hemlocks. This is easy going for any dog with small hillocks and a well-maintained path. There are many other trails that lead off the Walkabout, including a spur to Peck Pond to expand your dog’s day in the Geroge Washington Memorial State Forest but you will still cover but a fraction of its more than 3,000 acres.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Expect well-maintained woodsy trails.
Workout For Your Dog – Several hours to a full day of hiking with your dog
Swimming - The Walkabout Trail touches briefly on Bowdish Reservoir and spends more time at Wilbur Pond for canine refreshment
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome on the trails, campgrounds and in picnic areas but not on the swimming beach
Something Extra
You can scarcely find a more enchanting invitation to hike with your dog than at the Walkabout Trail: “The Australian aborigine occasionally reverts to his Stone Age state and follows an impulsive urge to wander through the bush with his family. This urge to wander is called ‘going walkabout’ and the places visited are usually connected with his tribal spirits of land and air from the ‘Dreamtime.’ We invite you to go walkabout on this trail of this beautiful countryside.”
Goddard Memorial State Park
Phone - (401) 222-2632
Website - www.riparks.com/goddard.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Warwick; Goddard Park is on the south side of Greenwich Bay. From Route 1 take Cedar Road east and bear left on Ives Road. Continue past the park exit to the main entrance at 1095 Ives Road.
The Park
In the late 1800s Henry Grinnell Russell, like most of his Rhode Island neighbors, walked around a property that was stripped bare by agriculture and deforestation. Russell, who came by this property when he married his Civil War buddy, Captain Thomas P. Ives’, sister, wasn’t content to lead a treeless life. As he walked the sandy dunes Russell would drop acorns from his pockets, planting them in holes punched with his cane. He would fill the holes with three acorns -one oak for the squirrels, one for the worms, and one to grow. Henry Russell would add different trees to his Oaks Estate and by the early1900s foresters from the U.S. Forest Service called this “the finest example of private forestry in America.” After Russell died Colonel Robert Hale Ives Goddard came into possession of the Oaks and continued the reforesting project. When he died in 1927 the estate was left to the state to remain forever in its natural state and opened as a public park on June 1, 1930.
The Walks
The canine hiking at Goddard Memorial State Park is conducted primarily on bridle paths through the tall forests sandwiched between the bay and the open fields of the picnic areas and golf course. Don’t despair about taking your dog down the chewed up paths often associated with horse trails - these wide, sandy avenues through the forest are packed sand and extremely paw-friendly. This is easy going throughout on gentle terrain. Pick a trail that leads to a dog-friendly beach. At Long Point your dog can indulge in the gentle waves of Greenwich Cove and you can continue on the sand around to the other side of the main beach. The bridle trail network consists of 18 miles of multi-intersecting short trails.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural wooded paths and sandy routes
Workout For Your Dog - A half-day of exploring is posible here
Swimming - There is a splendid sand beach on Greenwich Cove around Long Point and plenty of superb dogpaddling in Greenwich Bay
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are permitted throughout the park
Something Extra
The old Oaks estate included many buildings such as barns and the mansion house, which burned down in the 1970s. One structure that survives is the circular wooden building that housed the park’s carousel, built in 1931. The merry-go-round is gone now but its round enclosure can still be seen near the beach.
Greenway
Phone - (401) 466-5675
Website - www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/rhodeisland/preserves/art3146.html
Admission Fee - None (ferry fee may benecessary; dogs sail for free)
Directions – Block Island, the Nature Conservancy office on Block Island is on High Street, straight ahead out of Old Harbor. So effective were the efforts of the Conservancy that the Nature Conservancy designated Block Island as one of its original “Last Great Places” in the Americas.
The Park
Back in 1972 Block Islanders looked around and noticed houses going up at an alarming rate. Captain John Robinson “Rob” Lewis led a small group to form the Block Island Conservancy with the modest goal to just save Rodman’s Hollow, a precious glacial outwash basin. They were able to raise enough money to preserve this region of maritime scrubland. Hundreds of islanders donated money and the conservation movement flourished. Over the years some land was donated and more made available below market value. Today over 40% of Block Island is protected from future development.
