White Cedar Swamp/Burlingame/Goldstar Preserves – January 15, 2022

Bundled up at 5 degrees

It was a brisk 5-degrees when I headed out for my next hike at a Cumberland Land Trust property - this time the White Cedar Swamp/Burlingame/Goldstar Preserves.

The combined preserve consists of three properties acquired from 2003 to 2017. On Nate Whipple Highway is the 23-acre Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Preserve. Bog bridges now allow easy access to the property that had once been flooded by beaver dams. On Pound Road is the 38-acre Gold Star Preserve that was donated by a developer who was subdividing an adjacent property for house lots. To the east is the 72-acre Burlingame Preserve with miles of stonewalls that separated hay fields, pastures and woodlots in the 1800's. 

Miles of stone walls

I started at the White Cedar Swamp trailhead on Nate Whipple Highway and followed the white blazed Cedar Swamp Trail (0.69-miles) over the bog bridges. Continuing on the Cedar Swamp Trail will take you to the Goldstar Preserve and trailhead on Pound Road, but I followed the red blazed Burlingame Loop (1.52-miles) around the perimeter of the property. The Blue (0.27-miles), Orange (0.31-miles) and Green (0.21-miles) trails cut across the Burlingame Preserve creating shortcuts. 

All the trails are well marked and the combined property includes 153-acres with 3.13-miles of trails. To the east of the Burlingame Preserve is the privately owned Cumberland Beagle Club.

Links:

My Pictures
Cumberland Land Trust Trail Map
Cumberland Land Trust Brochure
Trip Description from Explore Rhode Island