Rock Climbing

We took a pleasant hike through part of Durfee Hill in early March. The (unpaved) road we walked on was easy to follow, even with a bit of snow on the ground. It's not necessarily the easiest walk, but the area is certainly quiet and peaceful. The only interesting thing we saw was a man-made waterfall, though apparently there's a good place to go rock climbing somewhere inside Durfee as well. All in all a good place to go for a hike in the woods.

According to the maps I've seen (here and here) there are apparently four or five separate areas that comprise Durfee Hill. We were clearly in the largest section; I look forward to exploring the others.

Snake Den is a quiet, unmarked patch of land off a side road in Johnston. It's very literally unmarked - there's nothing there that gives any hint that it's a state park. The parking area is so small and non-descript, in fact, that it really takes a leap of faith to believe that the spot where you think you should park actually is where you should park! Take a look at a picture I took of the entrance

to see what I mean.

Snake Den is not the most picturesque area I've walked through. It's hard to go wrong with unspoiled woodland though, and Snake Den is no exception. It's quiet, very wooded and very, very peaceful. It has become the de-facto place for my sons and I to go for a walk on a summer day, in fact, precisely because it is so quiet and wooded.

Though we haven't fully explored the park in its entirety yet, I can say that it has a well-worn trail that makes for fairly easy walking. I wouldn't go walking there in sandals, but you needn't bring spikes and rope, either. The trail starts at the entrance/parking spot, runs along a field to the right and then bears left into the woods. Where it ends I don't yet know.

All in all, a great place to go for a quiet walk.

Note: There is a trail map of Snake Den in Ken Weber's Walks and Rambles in Rhode Island.

Note: Rock climbing information from climbri.com is available here.