The Westerly Land Trust

Thursday Hike: Dr. John Champlin Glacier Park, Westerly
2023-03-30 10:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | RI
A walking tour of the WLT’s Glacier Park preserve featuring wooded trails with gentle hills and some rocky sections. This site’s unique geological features are worth the trip. Meet at the trailhead off of Tom Harvey Road just outside the entrance to Winnapaug Cottages. Please park in the designated area outside of the Winnapaug Cottages gate or in the parking lot across the street.
To sign up, contact hike leader: Janice Fifer, (401) 213-6479, and email: jhfifer@verizon.net
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

Fitness Hike
2023-04-05 17:00 - 19:00 | Grills Preserve, 198 Bowling Lane, Westerly, RI, 02808, United States
What better place to work out then in nature?

Spring ahead with a fun and challenging fitness hike with strength, flexibility and balance stations along a 3 mile route in WLT’s Grills Preserve! Choose your team assignment by hiking speed- each team will have a leader to keep you all motivated and focused along the way. Camaraderie, exercise, light refreshments and a beautiful preserve awaits.

Registration required, spots are limited.
Event is FREE for members, and $10 per person for not-yet-members.
Not a member and would like to be? CLICK HERE!

Thursday Hike: Mount Tom Trail, Exeter
2023-04-06 10:00 - 12:30 | RI
This walk is about 5 ½ miles over some rocky and moderately steep areas but the views are worth the effort. The latter half of the walk is on gravel roads and is mostly downhill!!! We will meet at the check station in Arcadia Wildlife Management Area off of Rt 165. It is 3.5 miles west of the intersection of Rts 3 and 165.
To sign up, contact hike leader: Janice Fifer, (401) 213-6479, and email: jhfifer@verizon.net
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

Thursday Hike: Riverwood Preserve, Westerly
2023-04-13 10:00 - 12:00 | Riverwood Preserve, 5 Boy Scout Drive, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
This property is part of the Westerly Land Trust’s Pawcatuck River Corridor Initiative. It consists of 148 acres of woodland, rocky ridges and fresh water wetlands adjacent to the Pawcatuck River and the Boy Scout Camp. It has interesting quarry remnants, river views and descent through a beautiful gorge. Some climbing in rocky areas may be involved as the best views are from the higher elevations. Meet on Old Hopkinton Road at the end of Boy Scout Drive. Please park along the road – we will walk into the preserve from there.
To sign up, contact hike leader: Marc Doherty, (401) 315-2610, ext. 4 (w), (508) 308-9787 (c), and email: mdoherty@westerlylandtrust.org
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

Speak For The Trees
2023-04-14 10:30 - 12:00 | Grills Preserve, 198 Bowling Lane, Westerly, RI, 02808, United States
Spend a day during April break on a storybook nature hike as we walk through Dr. Seuss’s book The Lorax.

Do you speak for the trees? Join Westerly Land Trust Educators for a nature hike through Grills Preserve. Make various stops along the trail to read the story of Dr. Seuss’s, The Lorax while you admire the beautiful trees that surround you and discover how to be a better steward of our environment.

Event is FREE and open to all ages.
Registration is required. Spots are limited.
Parent/ guardian is required to accompany their student at the event. This is a great opportunity to adventure together!

Thursday Hike: Breakheart Pond, Exeter
2023-04-20 10:00 - 13:00 | RI
This walk is in Arcadia Management Area and will be about 5 miles long. Well worth the short drive! We will walk past a historical cemetery, along the shores of Breakheart Pond and Frosty Hollow Pond, and along a scenic river. Easy to moderate terrain. Mostly flat, with a few short hill climbs. Meet at the parking lot at JB Hudson Trailhead on Route 165. The trailhead is marked by a brown wooden sign on the north side of Route 165. Depending upon which direction you are coming from, the trailhead is approximately 2.5 miles west of the intersection of Routes 165 & 3, and 4.6 miles east of the RI/CT border at Beach Pond.
To sign up, contact hike leader: Jeff Walker, 401-447-1879 and email: Jeffrey.walker@cox.net
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

Clean-Up Crews & Brews
2023-04-22 11:30 - 14:00 | 14 Canal St, 14 Canal Street, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
It’s Earth Day! Help us clean-up the trails and celebrate after with an ale at Grey Sail Brewing. You won’t want miss this event!

