Story Time at the Ridge Hill Reserve, Dartmouth

Ridge Hill Reserve helps the young ones get out in nature and work on their reading skills. You can also get great views of Copicut Reservoir and admire old mill ruins. It’s a win-win family opportunity.

Dartmouth is one of our favorite local places to go hiking. The properties managed by the DNRT (Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust) are clean, maintained, and well-marked. On this adventure, we checked out the DNRT’s Ridge Hill Reserve.

We arrived at the parking lot on Collins Corner Road, put on our sweatshirts, and began our walk.

Benny, being a fan of the DNRT, starting free-versing.

“Back in the DNRT! Time to go for a hike, Bob. We’re back, back in the DNRT!!!!”

Apparently, Benny is a Beatles fan.

Ridge Hill Reserve, Dartmouth — Benny and the book cover.

We had only walked a few yards down the main path when Benny had noticed something.

“It’s a sign! It looks like a book cover!”

Looking down the trail, we noticed that there were more posts, each with a different page of the book.

“What a clever idea!” Benny exclaimed. “It’s a book called Hiking Day, and we’re hiking!”

Clever idea indeed. Propping himself on my shoulders, Benny began reading the different pages of the book as we walked past each new page.

After a few more yards, there was an intersection. Benny wanted to go straight to continue reading, but I really wanted to go right. I had a feeling there was a pine grove to be discovered down there, and somewhere to the right was an old mill.

Benny wasn’t happy that we were going right, but I decided it was time for me to sing a song of my own.

“You can’t always get what you want…”

If Benny wanted to play the British Invasion Game, I was ready to play.

All ribbing aside, I told him that we would definitely check out the story on our way back.

Ridge Hill Reserve Pine Grove — Pine Grove!

For the most part, we followed the red trail. I’ve developed the habit of calling trails that are marked by colors “lines.” For example, I called the red trail the red line, and when it intersected with the green trail, I say that we have to get a connection to the green line. It drives Benny crazy, but it amuses me. What can I say? Sometimes I’m a simpleton.

Anywho, the red line is the main path at the Ridge Hill Reserve. It intersects with an underground gas line and then runs parallel to Copicut Pond.

Knowing the pond was near, we, in true ‘us’ fashion, began looking for a path that would lead us to the water. Along the way, we saw a couple of interesting signs that confused us (kind of).

Ridge Hill Reserve Fall River Water Supply — Dartmouth? Fall River?

The tree above had two signs on it: one for the DNRT, and another stating that we were entering the Fall River Watershed.

“Where are we? Are we in Fall River? Are we in Dartmouth? I’m so confused!” Benny said. “I DON’T KNOW WHERE I AM!” He was visibly befuddled.

I suppose I could have looked at my phone to figure out where we were, but using too much tech when outdoors kind of ruins the nature vibe for me. What can I say? I’m a purist.

We did eventually find a way down to the pond. The poor pond was way below what’s known as “full pond,” meaning that a drought caused the water levels to be wicked low.

If the pond were at “full pond,” the rock where Benny is sitting and my backpack off to the right in the photo would be completely submerged. Benny asked if we could return when there’s more water in the pond. Of course, I said yes.

“Great!” he responded. “We can bring a yellow submarine with us!”

I groaned.

Note: Technically, Copicut Pond isn’t part of the Ridge Hill Reserve, but you can get there so easily that it’s hard to pass up.

Ruins and Remains

As with so many of our New England hikes, we came across some old ruins. Right near the pond, we saw what could have been the foundation to an old barn. There was no information on the DNRT’s map about this place; perhaps it’s on the Fall River Water Department land.

We headed back, continuing our trek on the red line. The path back is pretty rocky and windy. If you’re not sure-footed, you’ll need to be careful where you step.

Ridge Hill Reserve, Dartmouth, MA — The Red Line

We walked back in silence for a while, enjoying the sounds of the birds and listening for fellow trail hikers along the way. (It was 2020, so, naturally, knowing other people where coming meant we had enough time to put our masks on.)

After about 15 minutes of silence, I hear a whisper of a tune coming from my backpack…

“The long and windy path…”

“Benny, did you listen to a Beatles playlist this morning?”

“No, of course not. I listened to one last night.”

Obviously.

After traveling down this long and windy path for quite a bit, we came across another marker of New England’s past: the Jason Phillips Mill site.

Jason Phillips Mill Site, Ridge Hill Reserve, Dartmouth

A long time ago, axes were sharpened here. Unfortunately, there’s a bit of poison ivy on the stone foundation, so Benny wasn’t able to take his normal “see where I am!” photo.

But that’s okay, he soon found another way to be amused. As we continued along the trail back, I was startled by something I saw in a tree. I jumped, yelled, and then realized that I saw an owl looking down on me.

Here was Benny’s opportunity to pose for the camera. Thankfully, the owl was very cordial and also loves posing for pictures.

Finishing the story

I had promised Benny that we would finish the story that we saw from the beginning of the hike, so we looped back and began where we left off. This story time opportunity is unique to the Ridge Hill Reserve (I know, someone will probably leave a comment about how they saw something like this somewhere else, and that it’s not unique to this place, blah blah blah, and to that I say: Congratulations! You won the “I’m a nitpicker” award!).

The story led us through a pine grove. Of course, we could tell you what happened in the book, but then you wouldn’t have any motivation to go out and read it for yourself. We will tell you this: The story is the perfect length to keep children’s attention and is a great activity to get them outside and interested in their surroundings.

For more information about the Ridge Hill Reserve, check out the DNRT’s website.

If you liked reading about this hike, you should check out our adventures to Destruction Brook Woods and our sighting of the Ghost Cow at Wernick Farm. Both places are also in Dartmouth.

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