Narragansett Trail/Blue Pond Loop

Posted By on April 1, 2014

Narragansett Trail/Blue Pond Loop

4.12 miles; hopkinton, ri

there’s a lotta road walking in this walk, but it’s worth it for the rest of the hike. this loop is part of david brierley’s “seven pond path,” but includes just three of the seven, starting at the long pond fishing area on canonchet road in hopkinton, ri.

ashville pond

ashville pond

the narragansett trail through here is beautiful. it goes through massive thickets of mountain laurel, by a series of impressive glacial erratics, and over a huge swath of granite ledge before ending up at an old, once-public swimming area on ashville pond (second of the seven ponds).

polypodia fern on a glacial erratic

polypodia fern on a glacial erratic

the massive glacial boulders along the trail are crowned with big masses of polypodia ferns.

catastrophic dam failure at blue pond

catastrophic dam failure at blue pond

the last of the ponds on this loop is pretty much not a pond anymore, since the dam gave way in 2010. but surprisingly, i guess because of the weekend’s rains, blue pond almost looks like a pond again.

blue pond looking almost pond-like

blue pond looking almost pond-like

it was a glorious day for a hike. i heard frogs for the first time right here, and saw my first mourning cloaks fluttering about. listen to the frogs:

kind of makes you feel spring is finally here. sorry i wasn’t quick enough to catch a shot of the mourning cloaks, but you can read about them here.

you can find this hike on my hikefinder page under “narragansett trail, ashville pond/blue pond loop.”

Comments

One Response to “Narragansett Trail/Blue Pond Loop”

  1. […] hikes in the area that will feature mountain laurels in bloom, including, but not limited to, the narragansett trail through rockville, the laurel loop on the nehantic trail in pachaug state forest, yawgoo pond trail and duval trail […]

Leave a Reply