• Oakland Forest And Meadow Trail
• Carriage Drive, Portsmouth, RI
• Trailhead: 41°33’24.53″N,  71°15’49.13″W
• Last Time Hiked: March 5, 2014
• Approximate distance hiked: 1 mile
• Easy.

A cold, gray, and snowy day for a short hike. This was a nice little hidden gem of a hike in Portsmouth owned by the Aquidnick Island Land Trust. Its a rather short hike but for the arbor folk this property offers some rarity. The forest part of this property has a large concentration of American Beech trees. The hike begins from a small parking area on Carriage Drive crossing a footbridge into a meadow. The path follows the edge of the meadow to another footbridge. In the meadow there are a few birdhouses. At the second footbridge a frozen stream with a dusting of snow revealed that there are deer in the area. After crossing the second footbridge I turned left following the path to the next intersection. At this intersection is the loop trail, I choose to go to the left and follow the loop as it wound through the forest of beech and oak trees. There is also a swath of rhododendrons on the property. After completing the loop I retraced my steps back to the parking area. The paths are very well marked with signs in the meadow and white blazes in the forest. I did see several types of birds here including many robins. Hopefully that is a sign that spring is just around the corner here in Southern New England.

Trail map can be found at: Oakland Forest.

Oakland Forest