Carter Preserve

Parking

The main parking area for the Carter Preserve trail system is located at 400 Old Mill Road in Charlestown. (Note that if you are driving south from Route 138, you will pass the Route 112 parking area just before the turn for Old Mill Road.) Trailhead signage, mounted on the side of the utility shed, greets visitors with an introduction to the preserve and its hiking trails.

In addition, there are two satellite parking areas located at 250 Carolina Back Road (Route 112) and 1500 King’s Factory Road (approximately).

Restrooms

A public restroom is located at the main parking area on Old Mill Road. This trail amenity was funded by a grant from The Champlin Foundation.

Pawcatuck River Access

There is a public kayak/canoe launch at the parking area on King’s Factory Road.

Trails

From the Old Mill Road trailhead, visitors have a choice of hiking the wide Narragansett Trail that leads downhill to the open grassland or exploring the narrower woodland trails that meander through the upland woods at heart of the property.

The preserve is open to horseback riding on Narragansett Trail and the Grassland Trail. The parking area at the Old Mill Road entrance is large enough to accommodate horse trailers.

Preserve Guidelines

We hope you enjoy visiting our preserves in any season. We ask that you please observe the following guidelines:

• Stay on the walking trails, using marked trails wherever they exist.
• Respect preserve open hours (one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset). Overnight camping is not allowed.
• Do not ride bikes or any motorized vehicle through preserves or on the trails.
• Do not disturb bird nesting areas. Between April 15 and September 1, nesting areas may be off-limits to visitors. People or dogs can easily destroy a nest with one misstep.
• Do not remove any living materials from a preserve or disturb any vegetation.
• Remove any trash you create and, if possible, any garbage that you see left by someone else.
• After any walk on a preserve, it is a good idea to check for ticks when you return home.
• Be careful! Your safety is your responsibility.

Thank you for your help.

What to See: Plants

The grassland is comprised of a mix of old field grasses and wildflowers, including little bluestem, switchgrass, common milkweed, butterflyweed, yarrow and Queen Anne’s lace. The upland woods feature black oak, scarlet oak, white oak, pitch pine, black huckleberry and lowbush blueberry. However, visitors will encounter large areas of standing dead oaks, which succumbed to a combination of drought and spongy moth caterpillar defoliation in 2016 and 2017.

What to See: Animals

The Carter Preserve provides habitat for wide range of mammals typically found in southern New England's forests, including white-tailed deer, red squirrel, red fox, gray fox, coyote, fisher and beaver. During the summer, colorful songbirds such as the indigo bunting, scarlet tanager and prairie warbler are found around the grassland or in the treetops. Vernal pools and wetlands within the forest support a diversity of frogs, salamanders, dragonflies and damselflies.