Cleaning up is always more fun when you do it with friends! And this year is extra special. We are combining events with The Sugar Kelp Cooperative to celebrate Earth Day and the kick off of Kelp Week.
Join us for this Earth Day trash pick-up in and around WLT properties, then head to Grey Sail Brewing Company for a post clean-up brew. Everyone who participates in the clean-up will receive a token to be used at Grey Sail for 1 FREE drink as a thank you for volunteering to help keep our environment clean and safe. A kelp infused drink for Kelp Week will be included on the menu. Keep the party going and enjoy live music from Small and Oates and grab some food from Vintage After Hours food truck to celebrate Kelp Week Kick-Off.
Many thanks to Grey Sail Brewing Company for hosting our clean-up crews!
Registration required to help us determine how many preserves we will be able to tackle with our crews!

Thursday Hikes: Hoffman Evergreen Preserve, Stonington, CT
2023-04-27 10:00 - 13:00 | RI
This is an Avalonia Land Conservancy preserve. The trails offer beautiful scenery of evergreen and hardwood forests. A restoration project is underway to regenerate new growth and young forest patches where the old forest was dying due to disease drought, storm and insect damage. Expect to see brush piles of cut tree limbs created for wildlife, in addition to areas of dense vegetation of re-growing habitat. The area is crisscrossed by old stone walls, a colonial highway and stone structures of questionable age. Directions from Westerly: CT 2W (toward Norwich, CT), at traffic circle take 3rd exit onto CT 184W, turn right onto CT 201N (North Stonington Road), park on either side of road at trailhead.
To sign up, contact Co-Hike Leaders: Sally Hanson, (401) 348-9109 (h), (401) 932-5295 (c) and email sallyhanson242@gmail.com and Deidre O’Connor, (860) 287-7281, and email deirdreo@snet.net
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

Thursday Hike: Crandall Family Preserve, Westerly
2023-05-04 10:00 - 12:00 | RI
This flat 3-mile walk is through an interesting variety of woods, which are surrounded by extensive Atlantic White cedar swamp and open peatlands. Highlights include a platform overlooking a beaver lodge and the remnants of an old sawmill. Meet and park in the parking lot on the left prior to the end of Pound Road (do not block the gates), which is off Route 91, Westerly Bradford Road.
To sign up, contact hike leader: Jeff Walker # 401-447-1879. Email: Jeffrey.walker@cox.net
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes.
PLEASE NOTE:

Hikes leave promptly.
Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

FLUORESCENT ORANGE REQUIREMENTS:
In State Management areas everyone is required to wear 200 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange from last Thursday in April to the last day in May, annually.

Bumble Bee ID Walk- RESCHEDULED FOR MAY 7
2023-05-07 12:00 - 14:00 | Barlow Nature Preserve, 449 Westerly Bradford Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Join the fun and inspiring Providence Pollinator Lab in a search for bumble bees. This event is perfect for the whole family!

We are excited to learn from the experts and hope you are too! Dr. Rachael Bonoan and her team at the Providence Pollinator Lab will lead this excursion as we search for, catch, ID, and release different bumble bee species. Discover bumble bee springtime habits and hopefully spot some queens as they look for a spot to nest. There is fun for all ages so bring your family, grab a net, and start to your adventure!

Registration required.
Event is open to ALL ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Children under 12 are FREE.
Event is FREE for WLT members and $10 for not-yet-members.
CLICK HERE to become a member today!

The Providence Pollinator Lab has teamed up with WLT to measure pollinator biodiversity across WLT properties and has an amazing specimen collection to share with us. To learn more about Rachael and her lab click here.
