Webber-Rogers Farmstead Conservation Area

Litchfield

The Webber-Rogers Farmstead Conservation Area is a 117-acre conservation easement that was donated to the Kennebec Land Trust by George and Judy Rogers in 2005. The land includes the farmstead area, the agricultural area with working hayfields and vineyard, and fields and woodlands with more than 2200 acres of shorefront along Upper Pleasant Pond. The trails travel through the wooded area and along the shores of Potter’s Brook and Upper Pleasant Pond, offering lovely views of both as well as the quiet sound of water lapping on the banks. The trail is short enough for a quick outing, yet it offers numerous inviting opportunities for exploration or quiet contemplation along the way.

Getting There
From Gardiner, head south on Route 201 (Brusnwick Ave.). After passing the I-295 interchange, continue 3.5 miles. Turn right on Thorofare Road and follow it to where it ends (about 0.8 miles) at Plains Road. Turn left on Plains Road. The trailhead is on your left after you cross the stream (about 0.1 miles). There is some parking along the roadside.

The Trails
Distance: 1.5 miles (loop)
Difficulty: moderate

The two trails form a loop through a lovely hardwood forest dominated by beech trees with lush ferns in the understory. The Shore Trail offers views of Potter’s Brook and Upper Pleasant Pond and the Ridge Trail passes some interesting glacial erratics. Both trails are narrow dirt tracks, that bounce over roots and rocks. The trail is well-marked with blue tree blazes. From the Webber-Rogers Farmstead Conservation Area sign near the road, walk straight ahead, along the edge of the woods. In a short distance you will come to a trailhead sign and a box with maps and a sign-in sheet. From here the trail enters the woods, crosses a small bridge and comes to a fork. A right at the fork leads to the Ridge Trail, the left fork leads to the Shore Trail.

Shore Trail
Take a left at the fork and follow the trail along Potter’s Brook, crossing a small seasonal streambed and a snowmobile trail. The trail passes a large oak tree and where Potter’s Brook joins Upper Pleasant Pond. The trail parallels the pond, climbs over a stone wall and angles uphill. Near the southern boundary of the Conservation Area, the trail turns right and right again, leaving Pleasant Pond and meeting the Ridge Trail.

Ridge Trail
From the end of the Shore Trail, the Ridge Trail heads uphill, following along a breezy ridge of wooded land. After the trail crests the hill and heads downhill again, it passes the aptly named Nose Rock (is this a gnome frozen in time?), climbs over another stone wall, crosses a small wet area on two wooden beams, crosses a snowmobile trail (go left) and rejoins the shore trail. Continue straight to the road.

Kid-Friendly Factor
The Webber-Rogers Conservation Area trail would be a great place to take kids for a hiking adventure. The trail is too narrow, rooty and rocky to accommodate a stroller, but a small child could be carried in a backpack and a preschooler or young school-aged child should be able to handle at least part of the trail if not the whole loop. Kids will enjoy the “enchanted” aspects of the trail--Nose Rock, the mossy tree trunks, interesting fungus and tall ferns along the trail, as well as the many views of water along the way. It would be fun to take a picnic to eat along the shore of Upper Pleasant Pond. Be prepared for wet sneakers and some tripping over roots and rocks.

Jamies Pond

Manchester/Hallowell

Also know as Jimmy Pond or Jimmies Pond, Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area offers hikers a mini-wilderness experience just minutes from Downtown Hallowell. The nearly 800-acre preserve encompasses Jamies Pond, a 107-acre pond almost free of development thanks to the pond’s role as Hallowell’s water supply from the 1920s through the 1980s. The City of Hallowell, Land for Maine’s future and an anonymous donor funded the purchase of the pond and surrounding land from the Hallowell Water District with in 1991, and since then the Kennebec Land Trust has assisted in the addition of three parcels. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife holds title to the land and manages it for wildlife. The surrounding woods are made up of tall white pines, American beech, red oak and other mixed hardwoods with hemlock mixed in. The forest floor is largely open and littered with mossy granite boulders. In the spring and early summer expect to hear warblers singing from the canopy above and, if you’re lucky, you may hear the haunting call of a loon out on the water. In the winter, the trails are open to snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

Getting There
From Water Street in Hallowell, take Central Street west, up the hill about 1.8 miles. Arc left onto Shady Lane and go about 0.4 miles to the intersection with the Outlet Road. Turn right and go about 1 mile to Jamies Pond Road. Turn right. You will reach the winter parking area (the road is gated here off season) in about 0.3 miles. Continue another 0.5 miles to the pond parking area and boat launch.

The Trails


Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area has a trail network made up of eight distinct trail segments that can be combined into a variety of loops, providing an endless array of hiking options and opportunities. The trails are all well-marked with blue tree blazes and maps at all of the major intersections; pocket maps are available at the kiosk. The trails are all narrow dirt tracks (in places they follow wider old logging roads) with roots and rocks jutting up throughout and numerous crossings over small rivulets.

