The Little Compton Trail That’s Perf For A Calming Nature Walk This Spring
Photos you see here are courtesy of PattyJ.com.
After hiking two of the three trails at the John C. Whitehead Preserve in Little Compton and finding them a little too muddy for my liking (it took a lot of elbow grease and copious amounts of soap and water to get my Sorel wedges clean), I was determined to check out the third, Dundery Brook, because it features a raised wooden walkway. In other words, no worries about mucking up footwear.
Sidebar, if you’re into high end real estate in Rhode Island, you’ll want to check out the item in last March’s WSJ about the late John C. Whitehead’s eye-popping oceanfront estate that was apparently on the market at that time for around. 8.5 million.
After explaining to a local resident that we were in search of the boardwalk trail at the Preserve (overseen by The Nature Conservancy, a non-profit that works to preserve land and water areas not only in RI but also across the whole entire country), we knew to look for the tennis courts on Meetinghouse Lane, where the Dundery Brook Trail begins.
The boardwalk at Dundery is certainly a more enjoyable way to take a peaceful 2-ish mile, non-shoe-destroying stroll in nature. The elevated walkway ultimately leads to Bumblebee Pond and a grassy meadow. Speaking of which, you will want to keep an eye out for snakes as I’ve come across a few notes from people who were either thrilled or terrified to spot some whilst in the vicinity. Also, you will want to leave your dogs, other pets, bikes, and motorcycles at home: We spied at least two signs saying as much.
The trees are bare right now which doesn’t make for the prettiest photos. It does, however, mean you won’t have to stress quite so much about ticks and Lyme. As the weather warms up and greenery returns, it’ll be a fab spot for taking outdoorsy photos, bird watching or just drinking in the colors, sounds and sights of the woods and wetlands.
* Dundery Brook Trail is located at 29 Meetinghouse Lane in Little Compton, Rhode Island.