Worden Pond

41° 25.776' N    71° 34.04' W   See this location in: Google Maps   Map Server   Acme Maps

This is a site for launching boats from trailers. Boat ramps can normally be used to launch canoes and kayaks but please do your best to keep the boat ramp clear for boat trailers.

Description & Overview:

This access site on the south shore of Worden Pond has a small dock, a cement plank boat ramp, and a large gravel parking lot. In addition to simply providing access to the pond, it can be the take out for a paddle down the Chipuxet River from Route 138. You can also start at this access site and paddle along the south shore of Worden Pond and then up the west shore until you come to the start of the Pawcatuck River, which winds through a beautiful hardwood swamp before joining the Usquepaug a little above Biscuit City Landing. In the summer months, be prepared for a fair amount of poison ivy along the first section of the Pawcatuck River. The poison ivy is less of an issue in the spring and the fall. On this section of the river you will also encounter downed trees across the river. Many will have a gap cut in them wide enough to let a canoe or kayak squeeze through. However there may be some recent blowdowns that require you to get out of your boat and lift it over or carry it around the tree. As of early summer of 2020 there were reportedly quite a few trees down across the river, making passage through this area quite difficult.

Worden Pond is large but quite shallow and can get quite choppy when the afternoon southwest breeze kicks in, or simply if the day turns windy. Pay attention to the forecast and don't paddle to the expected downwind side of the pond if a breeze is forecast to develop unless you fancy a long hard paddle home against the wind and waves.

The Wood-Pawcatuck River Guide is highly recommended for paddling on the Wood-Pawcatuck river system. The pond is stocked and managed for Northern Pike.

This site provides access to the following water bodies in the Pawcatuck River watershed: Worden Pond, Pawcatuck River, Chipuxet River.

Location:

Town: South Kingstown

Driving Landmarks: On Wordens Pond Road, 1/2 mile west of the junction with Route 110 (Ministerial Road)

Access & Waters:

Water 'Features' At Site: lake/reservior

Note: Because one boat launch can access, say, both a lake and a river or both the upstream and downstream portions of a river, not all paddling trips at a given site will necessarily encounter all of the features listed.

Type of Access: Boat ramp

ADA Accessible Boat Launch? no

Shoreline: Cement plank boat ramp and sand and gravel shoreline

Float/Dock: low float or dock

Parking:

Parking: yes

ADA Accessible Parking Spaces? no

Sources for More Information:

AMC Quiet Water Canoe Guide: 2nd Edition, page 196

Other Guidebooks: Paddle 25 in "Paddling Connecticut and Rhode Island"

Website: How to order the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association's River Guide

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