Hidden Gem: Veterans Memorial Park

Veterans Memorial Park is often referred to as Barrington’s best-kept secret.

That’s how a father, with his 9-month-old son in tow, referred to it on their recent visit there. Dad fishes in adjacent Brickyard Pond, and he rarely sees more than a handful of people at any time. 

Because you can only get there by car from West Street, a dead-end road at the Bayside Family YMCA parking lot, it’s a bit out of the way. The East Bay Bike Path runs along its eastern border along Brickyard Pond, but you still have to drive in to the heart of the park along a dirt road.

You really can’t hike into the park from any other direction without trespassing on private property. In short, Veterans Park sits in the middle of Barrington like a well-protected portal to rural New England. 

Indeed, Veterans Park can boast of excellent fishing – the RI Department of Environmental Management stocks it with trout in the spring, but it’s always got bass; several well-marked hiking trails; scenic views of Brickyard Pond; a boat ramp for canoes, kayaks and flat-bottom fishing boats; a grassy picnic area with wooden benches and grills; several other grills and weathered wooden tables tucked into trailside openings, and quite a bit of parking if you do drive in.

Hard-core hikers won’t get much of a challenge. But the meandering trails make a nice walk without investing in pricey backpacks, boots and other gear.

You are not supposed to swim in the pond, but people do cool off there, especially those who own private homes that abut the pond on the south side or who jump in the pond from the bike path. Several wading spots, one near a long rope dangling from a tree, will cool off your feet after a hike.

Plenty of maple and oak trees shade the picnic area, which sits just east of the pond and within an easy stroll of the boat ramp.  Heavy wooden guardrails protect the picnic area from vehicular traffic.

Veterans Park may be the quietest spot in Barrington. You can hear vehicles, but barely. It may be one of the few public places where the chirping of birds and the sound of human voices can be heard clearly and your footsteps may be the loudest noise you’ll hear on a hike.

Enough said about Veterans Memorial Park. Take a look at the video and photos above and the park shouldn’t be a secret to you anymore.