- Access: Take Route 100 northwest about 5.3 miles out of Pascoag and turn left on Buck Hill Road. Drive 2.3 miles and take a right for 0.3 miles to a gate. Parking available.
- Dogs: Allowed
- Information board: Has placards of maps of the area.
- Required: 200 sq. in. of orange must be worn April 17 to end of May, and in hunting seasons.
BURRILLVILLE — The Tri-State Marker, a granite obelisk at the only point where Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts meet, attracts hikers from throughout the region.
When I visited on an early April morning, a family from Connecticut had walked in from the west. A couple from Massachusetts had hiked from the north.
I arrived from the east after crossing the 2,000-acre Buck Hill Management Area. Along the way, I examined an impressiveearthen dam that held back a massivewildlife and waterfowl marsh. I inspected well-preserved stone foundations and cellar holes built by early farmers. I followed, with one foot in Rhode Island and the other in Massachusetts, a series of small, stone pillars that lead me to the Tri-State Marker.
Finding the obelisk, erected in 1883 to settle border disputes, was a highlight of the hike through the preserve managed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and tucked into the far northwest corner of the state.
I put on a required orange vest because it’s hunting season and set out from a gate at the end of a parking area. I walked down a gravel road with a small, reed-filled pond on the left.
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In a third of a mile, the road ran through pines and crossed a bridge with Leeson Brook rushing underneath. There was some beaver activity downstream. I took a short side trail on the left to a 500-foot long, 13-foot high dike built in 1962 to create a huge swamp.
A metal drain, installed in 2006, houses a water control system to manipulate the water levels to improve the habitat. In the spring, the water is lowered to allow vegetation to sprout and grow and give coverage to migrating waterfowl to forage. It also provides hunting opportunities.
Back on the trail, a side lane called Benson Mountain Road breaks to the east. I stayed on the yellow-blazed path that narrows and heads north. An opening in the trees allows a look west at the swamp where hikers report seeing all types of waterfowl.
The trail gets rocky, rises under hemlocks and mountain laurel, and crosses a fire road. At about 1.5 miles from the start, the path intersects with Old Starr Road. I walked a few hundred yards east to find well-built stone enclosures and walls. The late naturalistKen Weberreported in his trail posts that the area’s first white settler may have lived here.
I returned to the yellow-blazed trail, and reached the state line, which is also the terminus of the North South Trail, where signs offer several options, including a walk 2.1 miles east to Wallum Lake.
I hiked a short distance north on the Midstate trail, which runs through the Douglas State Forest in Massachusetts. Then, I turned west on a trail along the state border to head for the Tri-State Marker. At the intersection, there are larger stone foundations with the remains of center chimneys.
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Along the trail, three small stone posts etched with “RI” on one side and “Mass” on the other guide the route over rolling terrain.
In sight of the obelisk
After a long, gradual rise, the trail crests on a knoll just above a circular clearing, within sight of the Tri-State Marker and other hikers. I noticed a youngster trying to climb the four-foot pillar.
The four-sided obelisk is sunk five feet deep and has a six-inch pyramid top. State abbreviations — RI facing east, Conn facing west and Mass facing north — are carved on three sides. The fourth side is blank. The pillar was put up to try to resolvea series of border disputes, some of which landed in state supreme courts, that date to the colonial days. The governments of Massachusetts and Rhode Island formed a commission to study land deeds, documents and other records to set the border.
Connecticut didn’t sign onto the original agreement, so while “1883” is carved under the RI and Mass abbreviations, Connecticut’s side does not include the date.
After a few minutes of thinking, I headed south along the Rhode Island/Connecticut line and found a trail on the left with water running over it. Look closely to see a slab marker with “RI” on one side and “C” on the other.
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I took the trail east, up a long gradual slope. At a fork, I stayed right on a road over a ridge on Benson Mountain (753 feet and named for a family that lived there) and noted several side roads into clear-cut fields. DEM workers mow the fields twice a year to promote more diverse plants, limit the intrusion of woody vegetation and provide a habitat for grassland nesting birds and pollinators. During the spring and summer and small game season, the fields are stocked with ring-necked pheasants.
I followed the road as it eventually bent east, spotted the swamp through the trees and returned to the trail where I started. After a quick right, I was back at the lot.
In all, I walked six miles over three hours in a public preserve shared by hunters and hikers.
My favorite stop was the Tri-State Marker.It’s a unique destination and worth a hike to see for yourself.
Trail tip:Group hikes
Drive separately to the trailhead, social distance and wear masks if you have concerns about coronavirus.
An experienced hiker should lead. No one should pass the leader, who should stop to regather the group at trail splits, water crossings or obstacles.
Share information with hikers traveling the other way about anything unusual about the trail.
Spread out to keep from eating each other’s dust and to decrease the impact on the environment, but remain within eye and ear contact.
An experienced hiker, called a sweeper, should take up the rear. Nobody should fall behind the sweeper.
John Kostrzewa, a former assistant managing editor/business at The Providence Journal welcomes emails at johnekostrzewa@gmail.com.
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