Block Island Greenway
Posted By auntie on September 25, 2016
9.5 miles; Block Island, RI
Today’s PCHC hike was fantastic. It reminded me a lot of hiking in Ireland, except more trees. But what with the green roads and a couple of stiles and the cows and the ocean and the hills… yeah, a lot like Ireland. Loved it, and the weather was perfect.
So the first oddity puzzled over by our group of 11 hikers (and a dog) was this strange fruit thing. Turns out to be an “osage orange.” It’s the fruit of a small tree (Maclura pomifera) that is mostly grown as a hedgerow or windbreak, and whose wood is prized for its density and rot resistance. The only part of the actual fruit that is edible are the seeds. None of us had ever seen one before.
Our route began with about a mile and a half of road-walking, but the scenery is so beautiful here it was hardly a problem. Also, there were donuts. Freshly-made donuts.
Another in my continuing series, “Hikes with Bathrooms.” Great scenery, donuts, and bathrooms, what’s not to like?
This especially was a very Irish scene—rolling fields and stone walls and cows.
The stiles weren’t as fancy as the ones in Ireland, and thankfully they weren’t as common, either. I think we only came across 3 or 4, and in a couple of cases it was easier to just step over the low rock wall beside it.
It’s a little hard to make out in this shot, apologies, but the five wind turbines of the new Block Island Wind Farm are just barely visible on the horizon. This is the view from the trail at Rodman’s Hollow. The Block Island Greenway trail meanders from one piece of open space to another along a green pathway with beautiful ocean views and some surprisingly difficult hills along the way.
What is also difficult is finding any kind of map for this hike. They simply don’t exist online, and the only place to buy one is actually on the island. I suppose you could call or write to the Nature Conservancy office there and have one sent to you, but it seems a bit odd to me that it’s so hard to get maps to plan your trip in advance. In any case, I highly recommend this hike. I’ve included a map of the track we took.
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