Hikers with a soft spot for rocks will be hard-pressed to find a more appealing destination than the George B. Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge in Coventry, R.I.

“Look at them all!” Clancy Philbrick exclaimed the other day, traipsing past stone cairns scattered throughout the 860-acre preserve.

These conical structures once were believed to have been built by colonists clearing land for farming, but growing evidence indicates that early Native Americans heaped the mounds for ceremonial purposes.

In 2016, representatives of the New England Antiquities Research Association, who spent months documenting 527 cairns at the refuge, supported that conclusion. Countless similar rock piles can be found throughout the Northeast, reminding modern-day woodland wanderers that indigenous tribes inhabited much of the region long before European settlers arrived in the 17th century.

In addition to gazing at cairns, Clancy and the rest of our hiking group spent a couple hours clambering over rocky ridges, ducking beneath stone overhangs and marveling at giant boulders. Also joining the hike were Maggie Jones, Phil Plouffe, Andy Lynn and Gray Hallberg.

Rocks aren’t the only attraction at the refuge, which consists of connected sections in Coventry and Foster. Owned by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, the forest-and-field property attracts an array of birds in various seasons, including barred and great horned owls, wood ducks, northern waterthrushes, pileated woodpeckers, worm-eating warblers, ovenbirds, Baltimore orioles and rose-breasted grosbeaks.

Some seven miles of trails and unpaved carriage roads dating back to the American Revolution wind through the refuge, along with sparkling streams that tumbled merrily after recent rains.

“We’re never far from the sound of rushing water,” Maggie remarked. It’s always heartening to explore pristine, diverse habitat, so close to civilization, she added.

Longtime resident George B. Parker donated his land to Audubon in 1941, and it has become a popular destination for hikers, birdwatchers and those who simply want to stretch their legs while breathing fresh air.

After parking in an unpaved lot at the main entrance on Maple Valley Road, we began hiking on the orange-blazed Meadow Trail. (A second entrance farther west was washed out by last December’s downpours).

In a very short distance, we passed the remnants of a sawmill and the stone foundation of a long-vanished farmhouse, now filled with water.

“Looks like they had an indoor pool,” I said.

Next, we crossed wetlands and Turkey Meadow Brook on a long, wooden boardwalk, turning left on blue-blazed Paul Cook Memorial Trail, where we encountered cairns, spread out in every direction.

As a dedicated rockaholic, I found it easy to imagine a scene, centuries ago: teams of Native Americans gathering large stones and stacking them several feet high. What else would you do with so many rocks?

You’d need a giant backhoe to move some of the boulders we encountered later in the hike, which evidently haven’t budged since receding glaciers deposited them more than 10,000 years ago.

Clancy and Gray made a few attempts to climb one garage-sized monolith, but couldn’t find footholds in the slippery moss coating.

The blue blazes led us on a clockwise, corrugated loop that ascends and descends steep ridges, weaving through dense hemlock and pine groves.

We decided to bypass a yellow-blazed trail connecting to several more miles of footpaths in the refuge’s Foster tract – that would have to wait for another hike.

Instead, our group continued to stay on the Paul Cook Memorial Trail, which passes two abandoned quarries and crests a hill overlooking Pine Swamp Brook before returning to the parking lot.

Wind whistled through the pines, mingling with the burble of cascading water. A perfect way to end the hike.

The refuge, about 45 minutes east of New London, is open daily from sunrise to sunset, free of charge.

Information: asri.org/hike/wildliferefuges/george-b-parker-woodland-wildlife-refuge.html.