Most of the trails begin to the right of the parking area (as you’re facing the pond), near a small “Trails” sign. A short distance into the woods a large kiosk displays a map of the area and the trails and other information related to wildlife. Just beyond the kiosk the trail crosses a small inlet stream on a wooden bridge.

Lower Pond Trail
Distance: 0.3 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: moderate

The Lower Pond Trail skirts the northwest bank of the pond. Although the trail is removed from the pond by about 100 feet or so, you can still view the water through the gaps in the widely-spaced trees. The trail is fairly level, without a lot of ups and downs, and crosses a number of small inlets, usually over well-made stone crossings. The Lower Pond Trail ends at a junction with the Pine Point Trail and a connector trail that leads to the Middle and Upper Pond Trails.

Pine Point Trail
Distance: 0.2 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Moderate
Pine Point Trail leads to one of the prime destinations at the Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area--Pine Point, a large, smooth slab of granite that juts out into the water at the tip of a small peninsula. Pine Point Trail begins where Lower Pond Trail ends, continuing to skirt the northwest bank of the pond. The trail forks at the junction with Hemlock Trail. Take the left fork, angling downhill to the edge of the pond at Pine Point. The point, a large chunk of rock that juts out into the pond, is an ideal picnic spot.

Upper Pond Trail
Distance: 0.5 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Moderate
The Upper Pond Trail starts at the right fork in the trail, just across the bridge. The trail passes an old granite dam on the right and continues uphill, away from the stream. At the first fork in the road, take the right branch (the left is the Middle Pond Trail). When the trail forks again near the top of the hill stay to the left (the right fork starts the Forest Trail). From here the trail traverses the heill, meets the Vernal Pool trail at another fork and then heads downhill to meet once again with the Middle Pond Trail and ends at the junction with the Lower Pond Trail and Pine Point Trail.

Middle Pond Trail
Distance: about 0.3 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Moderate

The Middle Pond Trail is a short connector trail that connects with the Upper Pond Trail at both ends. It follows a similar path to the Lower Pond Trail, but slightly uphill from it.

Forest Trail
Distance: 1.5 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult


The Forest Trail starts loops uphill from the Upper Pond Trail, passing through a number of forest types: dark pine plantation, young beech forest, dense early successional woods of young fir and hardwood trees, quiet hemlock grove. The Forest Trail is very wet and muddy through several sections, especially during early spring.

From the Upper Pond Trail the Forest Trail forks to the right near an old cellar hole, crosses Meadow Hill Road (resuming across the road and just to the right on an old tote road) and heads uphill. The trail forks to the right, leaving the tote road just shy of a wood fence and “No ATV” sign that marks the property boundary, and traverses the hill just below the summit through a young beech wood. The trail begins to angle downhill into hemlock groves and through very wet areas where the vegetation grows densely, nearly obscuring the trail in some segments. The trail follows the banks of the feeder stream for a short distance, crossing side streams several times on log bridges or stone steps before crossing over the main stream below a beaver dam on a new bridge recently constructed by an Eagle Scout. In this area the forest canopy is more open, letting in the sunlight. The trail begins to head uphill again. A short spur trail that forks off to the left leads uphill from the Forest Trail to the power line corridor. The main trail angles downhill, crosses Jamies Pond Road, follows along a stone wall on the left and heads down , coming out of the woods directly across the parking lot from the lake (just to the right of the brick HWD building).

Collins Road Access Trail
Distance: 0.5 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Moderate
To reach the Collins Road Access Trail continue on the Outlet Road (which changes to Bog Farm Road and then Collins Road) about 1.8 miles beyond the turn to Jamies Pond Road. There will be a small parking area on your right with a “Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area” sign. The Collins Road Access Trail is a narrow path through an area of tall hemlocks and ferns. It crosses several wet areas using stepping stones and ends at a fork that marks the junction with the Hemlock Trail and Vernal Pond Trail.

Hemlock Trail
Distance: 0.5 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult

The Hemlock Trail starts at the juncture with the Collins Road Access Trail and the Vernal Pond Trail. From the Collins Road Access Trail, take the right fork, heading uphill slightly. For a short distance the trail follows a stone wall with a massive granite boulder in it and then heads downhill, crosses the Tote Road and ends at the point where the Lower Pond Trail and Pine Point Trail meet.

Vernal Pool Trail
Distance: 0.7 miles
Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult

The Vernal Pool Trail starts at the junction with the Collins Road Access Trail and the Hemlock Trail. Coming from Collins Road, take the left fork and follow the trail gradually uphill through a predominantly beech forest . The trail passes several large granite boulders and levels out at the top of a hill where it follows a stone wall for a short distance before angling to the right and downhill. The Vernal Pool Trail crosses the Tote Road and ends at the juncture with the Upper Pond Trail.

