Yellow trail wasn’t a whole lot of fun but if you loop your way back on the white trail it hugs the bank of the stream and gets interesting. A lot of things to explore out there.
Brian S.
Place rating: 4 Warwick, RI
A great place to get lost The John Hudson Trail, named for one of the saints of Rhode island hiking, is technically only about a 3 to 4 miles long round trip. Hardly worth the effort of finding the place. However it’s part of the huge Arcadia Wildlife Management Area so there are a vast number of side trials that go off in every possible direction. Some are practically roads, others are barely visible ancient paths. Some go somewhere, others go nowhere. The whole area can be extremely confusing and hard to follow, If you you stay on the Hudson Trial and follow the yellow marks you will end up at Breakheart Pond. A beautiful place for fishing or just viewing. A lot of different types of wildlife are attracted to the water and if you are quiet and observant you will see a multitude of birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Mountain laural is everywhere and in places so thick that if actually forms a tunnel. If you are adventurous you can then catch the Breakheart Trail and continue your hike or backtrack the way you came. Or if you are very adventurous you can try one of the small unmarked side trails. If you take one of the larger ones you probably will eventually come out to a marked trial or road but on the smaller trails you take your chances. People get lost in here all the time. The whole area has lots of streams, ponds and waterfalls. Since this is ancient farmland stonewalls divagate back and forth and many old foundations are still visible. Remnants of a different time and reality. Of course the omnipresent ancient Rhode Island cemeteries are scattered about in unexpected spots. Unfortunately because of the soft sandstone and abundance of water in the area the inscriptions on most the ones I looked at could no longer be read. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The John B. Hudson Trail is one of the oldest and shortest hikes in the state system. But in those 3 or 4 short miles you will see a lot of history and nature. And if you decide to brave one of the side trials you will probably get lost and end up seeing more history and nature than you wanted. But then getting lost is half the fun. A great place to get lost
