Tillinghast Pond

Posted By on December 3, 2013

Tillinghast Pond

2.52 miles; west greenwich, ri

i really hadn’t planned on going hiking today as i have a “usual suspects” hike tomorrow, but i couldn’t resist 50-degrees in december. my ankle is none too pleased, but this was still a good day on the trail. just did the pond loop, which is only 2-1/2 miles, and not too strenuous.

howard's rest

howard’s rest

this nature conservancy property has lots of nice sitting spots. this one is named for a naturalist and benefactor of the property, howard, um, something. bad me for not taking note. but this spot is called “howard’s rest.”

wild cranberries

wild cranberries

found some wild cranberries on the part of the trail which runs around the perimeter of some big fields. the plants are very low-growing, nothing like the bushes in the cranberry bog i walked last week. but there was no mistaking either the fruit or the foliage. an internet search when i got home confirmed the i.d.

another lovely spot for a bench

another lovely spot for a bench

as i mentioned, i walked the white-blazed pond loop, the first part of which is kind of uninteresting, walking clockwise from the parking area. but the last mile or so of this loop could be in the maine woods; it’s very piney and wild-looking. tillinghast is interesting in that the nature conservancy property is the third of three conservation properties that are in a line running east to west from saddle rock road in west greenwich almost to the connecticut state line. it consists of pratt conservation area, a property owned by the west greenwich land trust, which abuts the state-owned wickaboxet wildlife management area, which in turn abuts the tillinghast pond conservation area. and the good news is that there are trails running all through the three properties, making for a 10-mile trail network. i have linked to the combined maps in the hikefinder.

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