Parking at The DuVal Trail Head on Post Road, South Kingstown, Rhode Island- Various trails ~6.02 miles out and back and 2hrs 31 mins

Mike picked this hike as a second attempt to see the mountain laurel blooms. This time we were not disappointed! It was 3 miles of mountain laurel, varying in shades and sizes.

The trail system here consists of several trails. We started at Quaker Cemetery Lot and took Polly’s Rock Loop to DuVal Trail crossing Gravely Hill Road and back down to the cemetery. The trails were all well groomed and well marked.

The blooms were spectacular. We passed a fellow hiker who asked us, “Are you two geeking out on this, or what?” The answer was, “Absolutely!”

Some of the blooms were white, other pale pink and others were vivid pink. We were trying to determine what made the colors. We were able to see that the stems on the white flowers were green and the stems were pink/red for the pink blooms. We thought maybe the soil played a part in the color, however, we saw various shades on the same plant, so I am still trying to figure this out.

The walk through the blooms was magical and in some places they make a canopy or tunnel to walk beneath. I will definitely hike this again.

Adventurers included: Jes & Mike