Trail Tour

The North South Trail route here enters Arcadia  Management Area. One of Rhode Island's finest and largest parks (12,000 acres), Arcadia  offers opportunities for rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, camping, canoeing, and nature observation.  Browning Mill Pond,  is the site of an old mill, a trout hatchery, and fine groves of laurel which bloom in profusion in the spring.  Look for blossoming aquatic plants as well: white and yellow water lilies, bullhead lilies, pickerel weed, and cowslip.  

From the Pond, the trail proposed route of the New England Trail would use the Arcadia Trail and Mt. Tom Trail. It would cross the Wood River, a canoeist's favorite, and climb the ledges of Mt. Tom.

Mount Tom is steep and rugged, the result of glacial scouring. a number of balanced boulders rest on Mount Tom. Such oddly placed stones are called "erratics" because they are often of made of different material than the rock beneath them. 

Following the ledges, the proposed route would visit the beautiful Falls Brook up to Stepstone Falls  From the falls, the route would visit Escoheag Hill, with views and a fire tower. From there, tne North-South Trail heads north along the Connecticut border to Nicholas Farm Wildlife Management Area.

Resources

Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island
Rhode Island Greenways Council
Rhode Island Land Trust Council
Rhode Island Division of Parks and Recreation
North-South Trail maps 
Appalachian Mountain Club--Narragansett Chapter
Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association

Carolina Wildlife Management Area map
Arcadia State Park
Arcadia State Park map northeast section
Arcadia State Park map northwest section 
Arcadia State Park map southeast section 
Arcadia State Park map southwest section 
Beach Pond State Park
The Nature Conservancy: Pawcatuck Borderlands
The Nature Conservancy: Ell Pond Preserve
Audubon Society Long Pond Wood Sanctuary Map
Pachuag State Forest (Connecticut)

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