The Walks
Take away the ferry ride and the half-hour walk along shoulderless - and sometimes busy - two lanes road and The Greenway would be the finest place in Rhode Island to hike with your dog. What is your dog interested in? Open fields? Sporty hills? Long vistas? A romp on the beach? A swim in a pond? Unique woodlands? The Greenway has them all. There are about 12 miles of footpaths crisscrossing the southern half of Block Island in the tradition of walking the English countryside. In addition to paw-friendly mown grass and soft dirt trails you will need to go down dirt roads and paved streets to get to some trailheads. To reach the beach use Black Rock Road in Rodman’s Hollow. If you find yourself with your dog walking along Mohegan Trail/Spring Street you can descend a flight of wooden stairs to the beach at the foot of the spectacular Mohegan bluffs from Payne Overlook. Your first stop on Block Island should be in the Visitor Center on the dock to buy a trail map for a small fee. This will show you the way to the trailheads. Signs are posted at some trailheads and along the trails.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Grassy trails, beach trails, wooded trails and some walking on the road
Workout For Your Dog – Absolutely
Swimming - There are 17 miles of public beaches on Block Island so your dog will get an ocean swim. Crescent Beach, a few pawprints from the ferry landing, is the most convenient but crowded in-season. As the new arrivals fan out from the ferry the beaches offer more room for your dog. One beach that is too small for sun worshippers but ideal for dogs is just south of Old Harbor along Spring Street - as you reach the crest of a hill drop down to the sand in front of a guardrail for great canine swimming along a breakwater.
Restrictions On Dogs - Block Island is a dog-friendly island - don’t come without him!
Something Extra
Block Island supports some 40 rare or endangered species. One that is found only in Rodman’s Hollow, in huge kettleholes gouged by Godzilla-sized chunks of glacial ice that melted, is the Block Island Meadow Vole, first discovered in 1908. It is part of the magic of the island that it is a thrill here to see rodents considered vermin on the mainland. It’s not easy to see a brown-and-black vole but you may see their tunnel-like trails through the grass.
Heritage Park
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Glocester; he park is located off Putnam Pike (Route 44) between Harmony and Chepachet. Heading west, turn left onto Chestnut Oak Road at a bend in the main road. The park is less than one mile on the left. Trail Sense: There is a painted mapboard to consult at the trailhead. The trails are not blazed but marked by signs at junctions -some placed curiously high in the trees so look up as you come to a trail fork or you might miss them.
The Park
The town of Glocester has preserved former farmland into 127 acres of open space.
The Walks
The trail system stretches for nearly two miles on stacked loops, completely under the shaded canopy of an emerging forest. In an unusual switch, your dog will probably prefer the multi-use trail to the footpath at Heritage Park. It is a wide and wonderful canine hike on wood chips that rolls past rock outcroppings and across streams. The yellow footpath, although it trips merrily along an energetic stream, grows constricting along much of its route. Use it to extend your trip through this airy forest but don’t make it your first destination.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Mountain bikers and hikers find their way to Heritage Park to join the dog walkers
Workout For Your Dog – Gently rolling terrain for an outing of about an hour
Swimming - None
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome on these paths
Something Extra
After your hike toddle up the road to the village of Chepachet and show your dog the spot on the bridge over the Chepachet River where Betty, the Learned Elephant, was shot and killed on May 25, 1826. Little Bett was the second Indian elephant on North American shores, owned by Hakaliah Bailey. Bailey’s first elephant, Big Bett, arrived in 1796 and he traveled the East Coast displaying the pachyderm until it was shot by a Maine farmer in 1816. Five years later Little Bett arrived as a replacement and her career was cut short prematurely when she met the same fate on the old wooden bridge. The incident caused purveyors of traveling exotic animal shows to seek a more respectable image and led directly to the formation of the American circus.
Kettle Pond Visitor Center
Phone - (401) 364-9124
Website - www.friendsnwr-ri.org
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Charlestown; west of town on the north side of Route 1.
The Park
Kettle Pond, the newest addition to the National Wildlife Refuge system in Rhode Island was acquired in 2001 and serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in the state. The land here was shaped by slowmoving glaciers churning across the landscape. The “ice bulldozer” carried giant boulders for hundreds of miles and scraped the ridges and depressions on this property that was once used for sheep farming.
The Walks
Kettle Pond features four marked trails, three of which are open to dogs. Most canine hikers will do two trails located on either side of the Visitor Center. The Ocean View Trail wiggles through pitch and white pines behind the Center to a high point with views south to Ninigret Pond and the open water. This linear trail is about a half-mile long. From the parking lot the Watchaug Trail twists for a half-mile down to the namesake pond. This is easy canine hiking with gentle slopes and wide passages under the oaks and pines. Drifting off this path is the Burlingame Trail that leads to Burlingame State Park and longer hikes with your dog.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural footpaths
Workout For Your Dog – About an hour of hiking; more if you hook onto the Burlingame Trail
Swimming - Down at Watchaug Pond is super dog paddling
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are not allowed on the Toupoysett Trail
Something Extra
After you leave the trails take a look at the Visitor Center building, named a Federal Energy Saver Showcase for 2005. Building materials used for the project included durable and long-lived recycled materials with no or low-emissions, such as engineered wood, plastic lumber, linoleum flooring, fiberboard, sheetrock, tile, bamboo flooring, and carpet with high recycled content. Super insulation, energy-efficient lighting and windows, passive solar architecture, and a 40-ton renewable geothermal heat exchange system will help to save as much as 40 percent of traditional building energy costs.
