The AMC Tippecansett Trail starts at beautiful Stepstone Falls (sometimes referred to as Steppingstone Falls or Stepping Stone Falls). Rectangular stone slabs can be seen here, indicating that the site was a former quarry; the natural horizontal fractures in the rock made quarrying easier.
Stepstone Falls
Close-up of one of the cascades
Quarried stone slabs
The yellow blazes of the Tippecansett and Ben Utter Trails leave the parking area and share this first stretch with the blue blazes of a bypass of the North South Trail, called the Washout Trail. The white blazes of the River Trail are found on the other side of the concrete bridge. The bypass is multi-use, while the River Trail is for hikers only, due to its proximity to the river. Hikers should also beware of unmarked paths that exist in the Stepstone Falls area.
The yellow and blue blazes cross an intermittent stream and soon reach a large, deteriorating shelter with two fireplaces inside; camping is allowed here, with a permit. At the shelter, the yellow trails diverge. The Ben Utter Trail leads left (southeast), behind the shelter, to descend to the river. The Tippecansett and blue-blazed Washout Trail turn right (southwest) rising to the paved Wickaboxet Road at an old pump house. The Washout Trail heads left (southeast) on the road, while the yellow-blazed Tippecansett Trail heads right (northwest). The trail reaches the end of the Wickaboxet Road loop and climbs Escoheag Hill on a footpath. "Escoheag" may have been derived from a Quinebaug expression meaning "fork of the river" or "source of the river" (Huden p. 66).
The footpath soon reaches Falls River Road (dirt) and turns left (southwest) to follow the road, climbing to the paved Escoheag Hill Road. The trail turns right (west) and follows the road until it leaves the road by turning left (south) at a gate opposite a cemetery, called the Hazard Lot (West Greenwich Cemetery #5). The AMC Canonicus Trail meets the Tippecansett Trail here; the white blazes of the Canonicus Trail follow Escoheag Road ahead (west).
From the gate the yellow blazes of the Tippecansett pass by the unused, 80-foot (24-meter) Escoheag Fire Tower (aircraft are now used to monitor fires). Do not attempt to climb the tower as it is not maintained. (At this writing, the tower may be liquidated as surplus by the state.) Look carefully for the yellow blazes on trees; do not follow the road to the transmitter station. The trail passes behind the outhouse that used to service the tower and then descends the hill. The trail passes stone walls and farmer's cairns, entering the private property of the South County Rod and Gun Club; be sure to stay on the marked path.
Escoheag Fire Tower
Sign: Escoheag Fire Tower
Elevation 645 ft (197 meters)
The trail crosses Parris Brook and reaches a dirt road near the northeastern corner of Tippecansett Pond. The trail turns left (south) onto the road and then immediately encounters a three-way intersection of dirt roads; the trail veers right (south). A four-way intersection is reached within a few yards; the trail veers right again (southwest). As the road becomes a footpath, glimpses of Tippecansett Pond may be seen through the trees to the right (west); a good view of the pond is not available from the trail, however. Along the way, the trail enters the town of Exeter, Rhode Island. A Providence Journal ("Professor's Proposal") article notes that, in the early 1990s, Professor William B. Sweeney of Bryant University proposed an international airport for the Tippecansett area.
An intersection with a dirt road (Old Voluntown Road) is reached at the edge of the Club's property; the trail follows the road left (southwest). The road/trail soon meets the white-blazed Wildcat Spring Trail. This side path leads right (southwest) and is a 0.2-mile (0.3-kilometer) journey among farmer's cairns that descends to a spring that gurgles beneath the rocks. This excursion takes about 8 minutes, round-trip.
The yellow-blazed Tippecansett Trail leaves the Wildcat Spring Trail behind and follows Old Voluntown Road south. The road passes a dead-end dirt road on the left (east) and then climbs to the Congdon-Hoxsie Cemetery (Exeter Cemetery #1), also on the left. The road/trail passes two more dirt roads to the left and then reaches a three-way intersection. To the left, Old Voluntown Road and the white-blazes AMC Deep Pond Trail bend to the east. The yellow markings of the Tippecansett Trail veer right (southwest) on an old road and cross a gate.
The trail soon meets an intersection with the northern Pachaug-Tippecansett Crossover. If hiking the entire Tippecansett Trail back and forth as a 20-mile hike, the Crossover may be a more scenic way to vary the route. The Crossover, marked in blue triangles, leads right (west) and meets a stone foundation on the right (north). The Crossover ends at the Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA) Pachaug Trail, near another foundation (with what appears to be a chimney hole). The blue-blazed Pachaug Trail leads left (southeast) to the edge of Beach Pond and then rejoins the Tippecansett Trail. From the intersection near the foundation, the Pachaug Trail also leads right (west) to the northern side of Beach Pond in Connecticut.
Panoramic view of Beach Pond from its eastern side, on the Pachaug Trail
Larger image, 98 kilobytes
If the Crossover is not used, the yellow-blazed Tippecansett Trail proceeds left (south). Hikers should be aware of unmarked trails and dirt roads that can be found in the Beach Pond area. The Tippecansett Trail reaches a five-way intersection to meet the CFPA Pachaug Trail. A dirt road leads left (east) and right (southwest), the blue-blazed Pachaug Trail diverges to the immediate right (north). The Tippecansett and Pachaug trails combine to cross the road and proceed south. The trails reach the former swimming area at Beach Pond on Ten Rod Road (Route 165). The blue markings of the Pachaug Trail follow Route 165, called Beach Pond Road in Connecticut, right (west), to eventually end at Green Fall Pond (see the description for The Beachgoer, in reverse direction). The yellow markings of the Tippecansett Trail cross Ten Rod Road and head south to Yawgoog. For the rest of the route to camp, please see the Yawgoog-Beach Pond portion of the Tippecansett Trail description (in reverse direction).
Trail-related Links
- Escoheag Fire Tower
Information from the Forest Fire Lookout Association, including the tower's previous location in the George Washington State Forest in Burrillville, Rhode Island. - Pinetop Ski Area
Information about a ski area that operated just north of the fire tower from the 1960s to the early 1980s. Listing in the New England Lost Ski Areas Project.