• Great Swamp Monument – Great Swamp Management Area
• Great Swamp Monument Road, South Kingstown, RI
• Trailhead: 41°28’39.46″N, 71°35’44.41″W
• First Time Hiked: March 15, 2014
• Last Time Hiked: November 20, 2021
• Approximate distance hiked: 1.5 miles
• Easy.

Rhode Island has a long history and it is all around. In Providence and Newport we pass sites regularly that we don’t give much thought about. These sites date back to colonial times. We drive through historic villages along main roads such as Wickford. But one of the oldest sites of Rhode Island history is only accessible by foot and hidden three quarters of a mile into a swamp. You have to hike to it. The Great Swamp Monument is the site of a battle during the King Phillips War in December 1675. This battle, fought between colonists from Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and Plymouth against the Narragansett Tribe, marked the beginning of the end of the war. I had made an attempt to do this walk last summer but was confronted by a swarm of deer flies. So it went back on the list for a cooler day. The walk starts at a gate a few hundred feet off of South County Trail on Great Swamp Monument Road. The remainder of the road to the monument is closed to traffic. The walk is along the dirt road that traverses through the swamp and forest. At the monument there is a plague explaining the battle. After spending a little time at the monument I retraced my steps back to the car. This area is open to hunting. Be sure to wear orange during hunting season.

Trail map can be found at: Great Swamp Monument.

Great Swamp Monument