Posted By auntie on July 6, 2014

2 miles, charlestown, ri

first hike in july, and in a while. there was so much going on that i didn’t feel i could take the time off to hike, but now i’m free and intend to do as much hiking as possible. first stop, richard trails. i noticed this trail head when driving down route 2, and i stopped in quickly to grab a trail map and check it out, but at the time didn’t have a spare minute to hike. today i did.

it’s a beautiful property and the trail is mostly level and soft, covered in pine needles, with only a couple of short, sharp hills.

the trail

this charlestown open space preserve is small; or at least the blue-blazed trail on it is short, but as you might suspect from the name, there are a lot of random trails throughout, and i couldn’t resist exploring. unfortunately, i guess i even strayed off the property following one random trail and onto narragansett tribal land. whoops. nice walk, tho, through pretty, open mixed conifer and oak woods with lots of braken fern and lowbush blueberry.

ripe blueberries

speaking of low bush blueberries, they are starting to ripen up. i only snagged a couple of them, leaving the rest for the birds and other hikers. but boy were they ever yummy.

fungus shot

and speaking of yummy things, i found this massive bolete mushroom not far from the trail head. its cap was easily the size (and shape) of a hamburger bun, and i think it may have been the variety known in some parts as the “penny bun,” but more commonly known as the king bolete. i am not at all confident on my bolete id, though, so i left it for someone braver or more knowledgable than i. but now i’m all psyched because it means mushroom season has started! time to start carrying my mushroom bag with me again. last time i had it with me when hiking was that fateful day last july when i fell. but i had found a small patch of black trumpets just before the accident, and carried them all the way to the hospital and then home. ate ’em, too.

i have added richard trails to the hikefinder.

Categories: Rhode Island, Walks and Hikes
Tags: 2 miles or less, Charlestown RI, RI