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Route Summary This hike to Lime Rock Preserve Pond starts on an old railway bed, and then follows a combination of foot paths and woods roads to loop around the pond and return to the railway bed.
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Trail Guide
![]() The other interesting vine at the trailhead, I have nicknamed the "strangler vine". This plant was all woody, looking more like a twisted tree trunk rather than any type of leafy green vine that I'm accustomed to. It had wrapped itself around a rather small tree, spiraling upwards. Then it must have decided that it liked a neighboring tree better and so leaned its host tree over to the new tree and wrapped around both the trees... and apparently eventually caused the original tree to snap apart horizontally. This strangler was about 2 inches thick; it wasn't as creepy-looking as the first vine but perhaps it's more ruthless. And now on to the trail. Neither the trails nor the pond have any names so I have dubbed the former electric railroad bed the "Rail Trail" and the portion of the trail that veers off and circles the pond the "Pond Loop". And I'm calling the pond, the "Lime Rock Preserve Pond". Not very original but it's easier to discuss the different trails when they have names. The Rail Trail is very straight and soon you will see a smaller path leaving the main rail bed to the left. This path closely parallels the railroad bed, never getting more than a dozen feet away. During spring or after rains the main trail can be wet or muddy so the smaller footpath provides an alternative "higher ground" (only a few feet higher) route. The rail trail was mostly nice and smooth but there were rougher, rockier sections. The woods were predominately tall beech and oak but also had maple and other types of trees. There were some interesting looking boulders visible from the path and also some small ledgy areas along the trail. ![]() I saw some Christmas ferns with their thick, waxy, rather plain (but pretty) evergreen fronds. And then there were some sensitive ferns that had beady fertile fronds in addition to their more common non-fertile foliage. The sensitive fern can be easily identified because it's not very lacey or "ferny" looking. Its fronds die back each season so they are not thick or waxy. This fern gets its common name because its leafy fronds will die with the first frost. However its narrow, beady fertile fronds will persist through the winter. I also came across some wilted false Solomon's seal in fruit with loose clusters of red, or red-speckled opaque berries. I saw some white wood asters in bloom and many green plants that I unfortunately am not familiar with. The month of May would be a great time to revisit this preserve with field guide in hand. A strange animal call turned out to be simply two trees rubbing together producing an eerie sound. There were large clumps of smartweed in bloom, with deep green narrow leaves and spikes of tiny pink flowers. It was either long-bristled smartweed or Lady's thumb (another type of smartweed). It more closely matched the attributes of long-bristled smartweed but seemed to have the "splotches" on the leaves that are characteristic of Lady's thumb. Perhaps both species were mixed in together or maybe I was seeing a hybrid of the two. I also saw white baneberry in fruit. Because its berries are white with a single black dot on them, these plants have earned the appellation of "doll's eyes". The berries protrude off of thick pinky-reddish colored stalks that make this plant quite striking even without flowers; in fact its small white blooms are rather drab in comparison. Soon I arrived at a path leaving to the right; this is one end of the Pond Loop. I turned right to follow the narrower footpath that had a stone wall running a bit to its right side. The trail climbed up a small hill and from its apex I could spy the pond through the trees. I descended back down the hill, up the next hill, and finally down to the shore of the pond. Veering to the left, I reached the earthen dam that crosses the pond. From here there was a pretty view of the pond. The pond was a somewhat elongated channel that curved off to the right out of sight. Looking directly across the pond I could see some small ledges with several old tree stubs poking out of the water. The dam was in full sunlight so a profusion of wildflowers and shrubs populated the terrain with a tall white ash tree overlooking the pond's shore. Alder shrubs and sumac were present and also a shrub with abundant yellow berries. These berries each had a small single yellow spike sticking out from one end. ![]() Beyond the dam, the main route that I followed turned left and ascended a small hill. To the right was rocky, ledgy ground rising up above the trail and sassafras trees grew close to the path. Shortly after the top of the hill, the wide trail diverged right and a smaller footpath went left. I bore left to follow the route closer to the pond. Here there were a few small (about 6 feet high) white pines which was strange to see in woods supporting so many hardwood trees. There were some interesting boulders to the left of the trail... perhaps some of these were the marble that is said to exist on the preserve. Soon I crossed a dry streambed on a ledgy bridge. Just upstream from this spot is where marsh marigolds grow in the spring. This species produces buttercup-bright yellow flowers and like very wet areas. The Pond Loop traversed a few gentle inclines, all the while keeping the pond in sight through the trees. When you reach a T-junction, you have met up with the Rail Trail. At this point turn left and you will eventually reach the trailhead. ![]() The pond is visible from this section of the Rail Trail and at one point (when you've reached the part of the pond that you could see when looking straight across from the dam) there are two trails that descend sharply down to the pond's edge. The trails were sandy and the footing looked very poor so I chose to just observe the pond from the heights. I next encountered the first leg of the Pond Loop trail (now on the left). I continued straight ahead to retrace my steps on the Rail Trail back to the parking area. |
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Driving Directions
Lime Rock Preserve is located in Lincoln on Wilbur Road. From Route 146 northbound:
From Route 146 southbound:
The obvious trail leaves from the parking area. There are a couple informational signs about the preserve set back from the road as well as a short section of railed fence. About Lime Rock Preserve ![]() The main trail running along the western edge of the preserve is a rail bed from an abandoned electric train that used to run between Providence and Woonsocket. This trail as well as a loop trail provide views to the preserve's pond which serves as the town's reservoir. The various habitats of this property include woodlands, forested swamps, streams, open water, and calcareous ledges. Winter provides a great opportunity to observe animal tracks. The Lime Rock Preserve's name conjures up times past when limestone mining was an integral activity in this area - and in fact still continues today. Before being replaced by cement over a hundred years ago, limestone was important to building because it made strong plasters and mortars. During the 1600 and 1700's, it was used to hold together "stone-enders"–an entire wall or massive chimney made of fieldstone constructed on the ends of otherwise wooden clapboard houses. Lime is still heavily utilized today, not in construction, but to neutralize New England's acidic soils. Preserve Visitation Guidelines ![]()
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