Tefft Hill from the State Garage">Tefft Hill from the State Garage
Tefft Hill from the State Garage
Tunnels!
Tagging on the Old Underpass
Stats
- Distance: 5 miles (loop), with optional 2 1/2 mile add-on
- Level of Difficulty: Moderate
- Town(s): Richmond and Exeter, RI
- Property Owned By: State of RI
- Hunting Allowed: Yes
- Dogs Allowed: Yes
Description
This hike includes sections of the blue-blazed North-South Trail, the yellow-blazed Arcadia Trail, and the white-blazed Arcadia Crossover Trail. But I think one of its most interesting features is the trailhead at the state garage on Route 3, Nooseneck Hill Road on the Richmond/Exeter line because it takes you under Route 95.
Park at the state garage and head out on the trail. It takes you under the highway through a pair of newly-constructed tunnels and once you pass through a stone wall, look for a white-blazed trail immediately on your left. Take the left and follow this trail to the intersection of the yellow-blazed Arcadia Trail and the blue-blazed North-South Trail (they run concurrently here). Follow the yellow-and-blue blazes through the infamous “boulder field” until you come to the spot where the N-S Trail goes left and the Arcadia trail goes right—take the right, and follow the Arcadia Trail to a series of bridges, where it meets the white-blazed Arcadia Crossover Trail.
At this point, you can either follow the white blazes back, or opt for the longer hike and follow the Arcadia Trail to where it crosses KG Ranch Road. Take a right on the road and go straight until you see the parking area for Browning Mill Pond on your left, after the intersection with Arcadia Road. There is a yellow-blazed trail that starts at the end of the parking lot that circumnavigates Browning Mill Pond, and re-crosses Arcadia Road, taking you along the Roaring Brook Handicapped Access Trail to Tefft Hill Trail, a dirt road.
Follow the yellow-blazes. They will eventually take a left off Tefft Hill Trail, winding through and over Roaring Brook a couple of times, until you come back to the spot where the N-S trail joins in.
Highlights
- The underpass of Route 95 (see photos, above). The double tunnels under the highway were recently constructed, and I would not be surprised to find them also tagged, but they weren’t as of this photo. I don’t know why, but I get a real thrill walking under the highway here. I can just imagine the cars and trucks zooming overhead, all with no idea what’s underneath.
boulders
- The North-South Trail Boulder Field. It’s notorious—it even has a sign. Although if you prefer not to scramble over boulders for a quarter of a mile, there is a spur trail that goes around it.
browning mill pond
- Browning Mill Pond. It’s worth the extra mileage to hike the trail that goes around the pond. There are a couple of wonderful vistas, an old CCC-built stone shelter, a couple of dams, and an abandoned fish hatchery.
sulphur shelf mushroom
- Great mushrooming! I probably shouldn’t be sharing this, but this hike is my most productive mushroom-hunting hike. I’ve picked literally pounds of black trumpet mushrooms here, and several hen-of-the-woods, and plenty of chickens (picture above), too.
On-line Resources (Links)
- Trails and Walks in RI
- State of RI (RI DEM Trailmap annotated by me)
- Denali Outdoors blog
