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    Soapstone Mountain

    4.5 (11 reviews)

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    A scenic landscape showing a forest with trees in fall colors, distant mountains, and a cloudy sky overhead.
    Chelsea D.

    Great hike with quite the steep incline at the very beginning with a very rewarding view up top the tower. We took some trails less traveled and the AllTrails map came in handy several times. Cute water feature and bridge where we did some exploring off trail. Would hike again but take different routes to see what else is out there! Oh yeah- saw some bear poop too!

    Thien N.

    A 2 mile point-to-point trail, Soapstone Mountain stands in the southeast corner of the of Somers. Bordering the town lines Ellington, Stafford, and Somers join -- it's great for all skill-types. The first .5 mile on pavement up to the observation tower can be a real ass-kicker depending on how ambitious/hardcore you are -- otherwise it's a fairly easy walk. There are several other trails up also. Immediately to the right of the parking lot is the Shenipsit Trail. Its blue-blazed and is another .5 mile ascent to the top. It starts off as a minute-long flat-terrain walk before becoming a very steep climb. My friends and I love/hate it. We jokingly call it "suicide hill" but it can be a real ass-kicker for beginners or the uninitiated. There are picnic areas along the road up to the tower, as well as an outdoor toilet at the top parking lot. Various forest trails can be used for hiking, mountain biking, horse-back riding, and cross-country skiing too. At the peak, the mountain is 1,075 feet and its views extend over Connecticut to the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont in clear weather. The views can't be beat on a clear day. Soapstone has to be one of favorites because it's really the only public mountaintop that has an observation tower east of the Connecticut River.

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    6 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Steep hike up but beautiful views at the top. Can drive up and walk trails up top of it's easier. Can get very crowded when it's nice out.

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    11 years ago

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    6 years ago

    I would think people would drive an hour to get to this place,for the outstanding views that this hiking trail has to offer.

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    6 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    Review Highlights - Soapstone Mountain

    Great hike with quite the steep incline at the very beginning with a very rewarding view up top the tower.

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    Hopedale Park Lands - Natural habitat

    Hopedale Park Lands

    (6 reviews)

    This is a great place to take an easy, mostly level, 3-mile walk around a beautiful pond. The trail…read morewhich is more like a single lane gravel road, is well marked and maintained. There also numerous, nicely marked trails off this main loop. It's a fairly quiet trail and easy enough that the occasional toddler and stroller passed. At one end of the trail, you need to walk a short way across a bridge under construction. There's not much of a sidewalk to use, but the traffic was very quiet during our weekend outing. According to their website, the initiation of Parklands acquisition was in 1899, and in 1900 the town brought in Warren H. Manning to help architect the entire layout.  There is no parking on the pond boat ramp or at the spaces next to  the bath house. This area is well-marked and the Hopedale Police Department will continue to ticket unauthorized and non-handicap vehicles parked in this area. This area is a drop-off zone only. Vehicles should be parked along Hopedale Street. We found plenty of parking on Hopedale Street, and used the green space there to lunch by the pond. There are benches scattered along the pond loop. Dogs are allowed on a leash and the trail is well marked, which according to their website is the result of the efforts of Mark Andolina, Jr., a Boy Scout from Hopedale Troop 1, who created a new trail map and installed new trail markers as part of his Eagle Scout project. We look forward to a return visit.

    Great hike around the pond. the side trails off the main trail are good for mnt bike.read more

    Big River Management Area - Huge glacial boulder outcrop

    Big River Management Area

    (4 reviews)

    Big River Management Area, is a Big Area! We have been on several of their trails, parking in a…read morevairety of places. It's a diverse area and one of our 'go to' spots for getting into nature. Our past few hikes have been around Carr Pond. We drive down Division Street, to Carr Pond Road, and park street side. There are a couple of parking lots, both before Carr Pond Road, and after. Just depends on how long you want your hike to last, and where you want to walk. There are DEM signs posted on a tree and obvious signs that cars have been parking in this particular spot on Carr Pond Road. The hike around the pond has taken just over 3 miles to well over 4.5 miles. We usually wander through the interconnecting trails as the mood strikes us. It is important, when taking a walk quite this long, that you DO bring a bottle or two of water per person. You will also appreciate bug spray. I have forgotten the bug spray, and although definitely 'do-able', not quite as enjoyable. This particular summer, we have had a lot of rain and mushrooms are everywhere along the trail. A few large puddles have developed along the trail that are full of small toads (I just love these cute little critters). The trails are very well maintained for the most part and it is easy to walk 'around' these low lying areas. A few less travelled paths are a bit over grown, but nothing that isn't easily navigable. The pond itself is large with a variety of areas where you can picnic (bug spray), meditate and just enjoy the serenity of the pond. There are also a number of old building foundations, dams, rock walls and a historical cemetary. We use a phone app to track our hikes as we do tend to wander and it's a good way to see when we are close to our pathway out. After a few visits, you begin to recognize where you are but the first couple of trips can be questionable. The change is altitude is minimal with a couple of paths that have a good 'up grade' (or down grade as the case may be). You do need quality footware here as the paths are a variety of gravelly, rocky, roots and dirt. It change from one type to another on any of the individual paths. The trails are color coded if you want to stick to just one. The path width can also chagee dramatically from four person wide to barely one person wide on any given trail. It's best to be prepared for all possibilities. Most of the path around Carr pond is in shade but if you wander into other areas of the BIg River Management Area, you may be in full sun for most of the walk, so plan to wear a hat, bring sunscreen, have water and maybe a snack. Most of all, Have Fun!

    Roomy and extensive trails that will loop you around two bodies of water - Carrs Pond and Tarbox…read morePond - but also many side trails that crisscross and branch off the main ones. If you're new to this preserve - as we were - better download the AllTrails app onto your smartphone as unfortunately, trail blazes are virtually non-existent and there's no map posted at the trailhead. But it is nice making your way to the two lily-covered ponds, though viewing them in the height of summer is tough with all the leaves and undergrowth. We intend to visit again in the fall (when the colors should be spectacular!) and early winter.

    Woodland Bmx - A winner

    Woodland Bmx

    (1 review)

    Good filthy family fun…read more BMX racing has becoming more and more popular during the last decade and it's even become an official Olympic event. You see bezillions of BMX bikes everywhere and kids riding, doing crazy tricks and of course racing them, usually in very unsafe places in very unsafe ways. That's because they just aren't many places for people to competitively ride the BMX bikes in safe and supervised conditions. Fortunately there is a USA sanctioned facility in West Greenwich that will allow kids and even adults to race, ride and practice until they blow their lungs out. The track is open for practice on Thursday nights until dark and for racing on Saturdays mornings. This is real racing with different classes and categories and with the winners receiving points toward state and national rankings, getting nice trophies and most importantly receiving the accolades of their family and friends. The track is well maintained, has medical equipment and even has an electronic starting gate just like in motocross. The facility has a huge parking lot and many families and friends come to tailgate and cheer on their champions. Almost a picnic type atmosphere. BMX is becoming increasing popular and tracks like this serve a need for speed. The bikes were made to race and this is the place. A great sport and facility for families to get filthy together.

    From the owner: Woodland BMX racing facility in West Greenwitch, RI; sanctioned by USABMX.read more

    Soapstone Mountain - hiking - Updated May 2026

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