Mercy Woods - July 1, 2026

Checking the map

I met up with Bill and Nancy for another hike very close to my house – Mercy Woods.

The Mercy Woods is a Cumberland Land Trust property that has 5.7-miles of trails including the Mercy Loop (2.3-miles), the Ridge Trail (2.1-miles) and the Stone Wall, Fisher, Fern, Fiske, Deer and Grape connecting trails. A short section of the Ridge Trail north of the Fern connecting trail is also part of the Warner Trail connecting Sharon, MA to Diamond Hill.

Trail through the ferns

We met at 8:00 at the trailhead on Sumner Brown Road and headed to the south on the Mercy Trail. At the southern end, we cut down to the Diamond Hill Reservoir along a section of the Warner Trail before heading back up one of the connecting trails to the Mercy Trail. Overall we did a little over 4-miles.

After the hike we went out for breakfast at Ollie's Dinner. Nice way to start the day.

Links:

My Pictures
Cumberland Land Trust
Mercy Woods Trail Map

Trip Description from Explore Rhode Island

Warner Trail
Warner Trail Guidebook

Mercy Woods Preserve - March 5, 2023

The crew - Sue, Mike, Steve and Erik

With a new drysuit on order and a family party scheduled for Saturday, I decided to put a hike on the RICKA Message Board for Sunday at the Mercy Woods Preserve. We met at 9:30 at the trailhead on Sumner Brown Road. We had about an inch of snow on the ground, which was frozen when we headed out, but wet and slushy about an hour later. We did the Ridge Trail to the south and then the Mercy Trail (behind the nursing home rather than along the road) to the north – about 3.5-miles. The hills were a little slick with the wet, slushy snow, but otherwise it was fine. It took us a little over 2-hours.

Links:

Cumberland Land Trust
Mercy Woods Trail Map

Trip Description from Explore Rhode Island

Mercy Woods – January 9, 2022

Trailhead on Wrentham Road

For years I wondered why cars were parked at the turn-off on Wrentham Road just before you crossed into MA. Now I know. At least some were probably hiking on the trails of what is now the Cumberland Land Trust’s Mercy Woods Preserve.

In 2018, the Sisters of Mercy sold 229-acres of provincial land to the Town of Cumberland. The Cumberland Recreation department will eventually use 18-acres for sports fields. The remaining 211-acres will remain as open space managed by the Cumberland Land Trust.

Ridge Trail

The Mercy Woods Preserve currently has 5.7-miles of trails including the Mercy Loop (2.3-miles), the Ridge Trail (2.1-miles) and the Stone Wall, Fisher, Fern, Fiske, Deer and Grape connecting trails. A short section of the Ridge Trail north of the Fern connecting trail is also part of the Warner Trail connecting Sharon, MA to Diamond Hill.

I started at the turn-off on Wrentham Road and did a 3.3-mile perimeter hike along the Ridge Trail (south) and Mercy Loop (north). It was fine, but next time I will probably do the section of the Mercy Loop east of Mount St. Rita since it doesn’t run so close to Wrentham Road. I’d also like to find the Warner Trail and the connection to Diamond Hill.

Links:

My Pictures
Cumberland Land Trust Trail Maps
Mercy Woods Trail Map

Trip Description from Explore Rhode Island

Warner Trail
Warner Trail Guidebook