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| Trail head sign |
Rhode Island may not have great mountains but we've got a
Great Swamp! We recently hiked around the management areas gentle trail finding lots of birds, bugs, fields of wildflowers, and also discovered a little history.
Reaching the end of Great Neck Rd., we started from the main parking area (lots of parking) and headed over to the trail head sign. Nope, again no maps.....good for us that we printed one at home for just this reason. We almost NEVER hike on a trail without a map, even in 'Little Rhody'.
The trail is gated and wide for some distance. It really looks like a long graveled driveway. I felt kinda funny using my
hiking poles and
hearing the 'clinking' sound at every step. But I hike better with them. I stumble easily and they help me keep my balance. Continuing on, we passed some small pools of water beside the trail that are decorated with wildflowers. They looked very active with life and teaming with mosquitoes. Better bring some bug spray when visiting the swamp.
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| Wide Graveled Path |
It wasn't long before we reached a fork at the end of the graveled trail and it became a well beaten double track with tall grass down the center. Here some loop options begin and they vary in distance from roughly 2 miles to 7 miles. Our hike took us left towards
Wordens Pond, Rhode Islands largest natural body of water expanding to 1,051 acres.
The double track soon broke out of the tree covering and into a wide open area. Good thing we packed the sun screen, suns out today and beaming down on us. We passed a couple of folk's who were out birding, so we asked "Any good sightings?" "Nope, a few butterflies but no rare birds." According to some
blogs that I've read, biologists are working to make this area more inviting to Woodcock, Blue-winged Warblers & Bobwhite quail. Bring your binoculars to the swamp also! Hiking passed the high tension power lines a trail exited to the right giving visitors their first loop option back towards the parking.
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| Double track trail |
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| Huge Dragonfly! Lots of winged things zipping around. |
Back into the trees we ambled on but now keeping an eye out for the yellow blazed trail that would leave this main path and take us to Stony Point by the pond. Eventually we discovered the trail but it looked very un-maintained and largely overgrown. We weren't going in there, it looked like tick-tropolis. Sticking to the main path was a better option and it would still lead us to an opening on Wordens Pond. A granite marker dedicated to George F. McCahey Memorial Trails is ahead and provides a second option to split and loop back to the parking, we stuck left.
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| George F. McCahey Marker |
Cristy now tells me she's read that there are remnants of an old Air Force plane hangar ahead by the pond. I'm confused as to why the Air Force would have ever had a hangar, let alone a single hangar in a swamp area in Rhode Island.........Must be a good explanation I figure and a little Googleology research later would provide me with some answers!
Apparently the Air Force kept a seaplane at this location along with a mock Destroyer on Wordens Pond during WWII for bombing practice! The hangar stood for many years until it was completely removed for safety reasons. Now all that remains is the foundation. Fishing legend has it that there are still bomb craters beneath the surface of the pond were the '
big ones' live, still interesting enough to check out. In addition we also learned that
The Great Swamp Fight, or the Great Swamp Massacre, a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between
colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett tribe in December of 1675 was fought around this area.
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| Beautiful Wordens Pond from the seaplane hangar cove |
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| Cristy checking out the Hangar foundation |
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| Some of the views on our return hike |
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Lots of Bumble Bees and wildflowers
Our loop hike took us 4.5 miles and about 3.0 hours to complete leisurely, but that's the best way. The Great Swamp is a really beautiful piece of property with a lot of nature to see.
If you would like to hike in the Great Swamp management area this your chance! On Saturday August 10th, at 9 am, Denali Outdoor Stores will be hosting Spend a day with Buffalo & Tough Cookie! We here at Epic A.O. will be leading event participants on a family friendly hike through the Great Swamp Management Area along with Dan Szczesny author of The Adventures of Buffalo & Tough Cookie and his hiking partner 11 y/old Janelle. The book is about their personal hiking journey of discovery through New Hampshire's 52 with a view mountain list. This will be a children friendly hike, the length, sites & duration will be determined by the ability of our group participants that day. For more details on this event please visit Denali's link, comment below, or you can contact me via E-mail at SDR106@yahoo.com
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