A December Afternoon in Smithfield, RI
Wanting to take advantage of this sunny and warmish December day, we headed to Smithfield, RI to hike the Connors Farm Trail. This 3.1 mile double loop, dog friendly trail is moderately challenging with plenty of ups and downs to make you work a little and get your heart pumping.
Although we hiked 3.1 miles, there are many options for making it a shorter hike if you would like. TIP: The Connors Farm Trail is well marked with blazes, but I highly recommend using the Navigate feature on the AllTrails app since there are many intersecting trails.
After parking at the Connors Farm trailhead on Connors Farm Drive, Maisy was off…excited to explore!
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I love woods hiking in early December when the leaves have fallen…it allows you to see far into the woods from the trail and discover landscape features you normally wouldn’t see with foliage on the trees. The terrain on this trail was beautiful and varied with gigantic rock formations and ledges…
peaceful brooks and a pond…
seemingly endless stone walls and a surprise cave.
TIP: With all the leaf cover on the ground, be careful of hidden rocks and roots as you hike.
When our boys were little, very often we would geocache (an outdoor hidden treasure activity) during our family hikes…it’s a great way to keep your littles interested and excited! If you have a geocache app, I have read this is an outstanding hike to search for hidden geocaches. Since our boys are grown, we no longer have the app but tried to find some geocache treasures on our own…looking in tree and rock nooks…but only managed to find this little gnome hideout…
Hungry after the hike, we drove 4 minutes down the road to browse the fresh produce and bakery at Jaswell’s Farm. Along with buying some apple fritters, we decided to share a festive “Santa Clause Apple Cider”…made with Jaswell’s fresh pressed apple cider and topped with an apple cider donut, whipped cream and holiday sprinkles! Such a treat!!!
Winter is around the corner, but this hike is a great way to take advantage of bonus good weather days like today!