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The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island Home Contact Places We Protect Press Releases Volunteer Nature Programs Ways of Giving Events & Fieldtrips |
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Headwaters of the Wood River
 Beaver © The Nature Conservancy |
Why You Should Visit
An unbroken forest of oak and pine surrounds freshwater red maple swamps, marshlands and vernal ponds. At the southern end of the forest, the Wood River-Rhode Island's finest scenic and wild river-flows. In the uplands, hawks, owls and songbirds take wing. Dragonflies and damselflies thrive in the oxygen-rich water of flowing streams.
Location
West Greenwich, in western Rhode Island
Size
56 acres
Trails
An old cart path called New Road splits the property from east to west. Other trails are relatively new and may still be rough. You can help establish them by walking on them and picking up small limbs and branches. Each trail runs 1.5 to 2 miles, so allow plenty of time on your first visit or plan to walk only half of them. The Alton Jones Campus (to the east and south) does not allow public access to its property, so please do not trespass there.
How to Prepare for Your Visit
Preserve Visitation Guidelines
Directions
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From Providence, take Route 95 south to Route 102.
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Follow Route 102 north.
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Just past the West Greenwich Town Hall, turn left onto Plain Meeting House Road and travel about 3.5 miles.
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Turn left on Plain Road and park across the street from a dirt driveway at #340 Plain Road. This drive is New Road and it is the access to the property.
What to See: Plants What to See: Animals
Meadowhawk dragonfly
© The Nature Conservancy
Low rockrose, golden heather, oak. Pitch pine grow in the uplands, and red maple and mosses are common along the stream.
Why the Conservancy Selected this Site
The property abuts the URI's Alton Jones Campus and lies just north of the Arcadia Management Area and south of the Wickaboxet Wildlife Management Area. It connects a block of protected forest that spans more than 40,000 acres across the Rhode Island and Connecticut border. Its preservation is integral to the protection of both the forest and stream habitats.
What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The Rhode Island chapter cooperated with the West Greenwich Land Trust and Rhode Island's Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to preserve this part of the largest expanse of continuous forest between Boston and New York. As a result, the land was spared from residential development.
