Magical Forest

“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.” Henry David Thoreau wrote that long ago, and it has never been more relevant than today as we all yearn to reconnect with nature.

As a travel writer, it can seem like I’ve seen it all. I found myself wondering where I might discover a rejuvenating sense of wonder and joy again, as if experiencing it for the first time.

Fortunately, I recently got to know the celebrated architect and master builder Paul Mihailides. Entering his superb new Hilltop Lodge at Preserve Sporting Club & Residences in richly forested Richmond, Rhode Island, a feeling of the new and undiscovered came rushing back.

Set in the magical woodlands of coastal southern Rhode Island, the sprawling property defies description because there’s nothing else like in in the Northeast—or, in fact, anywhere. The Preserve is home to species that have not been found anywhere else in the state. You may spot a Snow Owl, Golden Eagle, Spotted Salamander, Monarch Butterfly or Praying Mantis. Or if you're near the Hobbit Houses, be on the lookout for a fairy!

A showpiece of 21st-century architectural brilliance and a masterpiece of interior design, The Hilltop Lodge stands apart from other luxury resorts not just because of all that it offers, but because of the natural world of which it seems a part. It’s like a gateway to a forest fantasy. It is also now the gold standard for experiential play in this part of the world.

Mihailides’ enchanted woodland vision is a luxuriously rustic retreat for mind, body and spirit. With the trees budding and the fish biting, I couldn’t wait to do everything— especially relax.

Aiming for Fun

Set on 3,500 arboreal acres close enough to be totally accessible yet hidden away from intrusions of the outside world, Preserve Sporting Club & Residences is Mihailides’ own Disneyesque vision of a sylvan paradise for lovers of the sporting life.

Long associated with forested places, shooting sports go to another level at The

Top:

Double Barrel Kitchen serves French and Europeaninspired cuisine.

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Guests can choose from different types of hunts and shooting sports.

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These Tiny Homes on Blueberry Hill are inspired by nature.

Preserve—literally—in The Range, built underground beneath the unreal Sporting Shoppe and featuring row after row of 150-yard shooting lanes, automated targets, every firearm imaginable, and a team of professional marksmen who patiently teach the safe, skillful way to handle a gun.

I don’t normally go shooting, but there’s no denying the thrill of being at The Range and learning from an expert while testing my skills. Simply put, it’s a blast (no pun…just really fun).

Sporting Director Alec Mihailides—Paul’s son and himself an Olympic-level marksman— is familiar with my experience. He said that often a reluctant spouse or partner will be persuaded to try The Range, only to find an undiscovered love for the sport.

“It really is a game that you play against yourself,” says Alec Mihailides. “There’s hand-eye coordination and a competitive aspect to shooting sports. People like to challenge themselves. They love it and have a great time.”

Those who don’t come to enjoy The Range come for outdoor sport shooting. In a lovely woodland oasis, sporting clays—the golf of sport shooting, as it’s known—is fantastic fun in a group, or with any one of The Preserve’s welcoming instructors.

Aficionados of the continental hunting style will find themselves among friends on the region’s only 210-foot-high European tower. If sporting clays are more your style, 19 covered open-air shooting pavilions have six clay throwers that are tailored to the individual or group’s desires.

For those seeking aboriginal shooting skills, archery at The Preserve is unequalled anywhere, and for the under 10-year crowd there’s even Nerf archery. In a word: awesome.

There's handeye coordination and a competitive aspect to shooting sports. People like to challenge themselves. They love it and have a great time.

—Alec Mihailides

The Preserve Sporting Director and Junior Olympic Marksman

Above: Whether you crave some pampering or a little adventure, The Preserve offers everything from a luxury spa and equestrian center to zipline courses and a championship golf course.

Discovering the Good Life

If your idea of being in nature has nothing whatever to do with sport shooting, The Preserve is a sanctuary of woodland delights and experiences designed for optimum relaxation and joy.

OH! Spa at The Preserve, a sister spa to the original at Ocean House, is known for a luxurious and pampering experience. Choose from classic offerings or try a three-hour signature package like the Forest Grounding Ritual, which incorporates the Japanese “healing experience of a forest” with a private steam shower, cedar wood sauna, cleansing bath and sugar body scrub. After being wrapped in warm blankets, guests are treated to a full-body massage. Also new this season is a medical spa component. With an on-site doctor, services include everything from minimally invasive procedures to medical facials.

At The Preserve Equestrian Training Stables, horses are treated as guests—and guests are treated like royalty—as a staff of absolute experts creates personalized horseback riding experiences for couples, families and little riders just learning how to befriend these regal animals.

Directly adjacent to Rhode Island’s legendary trail system, guided trail rides, carriage rides and outdoor adventures bring out one’s inner equestrian every time. In spring and summer, riding through the forest is meditation in motion, imparting beautiful sensations that stay with you.

Sometimes we want a bird’s-eye view of the forest canopy. With a zipline running 250 feet

Above, left to right: One of 19 open-air shooting pavilions; The Hobbit Houses offer a fine dining experience; The Preserve has a dozen ponds for fly fishing. Below: Shooting sports are the heart and soul of The Preserve. off the ground, ziplining here feels like being a bird for exhilarating moments.

Of course, some equate fishing with the sporting life. They’re after a different idyllic scene that brings us back to our roots in an almost game-like way for total enjoyment.

Fishing in this part of Rhode Island is a best-kept secret among true outdoorsmen, and guests and residents of The Preserve can be one of them. The property sits aside the internationally famed Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed—a dream destination of fly-fishing enthusiasts the world over—and The Preserve keeps 10 fly-fishing ponds fully stocked. The largest is 10 acres across.

Kayaking and canoeing in the WoodPawcatuck Watershed is a flat-paddlers paradise, while golfers will appreciate The Preserve’s 18-hole, par 3 course, plus a hybrid cross-country par 34 configuration designed by famed golf course visionary Robert McNeil.

A World of Its Own

With its vantage high above The Preserve, guests of Hilltop Lodge will adore the very feel of it—rugged stone and wood, wrapped in luxurious fabrics and stunning décor.

Once you’ve experienced Hilltop Lodge, it’s hard to fight the urge to stay anywhere else, but The Preserve offers utterly unique accommodation experiences that go beyond the finest of hotels.

Hobbit Houses are one of the coolest things you will ever see, have a grand celebratory meal in, and remember your favorite passages from The Lord of the Rings.

You may be drawn toward the laughter and revelry coming from a Hobbit House but find yourself sidetracked by the glow of a pop-up Safari Tent Scotch and Cigar Tasting Experience. Go with it.

Wherever your day begins, The Preserve evenings often end at Double Barrel Kitchen, the cozy restaurant where gourmet specialties and delicious desserts are constantly changing with the seasonal cornucopia of New England.

I went to Preserve Sporting Club & Residences, checking into the Hilltop Lodge looking to restore my joie de vivre after what felt like a two-year winter. A few days of shooting, riding, fishing, hiking and dining on local delicacies, all I can say is…mission accomplished.