Tote Road
Distance: approximately 0.5 miles
Difficulty: moderate

The Tote Road provides access from the Manchester end of the WMA. To reach the trailhead, take Western Avenue (Route 202) from Augusta west to Manchester and turn south on the Pond Road. In about two miles, turn left on Meadow Hill Road and go 1.4 miles to a small grassy driveway on your right. There is a “Jamie’s Pond Wildlife Management Area” sign just beyond the parking area. The tote road heads downhill from here and crosses the Vernal Pool and Hemlock Trails. True to its name, the Tote Road Trail follows the path of an old road. It is somewhat overgrown with grass, ferns and other plants in some areas, is not well-marked with tree blazes like the other trails and at one point comes to an unmarked fork (take a left).

Kid-Friendly Factor

The tall trees and mossy boulders make Jamies Pond a magical place for kids to explore. The narrow, bumpy trails are definitely not do-able with a stroller, although you can push a stout jogging stroller along the closed section of the Jamies Pond Road, over a recently-constructed wooden bridge and uphill to the end of Meadow Hill Road (to reach this road from Manchester, follow the directions to the Tote Road Trail, and continue straight to the end of the Meadow Hill Road). Little ones can ride in a backpack or sling and those with stouter legs would enjoy some of the shorter loops. Try to make it all the way to Pine Point for a picnic and some water play. Older kids should be readily able to manage a longer loop and would enjoy fishing or canoeing in the pond. I have taken a group of kids over the Forest Trail, which was a challenge with the many wet areas, dense vegetation and length of the trail, but they all made it.

Getting Involved
Jamies Pond trails are maintained by Friends of Jamies Pond volunteers. To become a volunteer, contact the Hallowell Conservation Commission (207-623-4021) or the Manchester Conservation Commission (207-622-1894).

USVA Togus

Chelsea/Augusta

The first time I drove into the US Vetrans Administration Togus property, I was pleasantly surprised to find not sterile, institutional wasteland, but a magical landscape of graceful trees, stately red brick buildings and pockets of enchanted woods and wild wetlands.

Originally founded as a summer resort, Togus (derived from “Worromontogus” or mineral water) became the first National Asylum (later Home) for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in 1866. Today the Togus complex consists of a Medical Center, a VA Regional Hospital and a National Cemetary, surrounded by undeveloped woods, fields and two small ponds. Several trails traverse these wild edges, giving visitors much to explore.

Getting There
From Stone/Hospital Street in Augusta, take Route 17 east 4 ½ miles to the second light. To access most of the trails, turn right here at the Togus maine entrance. Trail heads are located throughout the campus; exact starting points are noted in trail descriptions.

The Trails

The Togus property is crisscrossed with many, interconnected trails that are each individually short enough for a quick lunchtime walk, yet a traveler with more time and energy can combine several trail segments into a respectable hike. The Togus property is generally flat and, with the exception of the Chestnut Ridge and Shady Lane Trails, very little climbing is required.

Beaver Dam Trail
Distance: 0.3 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate

The beaver dam trail, true to its name follows a series of small beaver ponds along Greeley Brook, crossing a wild landscape of ferns under a canopy of red maple trees interspersed with white pine, paper birch and red oak. Keep your ears open for a beaver slipping into the water or slapping its tail in warning.

From Route 17, turn right into Togus at the main entrance and follow the main road 0.3 miles, to where it forks. The Beaver Dam Trail begins to the right, on the north end of the small pond next to the hospital visitor and patient parking lot. The narrow dirt trail crosses a grassy area, past a bench under a pine tree overlooking the pond and follows the inlet upstream through a shady hardwood forest, past a beaver dam (thus the name) and small beaver pond. Two more benches give visitors spots to rest and reflect. Just beyond the last bench, the trail becomes somewhat overgrown with deep grass and is crossed by the beavers’ logging trail--to the right you can see several downed logs and gnawed stumps. Farther upstream, as the you near Route 17, the trail makes a right turn and comes out onto the main entrance road just 0.1 miles in from the light. From here you can go back the way you came, or return via the sidewalk along the road.

Greeley Brook Trail
Distance: 0.4 miles
Difficulty: Easy

From Route 17, turn right into Togus at the main entrance and follow the main road 0.3 miles, to where it forks. The Greeley Brook Trail begins on the left side of the, just before the bridge over Greely Brook. This a wide, grassy, overgrown old road heads east from the main road, crossing a grassy patch before entering a sparsely wooded area of young poplar, cherry, oak and spruce. The trail arcs around to the right, opening up into a wide, grassy marsh where and comes to an unmarked intersection with Nature Trail #1. Continue straight ahead a short distance to where the Greeley Brook Trail ends at the intersection with the Foggy Bottom Trail.

Powerline Trail
Distance: 0.3 miles
Difficulty: Moderate

From Route 17, turn right into Togus at the main entrance and follow the main road 0.4 miles, to the hospital visitor and patient parking lot. From the northwest corner of the lot, at dirt road follows along the left bank of the small pond. Follow this road a couple of dozen yards; straight ahead the Chestnut Ridge trail continues along the road and a right turn begins the Powerline Trail. After passing the pond, this grassy two-track trail passes follows the powerline right-of-way 0.3 miles to the junction with the Ice Pond Trail near an old dilapidated bench.

