• Canonchet Trail
• Main Street, Hopkinton, RI
• Trailhead: 41°28’57.10″N, 71°44’47.41″W
• Last Time Hiked: September 13, 2014
• Approximate distance hiked: 2.8 miles
• Moderate.

This hike was a Rhode Island Land Trust Days event hosted by the Friends of The Hopkinton Land Trust. They had a good turnout for the hike as we gathered at the parking area along Route 3 entrance. This would be a one-way hike, so after some carpooling we started the hike from the Stubtown Road trailhead. From here we would follow the yellow blazed Canonchet Trail through two Nature Conservancy properties and a Hopkinton Land Trust property back to the parking area on Main Street. We were led by Harvey Buford who has a wealth of knowledge about the history of the properties. From Stubtown Road we meandered through the Canonchet Brook Preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy. This section offered several several stone walls and cairns most likely of Native American origin. The trail had several rocks and stones as well and was root bound in areas. There are also some sections of boardwalks here. We then crossed the Canonchet Brook as well as two side trails before crossing into the Hopkinton Land Trust-Brown Homestead property. As we continued along the yellow blazed Canonchet Trail we came across more cairns, one in particular on the right side looked like a turtle. The turtle plays an important role in Native American folklore. We then came to a road crossing at the end of the Land Trust property. To the left the a trail follows Lawton Foster Road to the Hoxsie Trail. We, however, continued along the yellow blazed trail into the Hoxsie Preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy. Next we came to a series of colonial era cellar holes and a foundation of a barn. On the backside of the barns foundation is a rather impressive root cellar. After exploring a bit we continued on the trail, passing several stone walls and a rather large boulder before we reached the stone slab bridge. At this location there was once a sawmill. The foundation is still here. The remainder of the trail then traversed through the woods down to the parking area where we first gathered. If carpooling is not an option, from this parking area, one could easily do a 2 mile hike on the Hoxsie property by following the Hoxsie Trail to Lawton Foster Road and returning on the Canonchet Trail. Most of the Canonchet Trail was once part of the Narragansett Trail when it ran from Lantern Hill in Connecticut to Wordens Pond in South Kingstown.

Trail maps can be found at: Canonchet Brook Preserve/Brown Homestead

Along The Canonchet Trail