Lincoln Woods State Park
Phone - (401) 723-7892
Website - www.riparks.com/lincoln.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Lincoln; from Interstate 5 take Exit 23 to Route 146 North to park.
The Park
In 1820, when most Americans were busy cutting down trees and clearing land for farms and roads and towns, Zacariah Allen had another idea. He thought that “vacant land may profitably be improved by planting to trees.” He was only 25 at the time. He set about planting scores of American chestnuts and oaks on farmlands and pasture in this area exhausted from use for over 100 years. It was the first documented attempt at silviculture - the science, art and practice of caring for forests with respect to human objectives -in the United States. Allen pulled profits from his tree business for 57 years. Later his descendents sold his land to the State of Rhode Island for $1,800 in what would become the new Lincoln Woods Reservation. The first 70 acres for the park was acquired by the Metropolitan Park System in 1908. A year later, on February 12, the Centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, the park was dedicated in the name of the 16th President. Today’s park encompasses 627 acres.
The Walks
There are no specific destinations in store for a canine outing here - just a chance to get out in the woods and hike. There are close to a dozen miles of dirt scars through the hillsides for you to try. There are no prescribed routes through the trees and around the boulders. Expect a vigorous workout for your dog on the Lincoln Woods trails, especially if you go for miles. Bring plenty of fresh water on hot days since you will be working away from Olney Pond.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: The trails are not marked and not blazed. Your dog should come with a nose to explore.
Workout For Your Dog – Many hourson the trail can be had here
Swimming - Find a spot around Olney Lake and toss a stick in for yor dog
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome in the park but not in the swimming areas
Something Extra
Lincoln Woods is among the top areas in New England for bouldering. While on the trail you can watch practicioners working on their techniques on the smooth granite boulders. Or try it yourself.The best time to boulder at Lincoln Woods is in the fall or early winter.
Prudence Island
Phone - (757) 331-2267
Website - http://www.dcr.state.va.us/parks/kiptopek.htm
Admission Fee - Yes
Directions – Mercer; The Prudence Island Ferry is at Church Street Wharf in Bristol.
The Park
Prudence Island, in the geographic center of Narragansett Bay, was a possession of the Narragansett tribe, known as Chibchuwesa -“a place apart.” Roger Williams purchased Prudence, Hope and Patience islands, so named by the state founder for three virtues everyone should possess. Settlement came slowly and those who came to the island farmed exclusively until the early 1900s. In 1921 Halsey Chase started a ferry service from Bristol to help fill the guest rooms in his island hotel. Summer cottages sprang up along the shoreline as well. The resort life was interrupted during World War II when the U.S. Navy built a munitions base and the Army established an army camp. The Navy kept its base until 1972. In 1980 much of Prudence Island and all of Hope and Patience islands were designated the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The Walks
Any visit with your dog to Prudence Island will be on foot, disembarking from the ferry. A network of walking trails and uncrowded roads visit the island’s unique habitats, including a region of pine barrens at the south end of the island. The extremely dry, dunes-like soil makes up just 4 of every 1000 acres of land mass in Rhode Island. There are plenty of paw-friendly mown grass trails for your dog to sample through the woods and meadows. Try to keep your dog as centered as possible in the natural areas since Prudence Island supports the densest herd of whitetail deer in New England. Be even more fastidious than usual checking your dog for ticks after canine hiking on the island.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Unlike Block Island, there are no great “must-see” destinations on Prudence Island. Prudence Island is a place for a relaxed pace for your dog to trot along.
Workout For Your Dog – Many hous possible on island
Swimming - Fantastic swimming in the Chesapeake Bay for dogs
Restrictions On Dogs - Sandy beaches are not the norm on Prudence Island but your dog can find a swim in calm waters
Something Extra
The Research Reserve created an acclaimed butterfly garden on the island in 1997, using such native species as joe-pye weed, pink tickseed, and lupine and to enhance the habitat for many of Prudence Island’s rare butterfly species. Island elementary students planted 20 trumpetvine plants and made stepping stones as they learned about pesticide-free insect control.
