Tag Archives: snow shoeing

Bradbury Mountain Pownal, ME

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View from summit SummerView from summit Winter

Bradbury Mountain has something for everyone of all ages and is one of the most popular parks in the area. Close to Freeport, ME and less than 30 miles from Portland, it is a great way to get a good hike and still be in the thick of things. Each season offers a new and fun hike with different views of the same landmarks. They even have hawk migrations in the Summer and Fall and you can participate in the hawk count.

State Park, nominal fee to enter (I think it was $3 or $5 for everyone in the car). Open 9am-Sunset, rustic restroom, no trash (only one small can for dog waste)

This is the only State park with shared trails for hiking, biking, camping, bird watching, dogs on leash, picnic area and shelters with grills, playground (being installed), ball field, horseback riding, snowmobiling, snow shoe rental available and cross country skiing.

For more information http://bradburymountain.com/

To Get There:

Take I-295 North or South to exit 22. Follow signs to the park located at 528 Hallowell Road.

Summit Trail

This is one of our favorite hikes. It’s close to home and we can spend as little or as much time exploring the mountain as we want. The shortest trail is the Summit Trail. It is a direct trail from the parking lot to the summit and is only .3m up the 434 foot climb. The most common trail is the Northern Loop which is a mile, or the longest is the Boundary Trail at 1.5 miles. Many of the trails intersect so you can make it an even longer hike. We have done most of the trails at one time or another on the mountain side of the road and have found new and exciting plants and small wildlife each time we have gone. Even in the Winter, this mountain is a good hike.

Grillin\'

Notes: June of 2008 we went with family and friends and had a nice cookout after a great hike. We had kids and our dog with us. We saw a lot of other people around and we ran in to another troop of Brownies (we saw some at Mt. Ag only the week before). This troop helped to patch up the knee of one of the young girls we were hiking with and earned their first-aid badges.


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Falmouth Nature Preserve Falmouth, ME

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Sign at entranceTrail guide

The second of our Portland Trails hikes, The Falmouth Nature Preserve is a little difficult to find, but once you get there, you will be surprised at what a treasure it is. Located on the Mill Creek flood plain, the paths lead you through many kinds of terrain.

2.5 miles; Open dawn to dusk; no trash; no restrooms; last visited June 2008

Hiking, mountain biking, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, dogs on leash, bird watching

For more Information http://www.trails.org/

To Get There:

Blaze on tree

The76-acre preserve is located on Route 88 ( Foreside Road ) about 0.7 miles south of Town Landing Market. The entrance to the parking lot is marked by a small white sign with the letter “FNP” and is 0.3 miles north of the bridge over Mill Creek, just past 176 Foreside Road.

There are five trails that wind and criss-cross through the preserve. All of the trails are well maintained and well marked with blazes in each color of the trails. They are generally packed earth with exposed roots and a few wooden bridges over some of the wetter areas. Most of the way is fairly level, we only experienced a few hills on our “border” hike. The sign at the entrance is a great guide, although we mis-read it and ended up on a longer journey than we expected, but worth every minute.

Mill Creek

Fallen Tree

Notes: We only saw one other person who happened to be walking a dog. We did see a lot of deer tracks and heard many birds. I was excited by all the flowers in bloom, especially the Lady Slippers. We also saw a few random ladder type structures that seemed to be out of place and had no purpose.

Lady SlippersBerriesWild Iris