It’s hard to believe this is Connecticut, just over the Rhode island border. Check out the old hemlocks leaning into the gorge. The light is magical. In fact, the entire place is.
Here’s another view of the dramatic gorge, bathed in clear autumn light. Look for the hikers in the center of the photo to get an idea of the scale of the rocks and the trees.
This is one of my absolute favorite local hikes: Green Falls. There’s hardly a dull moment. There are rocks to scramble over, the remains of an old peg mill, and a lovely pond. Actually, there is one sort of dull moment at the very end, when you have to walk about a mile on a dirt road to get back to your car. It’s totally worth it, though.
What’s left of the old mill.
Some beautiful coral fungus. Aptly named.
A lovely, small goldenrod.
Some of the rocks required scrambling to climb over. They were smooth, and still felt warm.
The ferns growing out of the rocks still looked healthy despite the lateness of the season.
This pond is another highlight of the hike. It’s very quiet and serene. We usually stop here for a snack.
A very large and mysterious cairn in a shady spot at the end of the gorge. No one knows who built it or why.
This hike takes about three hours. We’ve done it in every season and it never disappoints. It’s a great escape from the traditional “New England” landscape we see every day.
Digging RI 
A great blog entry! An old stereograph of the ravine suggests the cairn supported a sluice system that carried water to a shingle mill that existed nearby in the 19th century: http://www.mdc.net/~dbrier/yawgoog/trails/green-fall.html
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I have consulted those Yawgoog trail descriptions often, and with gratitude. They are terrific.
It is such a special trail, and I don’t think we’ve met more than two or three people in all the years we’ve been hiking it.
Interesting about the cairn. I thought its significance was spiritual rather than functional.
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Granite, evergreens, contours, ferns, water. Quintessential (sp?) New England landscape.
And, for whatever reason, that mysterious cairn reminds of Robt Thorson’s book on stone walls. Would love walk the landscape with a geologist and learn to see what lies under our feet.
Yeah, OK, my college geology course included field work but so much of that knowledge is forgotten now. Thanks for sparking an interest to be pursued.
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Well, you could always just go and walk it. Like you, I am always tempted to KNOW what everything is, but I am trying to be more existential.
That ravine — it takes my breath away every time. There is definitely something magical about it, hence, probably, that cairn.
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What a wonderful walk. The photo of the gorge with the hemlocks, the mossy rocks, the light, drew me in and made me feel I was one of those tiny hikers. It felt good. Thank you..
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You’re welcome, and thanks for reading. There’s something so special about that spot. We end up hiking there several times a year.
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