Wood River

The Wood River is a river about 25 miles long in Connecticut and Rhode Island and a major tributary of the Pawcatuck River. Its source is in swamps in Sterling, Connecticut. It flows southeast to Hazard Pond, where it crosses into Rhode Island, and then passes over Stepstone Falls and through Beach Pond State Park, where the Flat River joins it. Locally, the stretch above Stepstone Falls is called the Falls River. Below the Flat River, the Wood runs south through the Arcadia Management Area and the villages of Wyoming and Hope Valley. It forms the border between Richmond and Hopkinton and joins the Pawcatuck at Alton. The river drains about 90 square miles and has eight dams. On March 12, 2019, the whole river, from its headwaters to the Pawcatuck, was designated part of the Wood-Pawcatuck Wild and Scenic Rivers system.

The river is paddled with hand-carried boats. The Route 165 site in Exeter is a Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) fishing access site and the usual put-in for the upper river. The first take-out is 4 miles downstream at Barberville Dam, which has a portage. Below the dam, 3 more miles of river lead to Wyoming Pond. The Switch Road access near Hope Valley was rebuilt by the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association, DEM and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. From there it is 4.5 miles to the portage at Woodville Dam and another 2.5 miles to Alton Pond. Fallen trees can block the narrow channel, and the watershed association clears them each summer.

The Wood River is described as one of Rhode Island's best trout streams and is stocked several times a year.