Pocasset Ridge: Short and Close hike

TLDR: Local Tiverton Land trust trail: Pocasset Ridge. A little muddy at the start. A little overgrown at the far parts of the loop. Decent view, 1-2 hours. Recommend. Would do this hike again. Road and shooting range noise. No Dogs allowed.

This is a trail I’ve been wanting to hike for a while. This is a relatively new area, and I’ve driven past the sign on Main Road since they put it in. I was very pleasantly surprised by this hike, I wasn’t expecting such a large area. It took me about  2 hours total to explore it. I was actually planning to go to a few other small hikes nearby but this one took me until dark. I was definitely taking my time, and I stopped at the overlook for a bit. The view isn’t great, you aren’t really at a high enough elevation to see well over the trees. If you want better view, I’d check out Fort Barton or Wetamoo Woods. Most likely I’ll post about those sooner or later. There is one entrance at 2910 Main Rd. Tiverton.

Here’s a link to the Tiverton Land Trust website:

https://www.tivertonlandtrust.org/protected-lands/blog-post-title-three-la343

I didn’t see another soul on this hike, and for me that’s a plus. When I drove by the parking lot for Wetamoo Woods on this same day there were 8-10 cars in the parking lot, so it wasn’t empty just because it was a bit of a chilly day.  You have to wear orange in Rhode Island state management areas during hunting season (9/12 through 2/28 and 4/17 through 5/31).  Bow hunting is allowed on this property so orange is definitely a must. Full disclosure I only had a yellow vest on this hike but I ordered a few when I got home. For 7 bucks on Amazon you can’t go wrong. I saw 2 tree stands on the adjacent private property during my hike so somebody is actively hunting the area. I didn’t see any wildlife except a few morning doves at the beginning.

The only downside of this trail is the ambient noise. You definitely don’t feel like you’re in the wilderness because the road noise is pretty noticeable. There is a shooting range to the northeast of the area and they were very active on this particular day. It didn’t ruin the hike by any means, but by the end It was pretty annoying. 

Features of the trail are the typical New England forest scenery. Stone walls marking where there was once pasture, lots of  large interesting rocks. The trail is very well marked, although if you’re zoned out it’s possible to wander onto the neighboring private property because the trail skirts the property line in places. There was one steep spot at the beginning, but overall I’d say this trail is fine even for early beginners. If this is your first hike ever, or first in a while you’ll be fine.