CHEPACHET, R.I. — The scruffy opossum sauntered through our campsite as if it owned the place. Its patchy, bedraggled fur and slow gait made it seem old, although it’s generally hard to tell with wild animals, especially ones you don’t want to get too close to.

It made its way behind our tent, spent a few seconds under my car, and then walked off down the dirt road, past the small wooden sign designating our campsite as No. 30.

Sitting around a blazing log fire on a cool night in early July, we watched in amusement as our visitor passed by. My sister, my brother-in-law, and I were camping for the first time in George Washington State Campground, and it was a beautiful night to do so.

Although I grew up in Burrillville and spent many school field trips in the nearby Putnam Memorial State Park just over the border in Connecticut, I hadn’t been to George Washington, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found there.

Although it’s only about 16 miles from Johnston, where I live, it felt as though we were in the woods in New Hampshire or Vermont. Located within the 4,000-acre George Washington Management Area and on the shores of Bowdish Reservoir, the 100-acre camping area has 76 campsites, most of which are well-spaced, and are suitable for tents, trailers, and RVs. There are also four cabins and two larger buildings available. Each site has a fire pit with a grill for cooking and a picnic table.

Our site was well-shaded by trees and a brief walk from the reservoir. The campground has porta-potties sprinkled among the sites, as well standalone solar-powered composting toilets. There’s one shower building, near the reservoir, with separate men’s and women’s showers that cost 25 cents per 6 minutes of shower time.

The shore of the reservoir accessible from the campground is divided between a small fishing area with a boat launch and a beach, with a huge rock in between that’s perfect for kids to climb on.

Judging by the number of people, young and old alike, casting their lines into the water, it’s a popular pastime for those visiting the campground. Although we didn’t see anyone catch fish from the shore, my brother-in-law caught eight fish from his kayak on the afternoon we arrived. (I have no way to verify whether that’s true, as we know fishermen tend to exaggerate, and he provided no photographic proof of his catches.)

The land that makes up the George Washington Management Area was acquired in the 1930s by the U.S. government and developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and turned over to the state during World War II. There are four walking trails in the park, including the white-blazed Angell Loop Trail, which follows the shore of Bowdish Reservoir and then skirts the seven hike-in tent camping sites. Each of the sites includes a raised wooden platform, a picnic table, and a fire pit with a grill for cooking. Campers must pack in all their gear, food, and water on a roughly quarter-mile trail that leads to these sites.

In the late 1960s, according to the Rhode Island Blueways Alliance, Australian Navy sailors on temporary duty in Newport created what is known as the “Walkabout Trail,” a series of three short, connected walking trails blazed blue, red, and orange. The trails are rocky in spots, and pass through wetlands, a white cedar swamp, dry upland forests, and a hemlock grove. A stretch of the orange-blazed trail — the longest of the three, at 1 mile — near the Pulaski Wildlife Marsh is used for an annual bird survey.

Some of the Walkabout Trail is also the route of Rhode Island’s North-South Trail, which starts near the ocean and ends at the Massachusetts state line. North-South Trail markers can be seen on those stretches of trail. The blazes are maintained by seasonal state employees, and the Walkabout Trail is largely maintained by volunteers from the Narragansett Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club.  

Although we were there Monday through Wednesday of the Fourth of July week, the campground wasn’t full. The beach was quiet, with only a handful of kids playing Marco Polo in the water on the afternoon my sister and I were soaking up the sun. Dogs are welcome, as long as they’re leashed, and we saw a variety of dogs during our time in the park.

The state is currently running a pilot program allowing the boat ramp to be used for free by non-campground users who obtain permits from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Fish & Wildlife to park and launch vessels. Campground users may not reserve or use the four parking spaces, one of which is handicapped accessible. Boats with motors larger than 10 horsepower are not allowed to be launched from the boat ramp.

The cost is $18 a night for a regular campsite; $50/night for a cabin, which can house six people; and $75/night for a shelter, which can accommodate 20 people. Sites can be booked through Reserve America.

In addition to the possum, we heard the call of a great horned owl one night, saw lots of fireflies once the sun went down, and diverted a massive black beetle who was making a beeline for our tent. There was also a cheeky chipmunk who jumped on our picnic table but lost interest once we packed away all our food in the car for the night.