Long Pond Woods Wildlife Refuge Hiking Trails

Long Pond Woods in Hopkinton, RI offers arguably the most challenging hiking of any Audubon Refuge. The 220 acres of rocky and steep terrain provide an incomparable bird's eye view of Long Pond. Dense groves of beautiful mountain laurel and rhododendron as well as towering oaks and hemlocks are dispersed through the property. Trails border both Long and Ell Ponds and connect to a larger system that leads into Connecticut.
The main trail is part of the original Narragansett Trail laid out in 1932 stretching from Lantern Hill in CT and ending in the neighboring property owned by the State of RI to the east. This section along with the neighboring Ell Pond Preserve and RI properties offers some of the best hiking in all of New England, especially when the dense thickets of mountain laurel are in bloom


Permitted (and encouraged):

• Hiking on the trails
• Observing & learning about wildlife
• Photography
• Bird watching
• Enjoying the area's natural ambiance and solitude
• Picnicking only at the designated areas at the Nature Center and Aquarium


Not permitted:

• Dogs, horses and other pets
• Motorized vehicles and bicycles beyond the parking lot
• Hunting, fishing or trapping
• Picnicking (except in designated areas at the Nature Center and Aquarium)
• Camping
• Littering
• Alcoholic beverages and smoking
• Collecting plants or other natural objects
• Geo-caching or Letterboxing
• Jogging, running and excessive noise