Weetamoo Woods
TLDR
Weetamoo Woods is a Town of Tiverton, RI property that is managed by the Recreation and Beaches Commission. It includes 550 acres that borders the 230 acres of Pardon Gray Preserve. There are about 10 miles of trails between the two properties, and most routes will give you a 3–5-mile loop. The trail conditions were very good, with a few muddy spots that you can easily avoid. Some parts are accessible to folks with limited mobility, but many areas are rocky and have roots sticking out that can be a challenge. Mostly flat. The hiking trails are very well marked. Dogs are allowed on a leash, mountain biking is allowed, horseback riding is allowed on certain trails. No camping, smoking, hunting, trapping, paintball, fires, or ATV’s. This is a popular area so it can get very busy on nice weather days. I would go back; in fact, I have been here many times.
Background
I didn’t want to disappear for the whole day on Easter, but it has been a few weeks since I’ve been able to get out for a hike, so I hit a close one that I’m really familiar with. The town of Tiverton, RI owns and maintains Weetamoo Woods. There is information on all of their properties on the town website. The area is named after one of the sachems (leaders) of the Pocasset people native to the area. She was killed during King Philip’s War, and her story is an interesting one. I’d encourage you to check it out- here’s a good place to start.
Where to access
There are at least 5 parking areas to access Weetamoo Woods. Three of them are at Pardon Gray Preserve which the Tiverton Land Trust maintains. The most popular access is at 298 East Road, Tiverton, RI and there is parking for about 20 cars there. There are some accessible paths through the area that start from here, but there are difficult stretches throughout the woods. I started my hike from the East Lot which is at 578 Lake Road, Tiverton, RI. This is the smallest lot with parking for about six cars, and the trails from here are among the least traveled in the area. These are also the most stony and toughest stretches if you’re trying to avoid those ankle-busters. Many trails that wind in from neighborhoods are on this side, so even when the lots seem empty, there can be a fair amount of people wandering around. I think the Alltrails app gets it wrong on this one, and that’s a first. They direct you to the King Road access, but I think you’re better off starting your hike at East Road if you’ve never been here.
What to see
By far the most popular destinations in the park are the abandoned sawmill and dam (shown below), and “High Rock”. They are clearly marked on the trail map. There is a really good system of waypoints that are marked on posts and they correspond to the map to help you find your way. I purposely avoided the popular spots, and skirted the northern part of the property and then onto Pardon Gray Preserve for about half of my hike. This route does bring you past the landfill, which the town is closing as of the date of posting. It’s not a pleasant view at all. In an odd twist, a family of osprey were very active at that spot because they have a nest in the cellphone tower at the edge of the landfill property. It’s probably the most wildlife I’ve seen on a hike in months.
There were a fair number of people there, but it didn’t feel crowded. There were about 10-12 groups, evenly split between dog-walkers, hikers, and trail runners. The dog walkers are very good about collecting the waste, I didn’t see any. I did see a fair amount of trash, and not just the windblown stuff high in the trees by the landfill. This was probably the worst hike so far with trash, but it still wasn’t horrible. I did leave it a little better than I found it.
I stumbled across a fun challenge at Pardon Gray preserve. The RI Land Trust Council has put 34 little metal creatures in land trust properties around Rhode Island. They have a QR code so you can scan them with your phone when you find them, and you can set up an account to track the ones that you’ve found. This would be a fun activity to do with your kids. I always found adding a treasure hunt aspect to a hike can make them more excited about going. This could also be a good excuse to get outside if you’re a kid at heart. The details on the challenge are here.
It would be really hard to get lost here. There are residential neighborhoods that share the border for a good bit. There is a gas pipeline easement that cuts through Weetamoo Woods, a powerline easement that cuts through Pardon Gray, and the 1000 foot tall WLNE broadcast tower can give you a reference point from a good portion of the town and neighboring towns, even at night. Road noise is also present throughout most of the area so there isn’t much of a wilderness feel.
This one is special to me for purely sentimental reasons. I have spent years wandering in these woods leading my scouts on hikes to learn about nature. We explored the cellar holes with groups of excited kids and looked for geocaches to make the hike a treasure hunt. We taught them how to find their way, what plants to avoid, and reminded them to check for ticks when they got home. They learned respect for nature and how to leave it better than you found it. We sent them home covered in mud and dirt and filled with excited chatter looking forward to the next time. Every place is special in it’s own way, and this one hits me right in the feels.
