Date visited: 7/26/2022

This was the last town we needed to visit to complete our "Visit every town in Rhode Island" quest. As Route 6 to Providence goes right through Johnston, we've actually driven through many times, but this is the first time we stopped in town other than the Dunkin on Route 6. We visited Wood Lake Park. There are busy athletic fields and a dog park, but the trails are largely unadvertised. They are not in the All-Trails app, and I couldn't find an online trail map, GPS enabled or otherwise, so we had to just wing it. I had an inkling of where the trail starts based on the one online review of the place I found on Google. There are supposedly 2.6 miles of trails here, but we wound up walking only a mile loop. We started out near the dog park and proceeded in the woods. The trail isn't blazed, but it was easy to follow. Despite the name of the park, the body of water is actually known as Almy Reservoir. I have no idea where "Wood Lake" is actually located, or if it even exists. There are a couple of short side trails that lead out to the reservoir, one of which has a really cool foot bridge made of tree branches. I was hoping the trail would loop around, and it sort of did, but we came out in a construction yard behind the baseball fields. It's not the greatest park in Rhode Island by any means, but it served it's purpose by providing us a place to check out in the town of Johnston!

More Images

Date visited: 10/9/2022

This is the Johnston section of the bike trail that starts in Providence. The Johnston section is more rural than the Providence section. After crossing the river from Providence, the trail passes by Button Hole Golf Course and runs another mile or so before ending unceremoniously at Lyman Avenue. On the way, it passes by the Manton Pond Dam Fishway. Just before the end of the trail, there is a short dirt path that leads out to Lyman Mill Pond and the Lymansville Dam. There are artsy signs all along the trail that add to the artsy feel of the trail. It was a nice walk on a great autumn day.

More Images

Date visited: 5/10/2023

The blue trail at this park in Providence dips into Johnston briefly. The pictures below are from the section in Johnston. You can read about the rest of the trail on the Providence page.

Date visited: 7/30/2023

As you can see from the very large red sign below, dogs are not allowed in the actual park. The Johnston Memorial Park Nature Trail is across the street. I think the dogs are allowed on the trail, at least there was no sign or anything at the trail head. We checked out the trail. It doesn't look that bad in the photos, but believe me, it wasn't great. The Pocasset River runs along side part of the trail. It might be the brownest river I have ever seen. Mandy wanted to go into the river, but I did not let her. There was a lot of trash on the trail, and as we proceeded further along the trail was overgrown. We took a different path, which was okay for a bit, but then it was washed out. So the Nature Trail was a bust! We decided to walk around the outskirts of the actual park. There is a paved loop trail through the park, which looked real nice from the outside looking in. We actually did walk on the part of the trail between the pond and Hartford Avenue (US Route 6A). It was unclear if this section was actually part of the park or not, but it kept us away from the busy road. There just is something inherently wrong with a park that does not allow dogs. I mean, parks are made for dogs! We may have snuck on to the outskirts of the property for some photos, but overall, this is not a good place to bring your dog.

More Images