Ice Pond Trail
Distance: 0.2 miles
Difficulty: Difficult

Take your sense of adventure on the Ice Pond Trail which begins at the terminus of the Powerline Trail and is extremely overgrown with vegetation and small trees. The trail becomes so overgrown that it fades away completely as it nears the pond.

Pine Grove Trail
Distance: 0.4 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Easy

On Route 17, continue past the main entrance to Togus about one mile and turn right onto Route 226. Take your first right onto the Hallowell Road. In about 0.1 miles, you will pass a large blue sign on the right. Park along the road just past the sign; the Pine Grove Trail begins just inside the woods north of the sign.

The Pine Grove Trail is a wide, level, fairly straight grass path that travels under a peaceful canopy of pine and mixed hardwoods (oak, maple, beech). The trail passes a wetland on the right with a view of the East Cemetery. The trail enters its namesake, a grove of tall white pines, then the mixed forest resumes and the trail comes to a crossroads. A left turn leads to the Foggy Bottom and Greeley Brook Trails; a right turn leads to a road gate; straight ahead is also marked “Pine Grove Trail” but beyond this intersection the trail becomes more overgrown and eventually dead-ends behind a white house at the edge of the Togus property on Route 17.

Nature Trail #1
Distance: Approximately 0.1 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Easy

From Route 17, turn right into Togus at the main entrance and, following the main road take the right fork, continue past the hospital and turn left into the overflow patient parking lot (about 0.8 miles from the light). At the northeast corner of the parking lot, a cryptic “Togus Nature Trails” sign marks the start of Nature Trail #1. The trail heads east from the lot and crosses Greeley Brook, here a wide, tranquil stream. Beyond the brook, it goes through an open meadow of tall grasses dotted with blue spruce trees which somehow give this open area a high mountain feel, despite the complete lack of vertical ascent. The trail crosses the Greeley Brook Trail at an unmarked intersection, enters the woods and ends where the Foggy Bottom Trail enters on the right (also unmarked); straight ahead leads to the Pine Grove Trail in a short distance.

Foggy Bottom Trail (Nature Trail #2)
Distance: 0.2 miles (one-way)
Difficulty: Easy
From Route 17, turn right into Togus at the main entrance and, following the main road take the right fork, continue past the hospital and other buildings, turn left into the road to the West Cemetery, about 1 mile in from the light. Take this road about 0.2 miles. The Foggy Bottom Trail begins on the left, just before the cemetery gates. The Foggy Bottom Trail is a wide, grassy two-track road that heads straight through a somewhat open pine and mixed-hardwood forest. After a couple hundred yards the trail forks; the Greeley Brook Trail heading to the left and the Foggy Bottom Trail heading right. Soon after the first fork, the trail forks again at an unmarked intersection. Here a right turn will take you to the Pine Grove Trail, a left turn leads to Nature Trail #1 and straight ahead a metal gate crosses the road.

Chestnut Ridge Trail
Distance: 0.7 miles
Difficulty: Moderate

The Chestnut Ridge Trail follows a broad gravel road under a canopy of mixed hardwood and provides one of the only opportunities for hill-climbing in the Togus trail system. From Route 17, turn right into Togus at the main entrance and follow the main road 0.4 miles, to the hospital visitor and patient parking lot. From the northwest corner of the lot, at dirt road follows along the left bank of the small pond. Follow this road a couple of dozen yards; straight ahead the Chestnut Ridge trail continues along the road, heading south and climbing uphill. Near the top of the hill, a short side trail to the right leads to the water tower; straight ahead heads downhill toward the west cemetery. The trail enters the the north end of the cemetery where magnificent hardwood trees shade the Civil-War-era marble headstones that follow the contours of the land like rows of crooked teeth. Continue southeast along the gravel road, forking left onto the paved cemetery road. Just shy of a brown metal shed, the Shady Lane Trail heads downhill. Follow this trail to a lower section of the cemetery to where the trail forks. The left fork resumes the Chestnut Ridge Trail, heads downhill through the woods and along the edge of a field behind the tall smokestack. The Chestnut Ridge Trail ends where it meets the Shady Lane Trail.

Shady Lane Trail
Distance: 0.2 miles
Difficulty: Moderate

On Route 17, continue past the main entrance to Togus about one mile and turn right onto Route 226. Take your first right onto the Hallowell Road. Continue on the Hallowell Road about one mile to the East Cemetery. Turn in at the first entrance and follow the narrow lane to a small brown shed. The Shady Lane Trail begins just on the other side of the shed (parking is available at a number of pull-outs along the cemetery road). The Shady Lane Trail lives up to its name; this narrow passage rambles downhill under low-hanging beech and maple branches to a lower section of the cemetery. Here the trail forks, with the left fork leading to the final stretch of the Chestnut Ridge Trail and the right continuing the Shady Lane Trail downhill through the woods, ending in a field behind the tall smokestack. Chestnut Ridge Trail also ends here and you can make a loop of it.

