• Fort Nature Refuge
• Providence Pike, North Smithfield, RI
• Trailhead: 41°57’39.16″N, 71°33’9.43″W
• First Time Hiked: March 31, 2013
• Last Time Hiked: March 8, 2015
• Approximate distance hiked: 3.75 miles
• Easy with some slight elevation.

The temperature on Easter morning at 7:30 am was in the low 30’s. By the end of the hike at 10:00 am it was close to 55°. Spring is definitely here. And sound of wildlife is in abundance. Starting at a small parking area I followed the blue trail through some woods.  The blue trail loop splits not too far in. I decided to follow the path to the right.  I saw several birds along this stretch. A short distance up, a spur trail leads off to the right to go down to the pond. I was, again, apparently not quiet enough as I scared off some ducks before I reached the shore. Nonetheless, a great photo spot. Back to the blue trail, bypassing the white trail, to a fork. This is where the yellow trail begins. Beware though of the yellow trail.  It is the connector trail between the blue loop and the red loop and it is currently not marked very well.  I found myself doing a lot of back-tracking. The yellow trail went under a set of power lines, then back into a heavily wooded area. It then proceeded to go by a bench by the second pond, before heading around the edge of the pond. This is where it got a little tricky. The beavers have been hard at work here and part of the yellow trail was covered in water. There were many trees fell by them. I just went around the beaver dam after spotting a blaze on the other side of the water. I then came across a beaver lodge but I did not come across any these beavers.  I then proceeded to the end of the yellow trail onto the red loop trail which briefly borders the third pond. After the loop. I retraced my steps (again, with some back-tracking along the yellow trail) back to the parking area.

More info & trail map can be found at: Fort Nature

The Pond By The Yellow Trail