Green Falls Gorge">Green Falls Gorge
Green Falls Gorge
The Gorge
Stats
- Distance: 4 miles (loop)
- Level of Difficulty: Moderate
- Town(s): Voluntown, CT and Hopkinton, RI
- Property Owned By: State of CT, RI Boy Scouts
- Hunting Allowed: On state land only
- Dogs Allowed: On state land only
Description
This hike includes a substantial section of the Narragansett Trail and at one point follows the state border between Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The most popular trailhead for this hike is at the state line marker on Green Falls Road, a dirt road that becomes Yawgoog Road where it crosses the border. There is parking here for 4 or 5 cars. However, I prefer to park near the entrance to the gorge on Sand Hill Road in Voluntown, CT. This is another dirt road accessible from Route 49 in Voluntown or via Green Falls Road and Yawgoog Road. The reason I like to park here is that the hike includes a little over a mile of walking along the dirt road, and I prefer to save that for the end of my hike, since it’s all downhill headed in a clockwise direction around the loop.
The trail is blue-blazed in Connecticut, yellow-and-blue blazed along the state border, and yellow-blazed in Rhode Island. Interestingly, the Narragansett Trail is one of the official blue-blazed hiking trails maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. When it crosses into Rhode Island, it becomes yellow-blazed and is maintained by the Narragansett Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Go figger.
Highlights
- The gorge (see photo, above). This part of the hike is magical. The blue blazes follow the Green Fall River through a steep-sided granite gorge lined with imposing hemlocks, crossing the river on a precarious-looking collection of logs about halfway along.
Green Fall Pond
- Green Fall Pond and dam. At the end of the gorge, you’re confronted with a 25-foot-tall dam which creates Green Fall Pond. A short, steep climb up the side of the gorge and you come to the pond itself, and a lawn that overlooks it. It’s the perfect place for a snack break.
Peg Mill Millrace
- Old mill site. Past the pond, you come to a trail intersection where the Green Falls Trail goes north and the Narragansett Trail turns right. Staying on the Narragansett Trail, you eventually come to an old mill site where the Peg Mill Brook was diverted to make a sluiceway, which is still running.
Dinosaur “Caves”
- “Dinosaur Caves.” Okay, so not really caves and nothing particularly dinosaur-ish about it, but still an impressive climb up and over a huge granite outcropping. There is also, as you can see, an alternate trail that runs below the outcropping, although it’s often quite damp.
On-line Resources (Links)
- Trails and Walks in RI
- State of Connecticut (includes trail map)
- Story of the Yawgoog Trails
