Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/801177
woods or the water whenever the spirit moved me. Just like I used to do. T he Preserve is the brainchild of Paul Mihailides, a one-time carpenter turned real estate developer who also possesses a passion for hunting, shooting, and fishing. The 50-something native of the Ocean State is excited about what he is creating. "We consider the Preserve to be New England's only four-season sporting retreat," he said. "And we see it as a legacy property where families and their guests can enjoy a variety of outdoor experiences in an extraordinary setting." A gray-haired man who sports a mustache and goatee and says he has developed 20 "golf assets" over the years, Mihailides went on to describe some of the amenities that make the Preserve truly special. There are the cabins, to be sure, as well-appointed and comfortable as they are rustic. But he is also going to provide members with what might be best described as "experience housing," with Mongolian yurts, "hobbit houses" that are partially underground, and tree houses. In addition, he will run herds of buffalo and elk in fenced portions of the property. "I want you to be able to hear an elk bugle from your back porch," said Next, I admired the classic New England setting, with stands of pines, birch, oaks, and maples throughout the nearly 1,000-acre property; rugged rock outcroppings and kettle ponds formed millennia ago by receding glaciers; and expansive meadows with calf-high native grasses. Then, there are all the things a person can do here. From sporting clays and European-style tower shoots to good old- fashioned walk-up hunts for pheasants and chukar partridge. Fishing for trout and bass is available in each of the Preserve's six ponds, and its 18 miles of trails that wind through the grounds can accommodate mountain bikers, snowshoers, cross- country skiers, and those who are happy just to take afternoon hikes. Tennis can be played on grass or clay courts, and golfers will find much to like about the executive, par-3 course designed by Robert McNeil, with each of the 18 holes providing something fun and interesting for both low-handicap players and beginners. It felt like a little bit of heaven to me, and as I played the golf course one morning and then enjoyed an afternoon round of sporting clays, I could not help but think of how nice it would be to have a place to hang my hunting vest in one of the six cabins that have already been constructed for owners here and be able to head to the 178 • S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S T he area that runs from Washington, D.C. to Boston is often called the Northeast Corridor, and as a longtime resident of a state in the heart of that region, I rue how overpopulated and heavily developed it has become. And don't even get me started about the traffic, or how much effort it now takes in most of these parts to enjoy the outdoors. Consequently, I take particular pleasure when I can venture to places that hark back to quieter and much more pastoral times— and remind me of the days when getting back to nature was as easy as walking out the back door of my home with a 20 gauge and a pocketful of shells to prowl nearby woods for grouse and woodcock. Or working a local pond with rod and reel in an effort to induce largemouth bass to hit the lures I cast to pockets in the lily pads where they lurked. One such place is The Preserve at Boulder Hills in southwestern Rhode Island. During a recent visit I marveled first at its location, for it is just minutes from I-95, that busiest of Northeast Corridor highways, and only half an hour's drive from Providence, one hour from either Hartford or Boston and roughly 170 miles from midtown Manhattan. It is also only a dozen miles or so from some of Rhode Island's finest beaches.