During late-summer droughts, sections of the Wood River slow to a trickle, barely flowing through one of Rhode Island’s most resplendent natural areas, Stepstone Falls.

But after last week’s powerful storm, when more than 2 inches of rain drenched much of the Northeast in less than 24 hours, this stretch of the 25-mile-long river exploded into a raging torrent. Spray rose from thunderous rapids that crashed over staircase ledges with a deafening roar.

“I’ve never seen it like this!” exclaimed David Gauvin, who has hiked for decades all over Rhode Island, including the Arcadia Wildlife Management Area, where Stepstone is located.

Phil Plouffe, Gary Burfoot, John Pistolese and I met David by chance while we were rambling on trails next to the Wood River, a major tributary of the Pawcatuck River that has been designated a national Wild and Scenic River. David, who lives in West Warwick and works for Electric Boat in Groton, said Stepstone Falls – also called Stepping Stone Falls – is one of his favorite destinations.

It’s easy to see why. The falls descend over a series of ledges in a largely undeveloped, hilly swath containing mixed hardwoods, dense evergreens and corridors of mountain laurel. Massive cut-granite stepstones that lie scattered in a heap only yards from the falls add to the enchantment. Their origin remains a mystery.

Phil, Gary, John and I began our hike on the River Trail off Falls River Road in West Greenwich, just east of a bridge crossing the Wood River. We soon passed the jumble of cut granite and peered at the falls. A better view would come later when we hiked along the west side of the river.

Water spilled over riverbanks in places and flooded the trail; rivulets also poured from springs and cracks in the saturated ground. Minutes after we started hiking, my boots were soaked.

We followed the River Trail for about a quarter-mile, and then crossed the river on a wooden bridge to join the Ben Utter Trail.

This footpath overlaps a short section of the North South Trail. Phil, Maggie Jones and I passed through here two years ago while hiking the 80-mile North South Trail in stages from the Massachusetts border to the Atlantic Ocean. Like David, I consider this section one of my favorite parts of Rhode Island.

We gazed at whitewater rapids while continuing south on the Ben Utter Trail for more than a mile, eventually reaching unpaved Plain Road. Although it was tempting to simply retrace our steps, we decided to return to our car via a different route and turned right.

In a short distance, we turned right on Tanner Washout, a rocky, heavily eroded road that rose steeply up a 400-foot hillside overlooking the Wood River valley. Had we bushwhacked farther west, we would have reached the 565-foot summit of Escoheag Hill.

“Good to get some elevation,” John said, as we clambered up the incline.

We then turned right onto the Tanner Cutoff, passed a small campground, and encountered David, who was hiking alone.

David told us he had been revisiting the old Pine Top Ski Area on Escoheag Hill, where he and his father hit the slopes decades ago.

“I used to go there!” Phil chimed in.

Pine Top, which opened in 1965, operated two T-Bar lifts and featured snowmaking and night skiing. According to newenglandskihistory.com, it was considered “the most popular ski area in Rhode Island during its heyday.”

The website reports that after poor snow years, Pine Top went into a period of decline in the late 1970s. Owners tried developing a summertime motorcycle park, but Pine Top closed in 1980. A few years later, vandals burned the base lodge.

David said the area now is overgrown, but vestiges of the ski operation remain.

“I’ll have to go see it again,” Phil said. That will be another trip.

David rejoined us on the final leg of our hike down the Tanner Cutoff to the Ben Utter Trail and the parking lot on Falls River Road. He planned to walk back to his car near the old ski area, but stopped first to sit on a rock overlooking Stepstone Falls and sip hot chocolate from a container he carried in a backpack.

I have a feeling we’ll cross paths again.

Arcadia is one of several management areas owned by the state of Rhode Island. Thanks to the Narragansett Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (https://www.outdoors.org/narragansett/our-chapter/), which maintains many of the trails, and the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association (wpwa.org), which helps protect the water and surrounding land, it is a fabulous place to enjoy nature at its best.

To visit Stepstone Falls from the New London area, take Exit 9 off I-95 in Rhode Island and follow Route 3 north to a left on Route 165 West, then turn right on Escoheag Hill Road and right on Falls River Road. Follow this dirt, rutted road down a steep hill to a parking area west of a bridge over the Wood River.