Roger Williams Park
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Providence; from Interstate 95 South take Exit 17 onto Elmwood Avenue. Turn left at the light and make the second left into the park. From Interstate 95 North take Exit 16 and bear right. Turn left at the light and into the park on the right.
The Park
By the time of the American Civil War the city of Providence was becoming choked with development. You could walk block after block and never see a greenspace. In 1871 Betsey Williams bequeathed her 102-acre farm to the City of Providence for public use in memory of her ancestor, Roger Williams, who founded the city 235 years earlier after being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The next year America’s third zoo, a menagerie really, opened on the property. Today’s zoo goers would probably have been disappointed with the rabbits and squirrels and raccoons and mice that were on display. Soon the city annexed some land from adjacent Cranston and set out to build a first-rate urban park. They contacted Frederick Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, fathers of American landscape architecture, who both turned the job down, citing a need for more land. Horace Cleveland, a lesser contributor to the development of Central Park in New York and brother of President Grover Cleveland, did accept the assignment. He drained swamps to create clear water ponds and built stone bridges to connect islands and shaped the park seen today.
The Walks
If your idea of a canine hike is unbroken stretches of leafy solitude, this is not the place to come, as fine an example of an urban park as Roger Williams Park is. But there are walkways across rolling hills and long stretches around the park’s many lakes to enjoy with your dog. On the opposite sides of the lakes you can get off the pavement on narrow dirt ribbons. There are patches of forest but most of your dog’s day will be spent in open air or isolated trees.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: This is a very busy park with visitation measured in the millions but with a bit of hiking you can reach some peaceful areas in less developed sections of the park.
Workout For Your Dog - More than an hour of canine hiking is possible
Swimming – On some of the more remote places of the lakes your dog may be able to slip in for a dip
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are allowed on the park grounds but not in the zoo
Something Extra
Make sure to take your dog for a walk around the Casino, built from a design by Providence architect Edwin T. Banning in 1890. Considered “The Jewel of Providence” the brick building is a classic example of Colonial Revival architecture. It was erected for $25,000 raised from boat rentals on the lakes in Roger Williams Park.
Weetamoo Woods
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions – Tiverton Four Corners; the park is bordered by Main Road (Route 77) to the west and Lake Road to the east, north of Tiverton Four Corners. Traveling south from Tiverton on Route 77, make a left on East Road (Route 179) in town. The main kiosk is on the left. There are also small parking lots on Lake Road and Lafayette Road (north side of the property). The 450 acres of woodlands was acquired by the town of Tiverton in 1990.
The Park
This land was originally part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, known as Pocasset and home to the Wamponoag-Pocasset tribe. The Wamponaog-Pocassets were the Indians of Pilgrim fame who helped the English settlers survive the harsh early days and participated in the first Thanksgiving dinner. Things were not so civil a half-century later when the warrior Metacom, given the English name Philip by his tribal chief father, led a rebellion against the British. He was aided in his cause by his widowed sister-in-law, Weetamoo, that translates to “sweetheart.” During the King Philip War in the summer of 1675 Metacom and Weetamoo used the swamp here to hideout from British patrols. They might well have succeded in defeating the British were it not for rival tribes in the region and on August 12, 1676 King Philip was killed and the remnants of his tribe dispersed or sold into slavery. The 450 acres of woodlands was acquired by the town of Tiverton in 1990.
The Walks
The best canine hiking in Weetamoo Woods is along the Red Trail that travels part of the way on the Eight Rod Way, surveyed in 1679 as a road between Sakonnet and Plymouth Colony. Today the old road is ideal for your dog to trot along through one of the last large, unfragmented forested areas along the New England coast. Look for American holly trees in the understory of this unusual oak-holly forest. The Red Trail connects to the Yellow Trail that runs down the spine of the property. Don’t neglect the short connecting spurs that lead to the regenerating Atlantic cedar swamp (Green Trail) and the 170-foot High Rock (Blue Trail). These short routes can be used to create hiking loops with the two main trails, each a bit over a mile long.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: The old roads attract mountain bikers and the easy terrain is a lure for joggers but competition for the trails is scarcely overwhelming
Workout For Your Dog – The entire trail system can be covered in about two hours
Swimming - Borden Brook is good for a refreshing splash but not a doggie swim
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome in Weetamoo Woods
Something Extra
Along the Red Trail you will find the remains of the Borden sawmill that dates back to Revolutionary times.Further exploration nearby will reveal the ruins of mill worker’s homes - foundations and cellar holes. Blocks of stone were used to create the mill race along Borden Brook and the rare stone arch and slab bridges over the stream.