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.

Kennebec River Rail Trail, Part 2

Gardiner to Hallowell

The final section of the KRRT, from Farmingdale to Hallowell, officially opened on October 4, completing the 6.5 mile rail trail. This southern half of the trail extends 3.75 miles from the Hannaford parking lot in Gardiner to the southern edge of downtown Hallowell, at which point it joins Water Street to the rail trail parking lot north of town. If you don’t have time to complete the whole Gardiner to Hallowell section, opt for walking the area between Hallowell and the KV Health Club access at mile 5.0. This part of the trail is more scenic, traveling through a pleasant mixed hardwood forest, and more removed from the road.


Getting There
To start on the KRRT from the southern terminus in Gardiner, turn into the Hannaford parking lot on Maine Avenue. Park near the Rail Trail kiosk at the northeast corner of the parking lot. In Farmingdale, you can access the trail at Sheldon Street, Bowman Street, Hill Street and across from the KV Health club. In Hallowell, access the trail from the south end of Water Street or at Greenville Street. Not all of these access points offer obvious parking.


The Trail
Length: 3.75 miles (each way)
Difficulty: Easy
Walking Time: 2-4 hours (round-trip)

The trail starts at mile 6.5 in the Hannaford parking lot. From there, the trail heads north, under Bridge Street. For the first half-mile, the trail is squeezed between Maine Avenue on the left and the tracks on the right, with the river gleaming just beyond. This section of trail is wide open, with no trees to offer shade. After passing into Farmingdale at Sheldon Street, mile 6.0 (where the only bench on the southern portion of the trail is located), a few trees and houses begin to separate the trail from the road, providing some buffer from the noise of traffic. Just before Bowman Street, around mile 5.75, a small drive-through coffee shop offers refreshment to weary walkers. Approaching mile 5.5 and Hill Street, the trail again travels right along Maine Avenue. After mile 5.0, at the KV Health Club access, the trail departs from the road, dipping down a hillside, along a grassy floodplain that thickens into a dense stand of mixed hardwood. The trail passes over small inlet stream and then crosses tracks, skirting along the river into a stand of giant oak trees, including one double-trunked specimen with an impressive girth. Around mile 4.5 the trail moves into a lovely forest of white birch and other hardwood trees. Unfortunately the rock crusher humming up the hill to the left mars the peace of these woods somewhat. The trail crosses back over the tracks just below mile 4.5. At mile 3.75, on the Hallowell line, the a small stream cascades down the bank to the left in a number of small waterfalls, and passes under the trail. At mile 3.25 the trail goes under Maine Avenue/Water Street and crosses Greenville Street. The trail crosses a wooden bridge over Vaughn Brook just before mile 3.0, then crosses the tracks again, and heads downhill to Water Street. At mile 2.75 the off-road part of the trail ends. At this point, northbound bicyclists must cross Water Street to the northbound bike lane. Where the downtown parking begins, bikes will need to merge with traffic until the trail starts up again at the north end of town. Pedestrians will need to navigate the broken and often closed sidewalks through town.

Kid-Friendly Factor
Like the Augusta portion of the KRRT, this section is also paved and smooth, with little change in grade. This surface makes it ideal for strollers and little bikers. In areas where the trail comes near the road or a steep bank, it is fenced off, making it safe for little ones to explore. Although all of the bikers I have encountered have been courteous and not too fast, it’s best to stick to the right side of the trail and allow them plenty of space to pass. Getting through Hallowell to connect one section of trail with the other could pose some hazards to small kids on foot or bike.

Savage Park

Augusta

Savage Park is a surprisingly verdant and wild seven-acre parcel of land directly adjacent to the new Route 3 bridge on the east side of the Kennebec River. I’m sad to see the somewhat neglected condition of the park’s trails, which were one of the projects I worked on as the team leader of a group of teenage workers in the Maine Conservation Corps when I first moved to the area many years ago. Though the trails are somewhat overgrown and bridges dilapidated, it is still worth exploring Savage Park’s quiet woods.

Getting There
Savage Park is located on Riverside Drive north of Cony Circle, on the left, just past the intersection with Route 3. A small semi-circle driveway offers ample parking.

The Trails
Distance: Approximately 1 mile
Hiking Time: About ½ hour
Difficulty: Moderate

From the parking area, cross the large tree-dotted field and pass a row of birches enclosing the covered picnic area. From here follow the wide grassy path into the woods, where the path narrows to a dirt track. Under a canopy of mixed hardwood trees (aspen, beech, birch, maple and oak) interspersed with white pine, the trail heads west to a T-intersection at the top of a small bank. The right-hand fork follows the bank a short distance, and then arcs right, back toward the entrance, meeting the wide grassy path just beyond a grove of staghorn sumac (just before it turns back toward the entrance, it appears to angle down into the pine trees, but then peters out). A few yards past the intersection, the left fork comes to a set of log steps down the bank on the right. Heading down the stairs, the trail crosses a wooden bridge over a small stream, which is dry now in early September. Several of the bridge’s boards are broken or missing. The trail climbs another set of log steps up the opposite bank. This bank and the rest of the trail to the river grows thick with poison ivy, so watch your step. The trail descends another small set of steps and opens out onto the railroad tracks just above the Kennebec River. Head south (toward the Rt. 3 bridge) along the tracks about 100 yards to where some brownish rock ledge is exposed along the bank to your left. Near the far (south) end of this ledge, the trail resumes, unmarked. From here the trail climbs back up through the trees, and comes to a small stream crossing near one of the biggest white birches I have seen. From the birch tree, the track fades away a bit into some brushy undergrowth for a few yards before meeting back up with the obvious trail. A right turn here will lead you in an arc back toward the far end of the picnic area and a left turn will take you back past the original set of steps and to the T-intersection.

Kid-Friendly Factor
Savage Park would not be my first choice for taking small children on a hike. The narrow and overgrown trails and stairs make it impassible for strollers, and the hazards of broken bridges, poison ivy and broken glass and rusty metal along the train tracks make it less than desirable as a place to allow little ones freedom to explore. It would be a nice short but interesting hike for an older child with more predictable hiking skills and the ability to detect and avoid poison ivy. The big field and covered picnic area might make the park a good spot for a birthday party or play group.