Kid-Friendly Factor
All of the Togus trails, with the exception of the overgrown Ice Pond Trail, are suitable for children of all ages. Most of the trails are wide and flat, following old roadways and therefore accessible to strollers and little legs. They are also relatively short and without much in the way of ups and downs, making them do-able to even the littlest walkers; review the trail descriptions, length and difficulty labels to help you determine which trails would be most interesting and suitable for your little ones.

Gardiner Regional Middle School Trails

Gardiner

A small network of trails winds through the woods behind Gardiner Regional Middle School, providing a shady, peaceful hiking opportunity.

Getting There
From Downtown Gardiner, at the intersection with Water Street, take Route 126 West 1.8 miles to Gardiner Regional Middle School. Park in the lot beyond the school and follow the paved road behind the school to the athletic field. Cross the field and enter the trails on the far left corner of the field.




The Trails
Distance: Approximately 1 mile
Difficulty: Moderate

The Gardiner Regional Middle School trails begin at the far left corner of the athletic field. A short length of trail passes through a strip of woods then opens out into a meadow thick with young trees and wildflowers (apparently this area was cleared for more athletic fields a few years ago, but money ran out before the fields were built). The trail follows a wide swath of mown grass along the left and back sides of this field and enters the woods at both the far left and right corners of the meadow. Once in the woods, the trail follows a wide dirt path (that clearly sees some ATV usage), and forms a rough loop. Follow the variously orange, red and white-blazed trees under the canopy of tall hemlocks interspersed with pine, oak and other hardwoods, and feel far removed from the hustle and noise of Route 126.

Strands of a braid of short, interconnected trails also begin at several spots along the right side of the meadow. These trails all appear to be more heavily ATV-used and all peter out just above houses along Route 126.

Kid-Friendly Factor
The Gardiner Middle School Trails offers those with small children a quiet, pleasant walk in the deep woods without requiring too long of a hike. A fairly rugged jogging stroller could probably handle most of the trail and little legs will have fun running around and picnicking in the soccer field before or after a hike.

Pleasant Hill Conservation Area

Augusta

This 200 acre parcel of city-owned land on the east side of Augusta has a great deal of potential, however it has not been well-developed for hiking. The old road is too wet for hiking, the side trails are not well-marked and a tire dump makes for an unattractive mosquito-breeding ground. However, hikers intrepid enough to take on this rough bit of land will find themselves in a peaceful--even pleasant--patch of woods, well-removed from the road noise of Route 17 and far from over-crowded with other hikers.

Getting There
From Stone/Hospital Street in Augusta, turn east onto Eastern Avenue (Route 17) and go about two miles. Turn right onto Pleasant Hill Road and follow it to where it dead-ends in about ½ mile. A post with “Tree Farm” and “City of Augusta” signs lets you know you’ve come to the right place. There is room for about two cars to park in the gravel in front of the sign.

The Trails

Distance: Approximately 1 mile (loop)
Difficulty: Moderate

Any hiker venturing into Pleasant Hill should come with a sense of adventure and a willingness to get lost. Immediately upon entering the property, an old rutted road leads straight ahead into the pine and hemlock woods. This road appears heavily used by ATVs and deeply rutted and very wet. After about ½ mile it becomes a small, impassable lake. Instead of heading into this mire, take your first left a few hundred feet into the property. This wide dirt trail leads uphill, over roots and rocks. Orange-painted blazes and arrows on tree trunks at trail intersections point the way along a short loop that curves fairly steeply uphill to the left and back down again, along the property boundary and pops out on the side of Pleasant Hill Road about 100 yards from the parking area. More intrepid travelers with plenty of time may choose to explore the many side trails that radiate off this main loop.

Kid-Friendly Factor
Although Pleasant Hill lacks a destination (like a pond or waterfall), which is nice when you have kids in tow, it offers an opportunity to work on climbing hills without a whole lot of distance to worry about. In midsummer, the wet ruts on the two-track road are full of frogs and could keep kids busy for hours trying to catch them.

University of Maine at Augusta Outdoor Leisure Center Trails

Augusta

Just a short drive from downtown Augusta, the University of Maine at Augusta Outdoor Leisure Center Trails offer hikers a variety of options: a short stroll through fields, a lovely hike under the canopy of a mature pine and hardwood forest, a somewhat confusing ramble through a network of trails looping through field and early successional forest of field pine and invasive honeysuckle. The trails are wide and comfortable for walking, the woods, where dense, are cool and peaceful, and the scraps of old fitness stations and bits of degrading artwork add interest. Instead of adding to the destruction of the world by shopping at nearby Consumer Hill, why not spend an afternoon getting in touch with nature on UMA’s Leisure Center Trails?

Getting There
From the west rotary in Augusta, go North on State Street, which turns into Civic Center Drive. In about 2 ½ miles, turn left onto Community Drive following it around to the left of the Civic Center for about .4 miles to the UMA Outdoor Fitness Center. Park near the sign by the tennis courts (a large blue moose track painted on a boulder marks the spot). Straight ahead, past the tennis courts and through a small patch of woods a large sign and map marks the beginning of the trails.

