A large, color-coded trail map posted at the entrance to the 300-acre Wolf Hill Forest Preserve in Smithfield, R.I., seemed like a helpful guide, so our group not only studied it carefully before setting out on a hike the other morning, but took a picture on a smartphone for later reference.

What's more, if the three of us still somehow managed to stray, we could always revert to a last resort: access a phone app that provides a description of trails at Wolf Hill and countless other parks and preserves throughout the planet. I usually resist going this route, having found such online content is not always reliable.

Maggie Jones, Andy Lynn and I agreed on a plan: Follow the white-blazed Leo Bouchard Trail to the green-blazed Mary Mowry Trail, turn right, and then veer left on the yellow-blazed World War II Memorial Trail that passes the site of a 1943 airplane crash that took the lives three U.S. Army Air Corps servicemen.

Right from the get-go we came to a confusing intersection with multiple choices, but soon managed to stay on course, reached the Mary Mowry Trail — named for a teacher and nature lover who bequeathed her property to the Smithfield Land Trust in 2008 — and then came to the World War II Memorial Trail. Things were looking up.

After a short distance, though, the yellow blazes split, marking two different trails, with no sign indicating which one led to the memorial. The path on the right appeared to lead back to our starting point, so we chose the left trail.

After hiking another half an hour with no sign of the memorial, we realized we must have taken the wrong path.

No problem — there were plenty of other worthwhile places to explore on this old farm and former Boy Scout Camp.

One of the most rewarding paths, the Ken Weber Trail, honors the longtime guidebook author and outdoor writer for the Providence Journal, known as "nature's best friend in Smithfield," who died in 2007. I enjoyed reading his columns; Maggie valued his sensitive insights, and had invited him to speak several times at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, where she served as executive director.

In all, there are eight trails that weave through a mixed forest of oak, maple, pine and hemlock, past vernal pools, and alongside huckleberry and lowbush blueberry bushes.

The delicate, pink blossoms of mountain laurel were in full bloom, taking over after early spring wildflowers had faded. Maggie quipped that a cluster of wilted lady slippers looked more like old maids.

The Mary Mowry Trail, which follows some of the property's old farm roads, led us to an overlook with a distant view of the Providence skyline, one reminder that this haven was not far from civilization. Another indication: a broad swath of land that had been cleared for the National Grid's high-voltage power lines. Although far from pristine, this open section provides low-bush habitat for a variety of birds, animals and wildflowers.

Not far from there we met a man walking his dog, and asked him for directions to the memorial. He rattled off a complex series of twists and turns, conceding, "It's complicated."

Eventually, by navigating less with maps and apps and more by instinct, we worked our way back to the World War II Memorial Trail and found an unmarked side path leading to the site.

A giant raised boulder, ingeniously supported by piers of small stones, along with a plaque and flags, mark the spot where a Lockheed RB-34 Target Tug slammed into Wolf Hill after losing one of its twin engines during a routine flight from Westover Field to Otis Field in Massachusetts.

Lt. Saul Winsten, of Pawtucket, R.I., Lt. Otis R. Portewig, of Richmond, Va. and Sgt. Herbert D. Booth, of Rahway, N.J., perished in the Aug. 5, 1943 crash. The memorial serves as a tribute to the sacrifices so many men and women made during wartime, on and off the battlefield.

We wound up hiking about five miles, but visitors can cover shorter or longer distances, depending on which trails they follow (and how many errant turns they make).

All in all, it was a satisfying outing, but I'm mystified that www.alltrails.com rates the preserve's World War II memorial loop as the third-best trail in Rhode Island – ahead of such extraordinarily scenic hikes as the Ben Utter Trail at Stepstone Falls in the Arcadia State Management Area (No. 5) and Sachuest Point National Wildlife Trail in Middletown (No. 9). Moreover, some of our group's favorite waterfront trails, at Ninigret and Trustom Pond national wildlife refuges, and at Napatree Point, didn't even make the Top 10. Go figure.

The Wolf Hill Forest Preserve is located off Waterview Drive in Smithfield. Parking across the street from the trailhead is available at the Leo Bouchard Conservation Center. More information about the Smithfield Land Trust is available at www.smithfieldri.com