Love this small mountain that overlooks our small town. A little slick in the spring so may need…read moreto tie off in some spots. Safer to wait until things are dried up some.

I feel the need to preface all of my nature reviews with this: being 90% forested and having around…read more3500 miles of coastline, Maine has a tremendous amount of spaces, walkways, paths, and trails of all kinds and of all levels. There's something for everyone. What I'm reviewing is how a spot compares to similar outdoor spots in my personal opinion. Being in nature - and remembering to carry in, carry out - is always five stars! :) Parking? Yes. Loop trail? Kind of. Well marked signs? Kind of. Element of surprise? Yes. Mt Cutler feels like a work in progress. What I read about it online didn't entirely match what we found in real life; and those changes felt recent. Like the town of Hiram realized what a popular place this has become and they're trying to improve it to make it more accessible. That being said, here's what I would do if I were you: from the parking lot on Hiram Hill Rd (please DO NOT park on the road, there's plenty of space in the lot and if there's not... then have a Plan B) enter the woods near the Information Kiosk. Take the blue blazes (North Trail) to white blazes (White Flag Trail) to the yellow blazes (Boulder Trail). This will bring you to the Front Ledges on Mt Cutler, an overlook of a glacial moraine. Parts of this are a steeper climb, but the view is spectacular and an amazing spot to have lunch at. I would then doubleback and go home. AVOID THE RED TRAIL. Apparently this was the original trail and parts of it are basically just rock climbing while other parts are completely eroded (even the information kiosk reminds hikers of this hazard). You can also skip diverging left to the white and yellow blazes, and just keep following the blue trail for a while. It's a pretty steep climb and the views are almost as satisfying as Front Ledge (though there's more tree coverage and less space to enjoy yourself)... so it's A LOT more work for substantially less reward. I'm glad I did this; sitting on the Front Ledges looking at the foliage was special, but I'm not sure this is a trail I would need to repeat.

We visited Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary on a Saturday morning. It had snowed the week prior, and the…read morecouple days run up to our visit it had alternated between rain and snow, making conditions a combination of slushy/snowy and muddy. There were lots of other folks at the place, some jogging/exercising, others walking dogs, and we saw a number of people 'power walking' with sticks. Parking lot was about half full. We entered into the sanctuary and took the blue trail to the right. We ended up walking all of the trails during the course of our 2.5 hours in the sanctuary, visiting the Anthony Fireplace, Miller Fireplace, Gordon's Ledge, and multiple small semi-frozen ponds. We really enjoyed the elevation changes, the variety of trees, the plethora of mushrooms and fungi. If it had been a tad better weather we could have stayed longer. I would definitely recommend walking sticks if you want to walk/hike here in snow - they really helped us navigate some of the steeper more slippery parts of the trail. I would also guess this place is awesome all year round, and a place worth visiting as the seasons change. Lovely little spot for a walk and enough trail distance to spend an hour or more without backtracking.

If you've lived in L/A your whole life and have never traversed the 3.5 miles of trails, or have…read morepassed through the area and thought there was nothing of note to see, I would highly recommend taking a couple hours to explore this wonderful Sanctuary! This 370+ acre nature conservation/wildlife preserve boasts of having the highest point in Lewiston (as a matter of fact, on really clear days you can see Mt. Washington from the Ray Landry Memorial Bench), and also claims to have a tree roughly 250 years old near Anthony's Fireplace. Walk around the trails and you'll see Whale Rock (a giant rock that looks like a... you guessed it!... whale), handmade wooden bridges over small streams, old homesteads, and - if you're very quiet - an abundance of different birds and (of course) squirrels. In the summer, the Sanctuary is lush and green; in autumn, it's the perfect escape from the city to enjoy the sights, smells, and sounds of foliage. So there you have it! Thorncrag is one of the most wonderful places in Androscoggin County for nature walks, jogging, hiking, picnics (remember to take your trash out, please!), cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Please be respectful and courteous of others who use the space: don't start fires or camp here, don't bring your bike or vehicle of any kind, dogs, horses, or alcohol (all of this is against the rules of the Sanctuary anyway)!

This review is for the trail that creates a loop with the Royal River Park…read more Access is along Melissa Drive and there is no street parking. The other end of the trail is in the business park off Forest Drive where Pet Scripts, Forest Falls Cafe and many other businesses are. This is business park is also parking during the Yarmouth Clam Festival each year. We came across this lovely little section of trail while walking around Royal River Park and wanted to make a loop instead of turning back and the way we had come. There are lovely views of the falls and you can look across the water to the Park. The houses along this section are amazing and they certainly struck it rich with the view! The path is short and is dirt but mostly even. There is a section of wall built to give the homeowners some privacy. Please stay on the trail and dogs are to be leashed and picked up after. Be aware that this land is almost all privately owned and there is a just a path that is a public way. You must carry in and carry out.

