• Escoheag Trail – Arcadia Wildlife Management Area
• Escoheag Hill Road, Exeter, RI
• Trailhead: 41°35’21.71″N, 71°45’29.29″W
• Last Time Hiked: June 20, 2013
• Approximate distance hiked: 3 miles
• Difficult in areas with moderate elevation.

A beautiful last day of spring made for a great late afternoon hike in the Arcadia Management Area. Starting at a parking area just off Escoheag Hill Road where the red park building is I made my way down to the end of a gravel road that is blazed white. At the end of the road the actual trail begins. I it marked with a sign. The very beginning is quite overgrown but once you are into the woods the trail is much more defined. With the exception of a short excursion to the overlook at the right you will follow the white blazed trail for about a mile to it comes to another gravel road. The first mile is mostly ups and downs with some slight climbing in areas. It can be somewhat difficult and a little muddy with a couple of stream crossings but it is truly peaceful. At one point I actually stopped to listen to… nothing but nature. At the gravel road (Barber Trail) you will notice two trails. To your right is the Mount Tom Trail, blazed white, and directly across the road is the continuation of the Escoheag Trail, also blazed white. Continuing straight ahead, the trail starts a steady and mild descent through the woods and eventually into an area of pines. The trail ends at the blue blazed North South Trail. (If you should decide to return this way and retrace your steps, take note of where the trails meet. The white Escoheag Trail is not very well marked at this time in the return direction.) At this point, I decided to go left onto the North South Trail until I reached the next road (Plain Road). At this point I had walked two miles. There are options at the junction. You could turn around and retrace your steps. You could go to the right for a few hundred feet to the trailheads of the Ben Utter Trail and Breakheart Trail if you choose to add a few more miles. Or you could turn left as I did (following the Weber book map) up the gravel road back to the red park building and parking area. The road does however go uphill for about a half mile before leveling out a bit.

I did not find a trail map on line, however a D.E.M. map shows most of the trail: Escoheag Trail

Along The Escoheag Trail

Some Uphill Climbing