The Trails

The UMA Outdoor Leisure Center trail system is made up of five interconnected loop trails. Although most of the trail intersections are marked by arrows, the trail symbols have worn off most of them, making it difficult to know which trail you are on most of the time. Some additional side trails and connecters that don’t appear on the map add to the confusion. However, all trails eventually loop back to the beginning, so it would be impossible to get too lost. To complete all of the trails in one outing, expect to spend 1-2 hours on the trail.

Deerfield Trail
Distance: 0.6 miles (loop)
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

The Deerfield Trail makes a loop around the tennis courts and a large field partially overgrown with small white pine and honeysuckle. The pathway is a large, mowed swath around the perimeter of the field.

Porcupine Trail
Distance: 1 mile
Time: ½ hour
Difficulty: Moderate

The Porcupine Trail, a wide path of packed earth and pine needles climbs up and down gentle hills and gullies and meanders through the densest part of the forest. Tall, straight white pines stand in majesty along with paper birch and American beech over an understory of small woodland plants like wild sarsaparilla and Canada mayflower. The trail’s previous life as a fitness trail is apparent in a few remaining fitness stations (challenge yourself to try the monkey bars--I couldn’t even manage one rung!). At least one art installation along the path leads the hiker down a steep staircase of birch logs to a small, perfectly round (and empty) pool and a partially excavated (and fake) skeleton.

At the halfway point, the trail comes to a backwards fork, with a sharp right leading back downhill through the other half of the Porcupine Trail and back to Deerfield Trail just slightly downfield from where the trail started at the sign. Straight leads to another fork; the start of the Moose Trail.

Moose Trail
Distance: 0.7 miles
Time ½ hour
Difficulty: Moderate

The Moose Trail continues through the dense woods of the Porcupine Trail and into the more open sections of field pine, young aspen and honeysuckle that characterize the Bear and Chipmunk Trails. Taking the left fork at the end of Porcupine Trail, the trail leads uphill a short distance through the woods and out into the open where the trail meets a 5-way intersection. The right path leads down the other half of the Moose Trail and back to the Porcupine. The first left leads down to a parking lot behind Katz Library and Jewett Hall at UMA (go this way to check out another macabre art piece depicting a horned skeleton standing over a bloody dragon). Straight ahead and the second left are the Bear Trail, which connects with Chipmunk Trail.

Bear Trail
Distance: 0.6 miles
Time: 15-30 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate

From the 5-way intersection at the end of Moose Trail, go straight into an area of low pine trees, up a short hill that levels off in a wide sandy area and downhill again. At the bottom of the hill the trail forks. The right fork is the Chipmunk Trail. Take the left fork into an open area under the power lines, through a muddy, vehicle-rutted section of trail and loop back around to the 5-way intersection.

Chipmunk Trail
Distance: 0.4 miles
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate

From the fork with the Bear Trail at the bottom of the hill, go right, paralleling the power lines on your left for a short distance before arcing left, across power lines and paralleling them back in the opposite direction. The trail curves right, crosses a washed-out culvert, climbs a short, steep hill and comes out in an open area behind the UMA campus. The trail crosses over a wooden bridge and re-enters the woods. Another fork in the trail here leads to another short loop that reconnects with itself. The trail crosses a long, gradually-sloping uphill section of field behind UMA, re-enters the woods, crosses back under the power lines and meets back at the 5-way intersection.

Kid-Friendly Factor

The UMA Outdoor Leisure Center Trails are a great place to take kids for a hike. For the most part, the trails are wide and smooth and could easily accommodate a jogging stroller (avoid the muddy ruts of the Bear Trail and the blown-out culvert on Chipmunk). The woods along the Porcupine and Moose Trails and dense and mysterious--the perfect place for building fairy house (use only natural, non-living materials, please) and make-believe games of bear hunt or knights and dragons and fairy princesses--and the trails are short and reconnect often enough to allow you to turn back when little ones’ legs have had enough. Be cautious about the dilapidated fitness platforms on Porcupine and the sometimes steep drop-offs along the trail.

Hallowell Recreation Area/City Forest

Hallowell

The Hallowell Recreation Area, known locally as “The Res” offers hikers an unexpected patch of wilderness just minutes from downtown Hallowell. The small but lovely reservoir has a decidedly “wild” feel, with a beach on one side and surrounded on the other sides by dense woods of tall pines, white birch and other mixed hardwoods, with wintergreen, Canada mayflower and other native plants growing in the understory. The surrounding woods, encompassing 188 acres, are dotted with springs and vernal pools and the remnants of Hallowell’s historic granite quarries. Hallowell Recreation Area is the largest city-owned property open to public use. The area also includes a neglected-looking ball field and basketball court, which once served the City’s recreation programs, and covered picnic areas near the beach.

Getting there
From Water Street in Hallowell, take Central Street west, up the hill 1.5 miles. Turn right on Town Farm Road, and go 0.5 miles to Reservoir Road, on the left next to a small, square pond. Alternately, you can take Winthrop street 1.4 miles from downtown Hallowell, turn left onto Town Farm Road and go 0.2 miles to Reservoir Road. Reservoir Road is gated off-season and a small parking area to the right of the road offers space for about 8-10 cars. During the summer, drive up Reservoir Road about ¼ mile to a gravel parking area next to the beach.

