Distance: A little over a mile
Difficulty: Easy
The Harris Center has an array of trails in Hancock and the surrounding towns. I recently explored a newer trail system, The Eastview and North Pond Trails. This is a set of trails in Hancock and Harrisville. Some of the trails are part of an old railroad line.
The North Pond Trail is located on Hancock Road. If you are coming from the Bonds Corner/Hancock Road split the parking lot is about a quarter mile on the right. The parking lot is not marked, but you can see the bridge below from the parking lot.
The trail starts after you cross the bridge. Make sure you take the side trail on the right after the bridge to enjoy the full view.
After coming back up to the trail you walk along the old railroad bed on the Eastview Trail.
About a quarter mile along the trail you come to a split. You can continue straight which is about a mile to Jaquith Road or you can take a left on to North Pond Trail.
This trail leads out to North Pond. The trail is fairly flat and rocky. The trail follows along the edge of North Pond. I was a disappointed there was not much of a view of the pond while walking along the trail as the view was obstructed by trees.
We walked along the pond until we came to a small stream we had to walk across and up a small hill to a blue arrow sign pointing right. This is where the trail continues to the Cobb Hill Trail. If I were to estimate I would say it is about 1-2 miles to the top of Cobb Hill. We chose to turn around here and head back to the parking lot. It was a little over a mile to this point.
Overall, I would like to explore these trails again. The woods are pretty, but there is not much of a view. The rail trail section is good for someone looking for a nice flat walk. The North Pond Trail is very rocky. Both trails are well marked and good for beginners.
