Burlingame, North Beach
Posted By auntie on October 29, 2015

4.17 miles; charlestown, ri
i’ve wanted to visit this spot ever since last may when i saw a facebook post about it on the hiking-in-ri page, but it’s difficult to voluntarily add more mileage to an 8-mile, or 11-1/2-mile hike. so today i made a special trip, and it was worth it. it’s an absolutely beautiful trail.
i started this hike from the same place as the last two times i was here, the parking area on buckeye brook road. from there i took the vin gormley trail, moving clockwise around the loop till i got to the old woods road leading south to the camp (track here).
there were a number of creepy old buildings overgrown in the woods, including this huge old barn-like structure. and call me a wimp, but i wasn’t really up for exploring. this is as close as i got.
this is such a cool shot—look for it on my facebook page. it really says it all.
at first when i came down the old woods road, it ended in kind of a tangle of vegetation with a skimpy little access point to the pond, and i thought, “hm. for a place called ‘north beach,’ i guess i expected something more, uh, beach-y.” but further exploration brought me to this spot. i am SO going to remember this for next summer, and i will bring a picnic and a bathing suit and a towel. this spot is awesome.
i’ve only seen this lavender-edged turkey tail fungus on one other hike, but it’s so beautiful. new wallpaper for my computer, for sure.
even amid the spectacular, if now slightly off-peak, autumn foliage, you can still find a few flowering plants. i saw new england asters and these witch hazels. and i don’t know if you can make him out, but there’s a shy little bug (actual order name: hemiptera, or true bugs) hiding behind the biggest blossom. it was actually warm enough today that i saw a few insects—i swatted 1 mosquito, inhaled 1 gnat, and shooed away 1 horsefly. and i’m sure my permethrin-laced clothing killed more than 1 deer tick.
winding my way around the old woods roads that made up the campground area, i came to a smaller hiking (or more likely mountain-biking) trail that seemed to lead back in the right direction, so rather than retrace my steps i decided to follow it. wow. what a beautiful trail! and for being “off-peak,” the fall foliage was still pretty spectacular.
also, please don’t tell these blueberry bushes that they’re late to the party. they are the party!
i have not (yet) added this hike to the hikefinder. see above for the track which includes the trailhead i used.
[UPDATE] according to the mushroom i.d. forum on facebook, that lavender-edged fungus is not a turkey tail, it is a trichaptum biforme, or a violet-toothed polypore. just to be precise.
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