The Trails
Distance: Approximately 2 miles (loop)

Time: 1-2 hours
Difficulty: Moderate

The trails are unmarked, but not difficult to follow. They are also unnamed, but I refer to them here as the “snowmobile loop” and “reservoir loop” for convenience. You can choose to take the shorter reservoir loop that skirts the water’s edge just inside the woods, or the longer snowmobile loop that climbs up higher through the woods. They both start and end at the same place. If you have a lot of time and are feeling adventuresome, you can explore the other snowmobile trails that fork off from the snowmobile loop at two points.

From the winter parking area, follow Reservoir Road approximately ¼ mile, passing another small pond on the right, to where the trail opens out to a gravel lot (summer parking area), with a somewhat dilapidated baseball field on the right, a crumbling basketball court and old, out-of-service bath house on the left, and a pond--The Res--straight ahead. Four covered picnic areas appear to be under construction in the grassy area between the gravel and the water.

The trail begins in the woods just to the right of the reservoir. It follows a wide, but somewhat bumpy snowmobile trail, with small side trails occasionally providing access to the water’s edge.

At the far corner of the pond the trail forks. The left fork (reservoir loop) is a narrow footpath that skirts the far shore of the reservoir, through the woods, with glimpses of The Res to your left. Under a large pine tree the reservoir loop trail forks. The left fork takes you downhill and across the outlet stream over a series of rocks, just below the granite dam, and comes out of the woods near the beach and picnic area. The right fork continues on a short distance, eventually dropping down a small bank to re-join the snowmobile loop. Turn left at the snowmobile loop to return to Reservoir Road.

The right fork (snowmobile loop) follows the snowmobile trail uphill, angling to the left. The trail passes a big slag pile on the right. Just beyond the pile, a short side trail on the right leads to a shady water-filled granite quarry. The trail continues uphill to a four-way intersection at the top of the hill. Turn left and begin to head downhill (the first 100 yards of this section of trail is wet but passable in spring). Continue downhill through a hemlock and mixed hardwood forest to where the trail meets another four-way intersection.

The left fork continues downhill, through another wet area, and crosses a small stream. A narrow footpath leads up into the woods on the left of the trail; this is the far end of the reservoir loop. Continue downhill to a small gulley where the outflow of a small beaver pond on the left flows over the trail. Cross the stream on small rocks and head back uphill a short distance, emerging from the woods along the edge of Reservoir Road, just shy of and across from the ball field (a large rock and a huge section of concrete pipe mark this end of the trail).

Kid-Friendly Factor
The Res is a great place for kids. The walk from the road to the water is wide, flat and easy for little walkers, beginning bikers or parents pushing strollers. The reservoir loop would make a challenging but fun hike for kids four to five years or older, and the wider but longer snowmobile loop offers a longer walk for older kids or even a challenging run for beginning mountain bikers. I pushed the double jogging stroller the whole length of the snowmobile loop, but the trail is fairly bumpy, with roots and rocks jutting up, and it took two of us to push the stroller up the steeper part of the hill, so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you really want the extra exercise and don’t mind the wear and tear on your stroller. The ball fields and beach offer additional space for running around, and what kid isn’t entertained for hours by throwing rocks and sticks into water?

Cobbossee Stream Conservation Area

Gardiner

The Cobbossee Stream Conservation area in Gardiner provides hikers an excellent opportunity to view the Cobbossee’s surging whitewater and the reamains of the industry it once fed. The short but powerful Cobbossee stream—it is only about 1.3 miles long and drops 127 feet in elevation—was the epicenter of development in the Gardiner area. Soon after the first settlers landed here, they erected lumber and grist mills, harnessing the stream’s energy. As many as 10 dams restrained the Cobbossee’s waters between New Mills to the Kennebec in the 19th century. Three of these dams remain today and can be viewed from the trail.

The City of Gardiner has envisioned in its Cobbossee Corridor Master Plan, a bicycle/pedestrian trail extending about 3000 feet upstream from where the stream meets the Kennebec. The plan also lays out intentions to improve sidewalks, rehabilitate the train trestle, create an outdoor “museum-on-the-stream,” increase stream access, and connect the Cobbossee Corridor to the Kennebec River Rail Trail, Gardiner Waterfront Park and nearby schools. The 15-acre Conservation Area was donated to the City of Gardiner with an easement to the Kennebec Land Trust to preserve it as open space and develop trails.

Getting There
From downtown Gardiner, take Route 126 west toward the Turnpike. About one mile from downtown, you will cross the New Mills Bridge. Take an immediate right onto Harrison Avenue. In about half a mile you will see the access point on your right--a concrete barrier across an old road (there is no sign). There is just enough room for one car to park in front of the barrier.

