Sprague Farm

No other Land Trust property in the state has quite the scope and variety of Sprague Farm. In addition to a very well-designed central network of trails, there's a boundary loop trail which connects to blazed sections of local rough roads, as well as several possible side-excursions to neighboring Glocester Land Trust properties. You could easily spend the better part of a day there and never hike the same trail twice!

I have two hikes that I particularly enjoy -- one is an interior loop that makes use of nearly all the shorter trails, while the other closely follows the perimeter and includes a long spur to Elbow Rock.

Both begin at the trailhead on Pine Orchard Road. For the first, start down the main Sprague Trail but take your first right onto Jenk's trail. This crosses a small meadow and then enters deep forest; mountain laurel abounds in this area. You'll soon intersect with Jedediah's Trail; take a left, and continue on, crossing over the Sprague trail and going along a small stone dam. You'll soon come to an old cart path blazed as the "Cemetery Trail" -- take it to your right and you'll soon be at the lovely Sprague Family Cemetery. It must once have had a broad view of the many Sprague family farms; now, surrounded by forest, it seems almost a magical place. 

Venture -- respectfully -- within and say hello to Jedediah himself, as well as Lydia, Adah, and Colonel Anthony Sprague, all of whom have trails here named after them. Jedediah has a particular distinction, in that the tavern he ran -- now operated as the Tavern on Main in Chepachet -- became in 1842 a staging ground for state milita during the infamous "Dorr War'! A stop at the tavern to drink to his health is highly recommended, but for now, look for the start of Lydia's Trail (yellow blazes) just around the far corner of the cemetery. This will take you back, via the last segment of Jedediah's trail, to the main Sprague Trail. Take a left, but be on the lookout for Colonel Anthony's trail on your right in a half-mile or so. Go down it, stopping to wonder at the stonework of an old culvert, but keep an eye to your left for your next trail to John's Ridge. This short spur takes you up over a lovely ridge; on the far side is a rock that invites one to sit and have snack. Look then for Adah's trail, which will take you back to Colonel Anthony. At the end of Anthony, take a left onto the Haystack Hill trail, following it past the ruins of the old Smith Sprague homestead to the junction with the Sprague trail; a left here will steer your footsteps back to the start.

For a longer and more challenging hike, begin again with Jenk's Trail, but this time take a right when you get to Jedediah. A short stroll will take you near the road to where the Haystack Hill trail begins along an old cart track. Be warned: if you're hiking in the wet season, a large segment of this trail is underwater; you'll need solid, waterproof boots. Eventually, the trail climbs up out of swampy ground; you'll pass the Colonel Anthony trailhead on your left, but keep going; do the same thing when the Sprague Trail comes along. You'll find yourself, on this segment of Haystack Hill, passing across another stone culvert through mixed forest. At the first big X-shaped intersection, take a right onto Elbow Rock Road. This is still used by vehicles at times - it even shows up as a road in Google Maps! -- and again, in wet season, you'll have muddy puddles to skirt. About 3/4 of a mile, you'll see multiple tracks on your left leading up to Elbow Rock, a great grand glacial boulder with ample spots for a snack or lunch. If you're curious, you can go past there to Sprague Hill Road; a right turn there will bring you to the most recent of the abandoned homesteads, that of Chad Sprague -- a few buildings still stand.

Turn back, and once you reach the intersection with the Haystack Hill trail, you can continue -- on your right you'll see the ruins of Joe Sweet's farm, with a formation of stone pillars I like to call farmhenge -- someone has placed old rusty tools and implements atop each pillar. Continue down Elbow Rock until you see a road go off to the left near a marker stone; this is Joe Sweet Road. Go down it, following the rough road until you reach the paved version, where you'll see a parking lot for the William Klutz Woodland. About 3/4 of a mile along the paved road, you'll see a sign for the Burton Woodland to your right (you can venture down a cart-path about 1/3 mile in and back; there are no blazed trails). Just past this, on your left, you'll come upon an entrance to the Cemetery Trail; take this to Jedediah, Jededah to Sprague, and once more you'll be back at the start, weary but happy.

Don't forget to raise a glass to Jedediah -- and, since it's hunting season, don't forget to wear orange!