Access: From Greenville, take Pleasant View Avenue (Route 116) north to Swan Road, then follow Swan Road to its end, about 1.5 miles. At the T junction with Mann School Road, go right and then almost immediately take a left onto Connors Farm Road. After about 0.3 miles, look for a small parking area on the left between houses numbered 20 and 24. There is also a new entrance reached by going left on Mann School Road for 6 miles. This entire area also has links to adjoining Land Trust property as shown on posted trail maps.

• Google Map - Connors Farm Conservation Area

Features: Walking trail, pond, brook, dams, an old stone bridge, beech groves, rugged glacial ledges. Hidden in the forest at the far end of a residential tract, this 66 acre property may be a surprise to even long-time Smithfield residents. Once part of the Connors family farm, it looks nothing at all like a farm. The inviting trail, which is a bit strenuous in places, is just under 2 miles long. Built by the Boy Scouts in 1994, it takes visitors to the top of one of the most rugged ledges in the area. Here you can sec unique rock formations and stone slabs that seem to have spilled down the steep slope yesterday. They were, however, left this way by the retreating glaciers thousands of years ago.

You’ll also see attractive groves of beech and oak trees, and at the base of the slope, a brook with a stone bridge and two old dams built for a nearby cranberry bog. The brook and trail lead to a tranquil pond that frequently harbors ducks, turtles and frogs. At the far end of the pond is an earthen dam. The border-strewn forest contains plenty of wildlife in the form of songbirds, squirrels, chipmunks, deer and sometimes hawks and foxes.

Walk the entire trail and you’ll get two very different perspectives, one from the lively little brook in the valley and one from the top of the boulder field. And you will get a new perspective on a hidden part of Smithfield.

See more information on the Connors Farm Conservation Area on the Trails & Walks in Rhode Island website.