This 723-acre property is nestled in Westerly just minutes from Misquamicut Beach, Burlingame, and other south shore highlights, but largely goes under the radar as a hidden gem. Isolated from the hustle and bustle of Westerly south of US-1, this property boasts opportunities for hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking, and wildlife viewing in upland forest habitats and wetland areas. 

Access to the property is on Fallon Trail, at the end of Woody Hill Rd on the southern side of the property where a parking area and trailhead exist. Several other trailheads enter the property through adjacent parcels surrounding the management area, however, these lack dedicated parking areas.

The landscape of Woody Hill is similar to others along the terminal side of the glacial moraine that is so characteristic of southern Rhode Island. Gently rolling, rocky topography flows from dry ridgetops with oak overstory and blueberry/huckleberry understory to intermittently wet stream bottoms characterized by moist soils, red maple, pepperbush, and skunk cabbage. The sharp-eyed visitor will notice several large stands of a paradox of the “evergreen” tree world – a species of deciduous, coniferous tree. Larch, also known as tamarac, are related to other pines but unlike any of their cousins, are the only coniferous tree species on our landscape that drops its needles each fall and regrows them in spring.

A 20-acre impoundment lies at the heart of the management area and was the site for a cooperative project with Ducks Unlimited in 2017. The goal of the project was to restore function to the wetland by replacing a failing water control structure with a new one that now allows biologists to manage water levels to encourage waterfowl breeding and migration stopover.

The AllTrails.com website has descriptions and maps of two trails in the Woody Hill Management Area.