The Trail
Distance: Approximately 1/2-mile (one-way)
Time: 15-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy/moderate

Follow the old road a short distance toward the stream to where the road T’s. A right turn will take you along a grassy woods trail upstream through a shady hemlock grove and under a canopy of oak and beech to the overlook the dam below New Mills. A left at the T takes you downstream, past the ruins of an old stone dam and the crumbling walls of some long-gone industrial structure. The trail ends just above dam #5, across the stream from the former Gardiner Papeboard mill. This dam is slated for removal in the near future to restore the flow of the stream and open it up to fish passage. The rushing waters drown out any road noise that may emanate from Route 126 or Harrison Avenue, leaving visitors with a sense of wildness on the banks of this tamed but still rushing stream.

Kid-Friendly Factor

The walk is short and easy, and could be easily handled by a young child but I’m too much of a Nervous Nellie to take my kids here--I would have an anxiety attack waiting for them to fall over the falls at one of the dams, especially during spring runoff. Plus the old, rusty remnants of industry would be too much for them to avoid. Calmer persons, with older or more tame children might enjoy taking them to the Conservation Area to view the historic remains, the dams and the wild, whitewater of the Cobbosee.

Vaughan Woods

Hallowell

My husband grew up knowing Vaughan Woods as “Hobbit Land,” because of the miniature stone chairs and tables hidden throughout the woods. He has never been able to re-find and show me the Lilliputian seating arrangements--whether they were figments of his childhood imagination, dismantled to make fire rings, or spirited away by the elves I may never know. In any case, Vaughn Woods has such an enchanted feel, it’s not difficult to imagine sprites twinkling among the mossy tree trunks, gnomes patrolling the stone bridges and (cold-loving) dryads and nymphs bathing below the waterfall.

This privately-owned parcel is cooperatively managed by the Vaughan Homestead Foundation, the Gibson Family, the Kennebec Land Trust and local volunteers. Vaughan woods covers 166 acres, with a number of trails meandering through a mature hardwood forest, rambling across fields and crisscrossing Vaughan Brook on magnificent stone bridges. The piece de resistance, a large, arched granite bridge crosses a cascading Vaughan Brook just below the waterfall rushing down the face of an old granite block dam.

Getting ThereFrom Water Street in downtown Hallowell, take any of the cross streets west one block to Second Street. Turn left and follow Second to the stop sign at the intersection with Middle St. and the Hallowell-Litchfield Road. Just before the intersection there is a small parking area on your left (there is no sign to indicate you are at Vaughn Woods, but there is a small kiosk just inside the trees). Climb over a small stone wall or go under the gate to the right of the parking area.

The Trails
Vaughan Woods’ trails are un-named and un-marked, but well-worn so it is relatively easy to distinguish trail from non-trail.

The Main Loop
Distance: Approximately 2 miles
Time: 1-2 hours
Difficulty: Moderate

This is a wide, level trail, surfaced in mulch and leaf litter with long gradual ascents and descents. From the woods next to the parking area, the trail angles down to the left, skirts a small field and re-enters the woods. Once inside the woods, turn right. The trail crosses a series of small, arched stone bridges over small hillside drainages (keep your eyes open for the trolls that guard the bridges). Vaughan Brook is far below, on your left. The trail parallels the brook under a canopy of pine and mixed hardwood (American beech, white birch, red oak), slowly descending to water level. As the trail nears the level of the brook, you will see a large arched bridge ahead. The bridge crosses Vaughan Brook just below the holding pond. Stop a moment to enjoy the surge of the water rushing down the falls and cascading over rocks below.

Just beyond the bridge, the trail forks. Go either way; the trail loops back to this point. Taking the right fork, the trail ascends a long gradual hill through mixed hardwood and hemlock forest. In a grove of tall hemlocks, the trail levels out some and forks again. The right fork is a short spur that angles downhill to I-95. The left fork continues the gradual ascent. The trail levels out somewhat in a small opening in the trees and forks again. The right fork angles downhill a short distance to Hall-Dale High School. The left fork continues to climb gradually a short ways before it begins a somewhat steeper descent to a long, rolling field. It follows the field down hill, veering left, over a couple of undulations, and back into the woods. It crosses a small stream over a large slab of granite and rejoins the beginning of the loop at the fork. From here, retrace your steps across the bridge and along the ridge, through the small field and back to the parking area.


Other Trails
There are a number of ancillary trails that parallel Vaughan Brook and explore other parts of the woods, but they are closed right now due to erosion, bird nesting or are impassable with snow. I will return later in the summer for an update.

Kid-Friendly Factor
Vaughan Woods is one of my favorite places to take my kids. The broad, smooth trails work great with jogging strollers (even the double) and they could all manage most of the Main Loop by age two, and they could spend all day playing Pooh sticks at the bridge, or throwing rocks in the water below. For older children, the tall woods offer myriad opportunities for hide-and-seek and what better place than the enchanted Hobbit Land to build fairy houses? Keep in mind that some parts of the trails drop off rather steeply; the tragic accident last year, in which a middle-school child died as a result of injuries from a fall at Vaughn Woods should serves as a reminder for us to remain vigilant of our children, even in seemingly tame hiking locales.