Wallum Lake is a 322 acre lake that lies in Burrillville, Providence County, Rhode Island and Douglas, Worcester County, Massachusetts. It is adjacent to Douglas State Forest and Wallum Lake Park.
There are two paved boat ramps: one at the north end off Wallum Lake Road, Douglas, Massachusetts, the second at the southern extreme in Burrillville, Rhode Island. A study reported ten species of fish, based upon a 1994 summer sampling. Largemouth bass, yellow perch and bluegills are common. Additional species present included pumpkinseed, chain pickerel, landlocked alewife, brood salmon and eels. Licenses from either state are valid, but Rhode Island regulations apply.[2]
Wallum Lake has been stocked with rainbow trout and brown trout. Rainbow trout are stocked on a put-and-take basis, and the state of Rhode Island has stocked numerous landlocked salmon and occasionally broodstock salmon.
Get a taste of the great outdoors at Douglas State Forest
If you live in southern Worcester County, or the northern corner of Connecticut or Rhode Island and you’re looking for a place that isn’t too far to enjoy the outdoors, you might just find what you need at Douglas State Forest. At roughly 4600 acres the park is quite large compared to other parks in the region and offers opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, swimming, boating, fishing and in the wintertime skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling.
Where is it and how do I get in?
Douglas State Forest is located in the Town of Douglas, which is located in southern Worcester County in the State of Massachusetts. It’s about a half an hour south of Worcester and is located about halfway between Interstate 395 to the east and Route 146 in the west on Route 16 (which runs roughly east-west). The park runs from the Massachusetts/Connecticut border northwards and straddles Route 16.
There are several different access points for the park. These include numerous trailheads along Route 16 and side roads and the major ‘park entrance’ off of Wallum Lake Road. Depending on what kind of activity you want to partake in, the various entry points provide access to different recreational opportunities.
What can I do there?
Beyond the Wallum Lake main entrance area, the majority of the park is undeveloped forest with trails traversing the area. Around Wallum Lake you’ll find what you more traditionally expect with state parks, a beach, boating facilities and an interpretive center.
Wallum Lake Area
Within the Wallum Lake area there is a beach, along with two boat ramps that together provide swimming and boating opportunities. There’s a group day use area where large groups can get together to picnic (with tables and grills and the like). There are bathrooms in the Wallum Lake area, along with a small interpretive center that introduces visitors to the park.
Adjacent to the Wallum Lake area are several marked and well-maintained trails of various lengths that provide an interpretive tour of the area. These include the Cedar Swamp Trail, which takes visitors through part of a cedar swamp to the north of Wallum Lake. This type of habitat is quite rare in the region and you’ll travel through the swamp on a boardwalk. There are interpretive signs along the way describing plants and the entire ecosystem. Beyond the Cedar Swamp Trail, there are a few other interpretive trails. The remainder of the trails though are more geared towards those who want to hike and starting from the Wallum Lake area, there are several longer loops (of at least a few miles) that are possible.
If you’re a fisherman, Wallum Lake is open to fishing according to the applicable fishing regulations.
Beyond Wallum Lake
The rest of Douglas State Forest is undeveloped forest lands with various hiking, mountain biking and horse trails.
These trails include the Mid-State Trail, which is a long-distance north-south trail that runs roughly through the mid-portion of Massachusetts. This trail runs north-south through the park and provides a way to make several different loops when you connect it to the other hiking trails in the park. Most of these trails are multi-use trails with both hiking and mountain biking permitted on the trails. Horses are only allowed on specified trails.
It’s wise to get a copy of the park’s map, either from the interpretive center or from the internet to get a handle on all the trails. For a park this size, there are an extraordinary amount of trails crisscrossing throughout the area that provide plenty of hiking or riding opportunities, but also make navigation at times confusing if you don’t know exactly where you are.
In the wintertime all of the trails are opened to cross-country skiing and the Mid-State Trail is also opening to snowmobiling. There’s no grooming for cross-country skiers and some of the trails can be challenging (that’s what makes them fun!).
During the appropriate seasons, there is limited hunting allowed in Douglas State Forest. I’m not sure of the exact details, but I don’t believe you can hunt in the Wallum Lake area and there are certain regulations about staying away from the roads and other areas where people may be. During those times – it’s best to stay out of the woods if you’re not hunting.
Experiences
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Douglas State Forest. After moving westward about a year ago I knew that Douglas State Forest was closer to me, but I had never taken the time to explore it. My only experience had been driving Route 16 through the park when I was heading over to I395.
My first foray was into the Wallum Lake area to see what was happening. I don’t think anyone used to big parks will be amazed by this area, but between the nice beach they have at Wallum Lake, the interesting (and educational) interpretive center and the chance to take the tour of the cedar swamp – this area of the park is worth at least a half a day of exploring, especially if you go in the summer so that you can go swimming. I know if we’ve got a summer afternoon with nothing to do – we head over to the park for a swim and a picnic – it’s a great way to relax without having to make the trek to one of the coastal beaches or the Cape.
As for the rest of the park it’s really an undeveloped forest and that really surprised me, as did the number of trails in the park. From any trailhead (including the Wallum Lake area) there are almost countless opportunities for loop hikes of various lengths – from an hour or so to all day. So long as you have a map (the 1st time I went, I didn’t and while I didn’t get lost, I had to be really careful to make sure I ended up where I started) you shouldn’t have any trouble planning out your hikes.
While you won’t find a wilderness experience in this park, if you’re looking to spend a few hours to a day out hiking somewhere that’s easy to get too and gives you a sense of being outdoors – then this park is a great option for you. I’ve been very happy with the walking there and because of all the loops, it’s fairly easy to continually walk in new areas so you’re not always walking the same trails.
When this winter came along, I threw the skis on the rack and headed over to the park and found it to be a great cross-country ski area. The only problem I found was that if you got off the Mid-State Trail (which is used by snowmobiles and is mostly along old road beds), you need to have a good amount of snow to tackle the other trails. My experience was with less than a foot these other trails were really rough to ski (the rocks came through). With about a foot and a half they were good and with 2 or more feet of snow, you could go anywhere.
While it’s not going to replace the White Mountains, the Catskills or even the Berkshires for me, the park is a great place to go when I’ve got some free time for some hiking or skiing and I don’t want to have to drive all the way to those other places.
For More Information
The State Department of Conservation and Recreation maintains a website for Douglas State Forest that provides electronic copies of the trail maps and information the facilities that are available in the park. The website is at:
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/doug.htm
Final Thoughts
Douglas State Forest isn’t a park that visitors from out of state are going to be traveling to Massachusetts to visit. Instead it’s a great park for people who live within about 45 minutes of the park (which includes most of the Worcester region, northern Connecticut and northern Rhode Island) to visit when they want to go and enjoy the outdoors without all of the travel that is normally involved to bigger and more well-known locations.
The park offers hiking, mountain biking and horse trails in the summer, snowmobiling and skiing trails in the winter. Beyond that you can picnic, swim and boat at Wallum Lake and then learn a thing or two at the interpretive center and the associated interpretive trails.
Overall, Douglas State Forest is a great park that gives you a chance to get into the outdoors without having to travel that far.
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