A hike to a…read moreriver The Cross River Preserve is a brand new hiking area that was just opened last fall. It's about 20 or so acres and leads through some very pristine, lovely and buggy woods down to the Cross River. The Cross River is tidal and gets low, stinky and yucky when the tide goes out but this is the best time to go looking for shell fish. We even saw some fellows dragging some boats filled with clamming equipment through the woods. Quite a sight. It is a beautiful area in the winter when the deep snow makes snow shoeing and cross country skiing pleasant. Not the longest or most strenuous hike and definitely a place to use copious amounts of bug spray in the warm weather. But it is a wonderful preserve that will keep the tidal area pristine and wild for decades to come.

Reviewing this so I can find it later! Lovely trail but definitely has parts of moderate…read moredifficulty, navigating steep climbs on slippery rocks and lots of tree roots to trip on. Not handicapped friendly. Cell reception was spotty at times. A few of the bridges are getting pretty rickety. Great for dogs, little/no bugs.

So, forget the trails. Someone else can review that. I'm here for floating down the river, which is…read moreone of the most fun, free summer activities that you'll find in the Portland area. When you're bored on a summer's day, grab a friend and head to Walmart for tubes and a few beers (in cans, of course). Take two cars. You can drop one car off after the bridge on Allen Ave Extension (a couple miles after the intersection with Washington Ave). Take the other car to the sandy parking lot before Hannaford in West Falmouth that's on the river. This is where I use for the entry point. The next three hours are absolute perfection. Floating down a mild current, bright sun beaming on your face and complete silence besides nature. The water is warm, somehow, even early in the season. It's a fairly wide river and very deep (yeah I may be the loser who wears a life jacket...I blame that on my parents for not investing in swimming lessons!). There's also rope swings at various points that you can jump off. After about two hours, you'll see signs warning of dangerous rapids and it will scare the living **** out of you. That's the time to head to shore and walk the trail for a few minutes. The signs aren't joking and I'd love to see a kayaker navigate those serious rapids. Hop back in the water after and keep relaxing until you reach the dock, which leads up the hill to your first car. I hope too many people don't discover this river because it's been so peaceful the last few summers. But it really is a great group activity and I'd highly recommend it if you want a break from the usual beaches/lakes.

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)!

Quick little hike up a quiet path. Doesn't seem to be a popular spot to hike which makes it even…read morebetter- unpopular=quiet. I did this hike after meeting a new client just down the road. I parked on their off road parking area and started my ascent. The path is well maintained, peaceful, and well marked with cairns when there is areas that would otherwise be confusing to which way to go. While the top wasn't as scenic as many of the mountains I have accomplished over the years, it was a nice place to sit, relax, and reflect in the quiet.

If you're a day hiker, a quick hiker, a nature walker, a fresh air lover, a geocacher, or just like…read moreto move your body, check out Higgins Mountain Preserve. It's about a .5 mile loop around a parcel of land that was donated in 2000 to the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust. It's the highest point on Georgetown being 259 feet above sea level. We decided to check it out because of the promise we saw when researching that we'd see "stunning views of the coast" (like Monhegan Island, Seguin Island, and the Gulf of Maine). It's unmarked from the road, so if you're driving down Route 27, be careful not to drive past it (when your GPS tells you you're there, you're actually there... just look for the incredibly small dirt pull-off). The hike/walk itself was much more uphill than I was expecting, but was beautiful - from the dense forest at the bottom to the beautiful sprawling lichen at the top and the wild blueberry bushes - throughout. We're also suckers for "rock art" (as we call it); which are, as you probably know, just piles of delicately balanced rocks acting as trail markers. This hike/walk had them every few feet on the path to reassure us that we were where we were supposed to be. Loved this - and love that the people using Higgins are a) leaving everything as they found it and b) practicing carry in/carry out (the mountain was in pristine condition, not a single piece of litter anywhere - hurray for humanity on this one!). When we reached the top, we didn't see any ocean though and it was a clear summer day. We both assumed that "views of the coast" meant actual water views. Not the case - at least not in the height of summer. Maybe when the trees are less full you can see more, but our scenery was a thousand shades of green tree tops. Still beautiful, but not what we wanted. I would absolutely come back here maybe at the peak of, or just past, foliage season for the views and a quick jaunt in Mother Nature.

My first time exploring the Spear Farm Estuary Preserve was immediately after The Great Maine Wind…read moreStorm - and the damage it caused to the trails and trees was both devastating and breathtaking at the same time. To be walking alone through such a scene of natural wreckage on a beautiful sunny day in the fall felt haunting and peaceful - was this scene from some apocalypse film? Admittedly, I probably shouldn't have been walking through here when so much of the walking path was obstructed by downed enormous trees, but it was like an adventure crawling under and climbing over them! Despite the unique circumstances of my first visit, this is a spot that I would absolutely come back to again and again (I bet it's amazingly serene in December before the first snowfall!). There's off street parking, and the preserve itself is a 55+ acre area with a big freshwater pond and benches overlooking it, woodlands and a high-canopy forest, and open salt marshes as it abuts the Royal River. With over a mile and a half of accessible, extremely well manicured, well marked trails that loop and plenty of places to sit and enjoy a picnic, it's one of those hiking spots that I'm genuinely glad to know about (it was fun meandering around here without fear of getting lost since all the trails connect and the ocean acts as a natural border. You know you've found a good trail when you feel sad after you've "reached the end" of your first walkthrough of it! Before you go: hunting is allowed - though it has to be 300+ feet away from the trails - so be sure to rock your orange in October and November; beware of ticks; and, don't stomp around off trails too much (that way we can actually preserve this amazing, diverse habitat).