This is a pretty easy trail to walk if you aren't so spry these days and it is worth the effort…read more Nice of the landowner's to allow public use of these quiet spots. The highlight for me is in April and May when a large vernal pool comes alive with the sounds of spring peepers and a wide variety of bird life. There is a nice mix of habitat including a pretty meadow at the north end of the trail so you might see wild turkeys, deer, or even a fox sneaking through the woods if you are quiet.

Mount Apatite is unlike many other networks of trails as it offers some really interesting…read moreabandoned quarries. These mining areas used to be rich in apatite and tourmaline, but mostly are abundant in quartz and mica now. You will for sure see families chipping away at boulders and panning in the water for gems and even gold. There was an area where you could crawl into the ground/under the enormous boulders and see a car-sized quartz amidst tree roots. Very, very cool. As was the beach-like/snow-like slag piles and the opportunity to get pretty high on the quarry ledges. I do a lot of hiking/nature walks/trail exploration and my biggest frustration with Mount Apatite is the underwhelming amount of signage. For example, there's no kiosk with a trail map; this wouldn't necessarily be a problem if the trails were properly marked, but they're not and there's only two: blue and red. The blue trail is 99% marked; the red trail is 99% not marked. Despite being seasoned, we still somehow ended up in people's backyards more than once. Just some "Private Property" signs on those dead end trails, or even some wooden signs pointing to the quarries or height of land would be appreciated. Also - the abundance of trash was pretty off-putting. CARRY IN, CARRY OUT. The amount of plastic bottles, Dunkin cups, and food wrappers was astounding. All in all, I probably wouldn't explore this particular spot again, but definitely love that such an expansive, unique spot exists in Auburn.

Need an adventure that not only takes you past military vehicles, hikes you up a small mountain,…read morebut also gives you a mining experience?? This is the place! With a short walk straight up the main trail you will find numerous dig spots that hold numerous types of rocks including Apatite, Tourmaline, and Quartz. Some of the quarries have filled with water and are speckled with frogs and other creatures. This became a fascination to my friend's son who I had with me as the frogs were in their froglet stage. He spent time counting and recounting how many he could see (we got up to 40), skipping rocks, and walking around the edge to explore. We hit up several dig spots, each one of them was cooler than the previous according to my buddy. There was many "Whoa, Miss Mary, check this one out". We brought garden tools to chip away and dig up our treasures. Our last spot we hit also had a nice view of the Auburn area. On the way down we explored one of the many side trails that many mountain bikers use. I guess I see a reason to coming back soon!

We have now stayed twice in the cabins with family. Would highly recommend this experience. Just…read morelove Ranger Sue which is extremely nice however unlike what Angela feels about her from the above review..Sue is the park Ranger and you must follow the rules WHICH ARE POSTED EVERYWHERE Angela NO DOGS!!!! Even when the park is closed. And why on earth did you even enter the park when it was closed? No one else can but I guess some people feel more privileged than others!! The beach is extremely clean and well maintained. They have staff out and about all day to help answer any questions. Love this place but warning, it's fills up very fast. Donna P. S.

Great spot for lake access. $7 per person to visit and a little cheaper for children. It is off the…read moreroad so it is pretty quite. Lots of sun and shady area. The only downside is not much beach to put chairs or blankets so it can get really busy. And more shady spots than sunny spots

Neat network of mixed-use trails with some elevation gain and a pond view. Every trail intersection…read morehas a map so you can see where you are and make decisions about which way to go. I did a little over a mile loop with a friend, then about 4 miles doing the full purple loop, stopping at a bench next to the pond for some zen. These trails are easy to get to from Gray, Windham, West Falmouth or Gorham, and has plenty of parking, but on this cloudy day we only saw a few other people and I had the purple trail all to myself. This conservation area abuts another in Falmouth and the trails join so you could explore both areas, but alas that will have to be another day.

Went to Five Fields for the Cross Country skiing. The staff is friendly, helpful and…read moreknowledgeable. They have rentals for skiing and snowshoeing. The trails are extensive and well groomed. There are a few miles of flat skiing, and some nice challenging skiing.

Fun place with TONS of apples! Picked with grandkids. Brought home cider and squash too. There were…read moresome fresh pies there that looked and smelled really nice!(We went home and made some scrumptious apple crisp). They're open in the winter for x-country ski and snow shoeing with equipment available to rent. Nice hillside setting