• Snake Den South – Snake Den State Park
• Hartford Avenue, Johnston, RI
• Trailhead: 41°49’48.83″N, 71°32’14.06″W
• Last Time Hiked: July 30, 2013
• Approximate distance hiked: 3.9 miles
• Easy with slight elevation and narrow paths.

Snake Den in Johnston is a large and undeveloped State Park with many miles of trails to wander. I’ve decided that I would split it into more than one hike. I decided to hike the south end of the park first. Although maps are available, I would suggest using some sort of GPS unit if you are not overly comfortable with direction. Starting from a very well marked trailhead behind Johnston fire station #4 on Hartford Avenue I followed an orange blazed trail briefly through an area of woods before entering a meadow with very tall grass. Following the grass path across the meadow onto a wooded dirt road I continued following the orange blazes. As the meadow ended to the right of the wooded dirt road, a path to the right appears.  Orange blazes continue on the dirt road forward to a loop. I Followed the very narrow path to the right across the the northern end of the meadow into the woods once again to another orange blazed path. I followed this path to the next intersection. At this intersection I went right (somewhat straight) following a path that started me in a southeasterly direction into a maze of paths. After wandering around for a bit I retraced my steps back to the intersection. I then found a very narrow but well blazed path to the right almost immediately after the path I came in on. I choose to follow this path for a bit crossing over some small and muddy brooks and stone walls before coming to the Pocassett River. At the river, (at the time of this hike) there is a very large tree down at the trail. It is passable, however I decided that this was about the halfway point of the park and decided to save the rest for a future hike. I then, for the most part, retraced my steps to the car, taking a short detour through another meadow path. Along this path I came across many insects including several dozen praying mantis. I managed to snap a picture of the meadow and some wildflowers (probably some sort of weed) just before a maintenance worker came through on a tractor to cut the tall grass.  The States Division of Parks and Recreation headquarters is also on the property. I had stopped here to ask about trail maps. The staff was very helpful.

Trail map can be found at: Snake Den South

Summer Meadow