Location and Access

Arcadia Wildlife Management Area is located in the towns of West Greenwich, Exeter, Hopkinton and Richmond. State Route 165 divides the management area into a north and south section. The main access point to the north section is located just east of the bridge at Wood River along Midway Trail, where there is a gravel parking area. Access to the south section can be gained along Old Nooseneck Road, K-G Ranch Road or Summit Road. Numerous gated trails and other gravel roads exist thoughout the management area which permit foot traffic or other non-motorized vehicles only. The management area is found on the Hope Valley and Voluntown U.S.G.S. Topographic quad sheets.

How to get there From the North
Take I-95 South to exit 5A (102 South) Follow this about a mile or so until you reach Route 3. Take a right and go about 1.5 miles until you see a blinking yellow light. Take a right here onto 165 West (Ten Rod Road) The main parking lot is located 2.8 miles down on the right, at the bottom of a hill, right after a Church.

From the South
Take I-95 North to exit 4 (Route 3). Follow 3 North until the blinking yellow light. Go left on 165 West and follow the previous directions from there. There are other trails which can be accessed at other points. Those directions will accompany the trail descriptions.

Habitat

Arcadia covers a total land area of 13,817 acres and is the largest of the State Management Areas. The area is dominated by forest cover (11,576 acres) in mixed species deciduous forest (64%) and evergreen (36%), principally white pine. Fresh water wetlands include swamps, shrub wetlands, marshes, and open water bodies cover 1678 acres. Major bodies of water within the area include Breakheart Pond, Beach Pond, and Browning Mill Pond. The Wood River, one of the finest trout streams in the state and Rhode Island's best example of a scenic and wild river, flows through the management area. Primary tributaries to the Wood River include the Falls River, Flat River, Parris Brook and Roaring Brook, all found within the management area. The state actively manages 1.1% of the land acreage (156 acres) in agricultural fields to create food plots and plantings for wildlife.

Wildlife

Arcadia Wildlife Management Area contains resident wildlife of a broad diversity of groups, including several game animals and fish and numerous nongame species. Typical game mammals found there include cottontail rabbits, snowshoe hare, grey squirrel, white-tailed deer and furbearers such as fox, raccoon, and mink. Typical game birds include ruffed grouse, wild turkey, ring-necked pheasant and bobwhite. Both pheasants and bobwhite are stocked by the state during the hunting season. Diverse habitat types present within the area attract a wide variety of nongame species providing opportunity for wildlfie observation of songbirds and raptors, reptiles and amphibians. Wood River and tributaries provide fine fishing for trout, with portions of the area designated 'catch and release'. Warm and cold water fish are found in the areas ponds, including trout, bass, and pickerel. Frosty Hollow Pond is stocked with trout and is managed for youth (under fourteen) fishing only.