Maine is full of secret nooks and crannies. Glorious, magnificent, breathtaking places untouched by…read moreman or time. It's getting increasingly difficult to find these places, but they exist and Pott's Point Preserve is proof of that. Driving to and around Harpswell in and of itself is stunning. But coming specifically here is otherworldly as far as nature scenes go. Park to the side of the road (carefully and at your discretion) at a seemingly dead-end near a bunch of lobster traps and a wharf. Walk up the private Pott's Point Road and walk for nearly a half mile through a picturesque, straight-out-of-a-movie-set seaside neighborhood. It may seem awkward to walk through (metaphorically) people's backyards, but eventually you'll reach "the end" of the road where there's a tiny, sandy path through thick greenery. Through it? The literal end of the land. A beautiful acre of rocks and rosa rugosa bushes and gravel beaches and tide pools full of marine life. You can loop around and explore (especially at low tide; you'll have to carefully navigate the rugged coastal landscape otherwise), and see a plethora of islands in the distance. It's unspoiled Maine beauty at it's finest.

"The way life should be" - Maine's famous saying and logo - this place depicts just that. We went…read moreexploring and found this wonderful place. You're lost in time filled with algae, rocks, shells and grassland. We love this beautiful and breathtaking place. Perfect for puppies, children and couples. There is nothing quite like it and it's a short hike to the most gorgeous point. This place is perfect for this time of year- autumn with the leaves changing. Please come visit and find yourself at peace.

This is a lovely loop trail. We visited in the fall so there was no waterfall but even without it…read moreis a nice hike. The big rocks are definitely worth seeing. Our hike took about an hour. The trail is well-marked with painted blue dots on the trees. The hardest part is finding the trail. These directions are copied from the Phippsburg land trust website: Follow Route 209 into Phippsburg, if coming from out of town. At the Stony Brook Road, turn right (the Stony Brook Road is about 3.5 miles from the causeway at the Phippsburg/Bath town line). Devil's Highway is a left hand turn about .6 miles from the start of the Stony Brook Road. It is not always well signed (kids tend to run off with the road sign), but it is a dirt road with a fairly wide opening onto the Stony Brook Road with mailboxes. The left turn comes just as the Stony Brook Road is making a noticable turn.. If you've come to the Fuller Mountain Road, a similar left hand turn, you've gone too far. The parking area is on the left as you travel Devil's Highway; I believe it is about .4 miles onto Devil's Highway. It is just past the third house on the right, I believe. You can't see it on the Google Earth map, because it is a small wooded parking area (perhaps 4 cars can park there). If you come to the the area where there is a side road off to the left with houses, you've gone too far. There is a small PLT sign in the parking area.

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? Yes. Well marked signs? Yes. Element of surprise? Yes. This is one of my favorite little hikes in Maine. I fell in love with it immediately (even if I can't remember the name and keep calling it the Bijou Flower Forest). It has my favorite four things: parking, a loop trail, extremely well marked signs, and constant elements of surprise that even if you know about because you read about them online are *STILL* amazing when you see them in real life. The trails are extremely well maintained and easy to navigate. You first come into a meadow; and then, there's another meadow to your right, but to the left is the forest itself. The ever present sign of what is located where allows you to lose yourself in the beauty of this natural space because you know you can't lose your way. Waterfall this way. Hundred foot rock this way. Laurel this way. And what a lovely waterfall it is. You can hear it rushing before you approach it. There's a little bench placed literally directly in front of it so you can just sit and be. The brook it creates winds along much of the rest of the trail you'll take so expect to crisscross it a few times via bridge or plank or even a big ol' hop. (NOTE: I can't speak to what this place looks like in a summer drought, but I came in autumn after some rain and it was a spectacular sight, and loud too! I bet it's just as stunning in spring.) The hundred foot rock is unexpected even though there are signs for it. Because, you look up and suddenly it isn't just trees around you but a literal massive boulder. Regarding the laurel, alas I didn't see it when I came because it's in bloom in June and July, I think. Apparently it's one of the northernmost stands of mountain laurels in New England, so you know I'll be back next summer. While I didn't see any flowers, I did see an abundance of rock tripe, which honestly looked like giant scales of some mythical creature (it's really just lichen). Magical? This place is absolutely that.

Well this was not what I expected. I thought I was going on a leisurely walk with water views …read more The good things are lots of parking , beautiful views , cool breeze on a very hot day and luckily a VERY well marked trail. Good thing it was marked so well as I would surely have been lost . It was a great hike around the loop but only for the sure footed, lots of exposed roots , rocks and tons of pine needles. You really needed to be paying attention to the trail markings and your footing . That being said it was a lovely hike and I would go again. Side note one of the cleanest port a potty's I have ever seen