Penobscot River Trails (Staceyville)

Penobscot River Trails is a 4,375 acre nature preserve owned by the nonprofit The Butler Conservation Fund.  The preserve's 15.5 acres of trails are open to crosscountry skiing and snowshoeing in the winter and hiking and biking during the summer.   The property has a visitor center, two warming huts and restrooms scattered throughout.  

I arrived shortly after 9 am and was the only one at the preserve.  After signing in at the visitor center I headed out on the trails, snowshoeing 6.3 miles on the well groomed trails.  I had the preserve to myself for the first part of the hike.   On the return trip I encountered a steady stream of skiers heading out to enjoy the trails.  

This is a beautiful place with trails that run adjacent to the river and through a variety of forested habitats.  

Snowshoeing Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Seboeis Unit

I snowshoed today into the Seboeis Unit of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (KWW), hiking on American Thread Road to Kimball Deadwater.  The 12,000 acre Seboeis Unit is northeast of and separate from the main section of the park.  

It was a two mile hike to the boundary of KWW from the small plowed parking at Frenchville Road.  The first 1/3 mile was groomed for cross country skiing (veering off near Wiley Pond) but otherwise the freshly fallen snow was untouched.  Shortly after entering KWW, nearby Peaked Mountain and more distant KWW mountains came into view before the road descended to Kimball Deadwater.  

Although I did not see any wildlife during the 6.5 mile round-trip hike, there were abundant moose, deer and coyote tracks in the snow.    

Penobscot Experimental Forest (Bradley)

I hiked at the Penobscot Experimental Forest in Bradley this afternoon.   I've previously blogged about the forest and have been here several times since.   Today I made a four mile loop hike along a logging road that connects Gates 2 and 5.  This was a nice walk with a chance to view different stages of forest development.  

It's hard to believe it is mid-January and there is minimal snow on the ground.   

Eagle Bluff (Clifton)

My son and I explored Eagle's Bluff this morning, hiking a 1.1 mile loop out to the base of the cliffs.  

Carmel Story Walk Trail and Recreation Fields Trail (Carmel)

During the summer the town of Carmel maintains a Story Walk trail adjacent to the town's recreation fields.  I noticed the trail while driving by and stopped to explore.  The Story Walk trail is less than 1/10 of a mile long but when combined with the soccer fields and an adjacent snowmobile trail can make a mile loop.  The display panels for the Story trail have been removed for the winter and a portion was flooded and covered with ice.  

Bouldering in Dedham

I accompanied my kids today as they went bouldering with friends in Dedham.   

Joost Preserve (Verona Island)

Earlier this year, the Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust acquired the 25 acre Joost Preserve on Verona Island overlooking the Eastern Channel of the Penobscot River.   Viv and I hiked the preserve's 0.8 mile loop trail this morning.  The trail winds through an oak and pine forest and past meadows, with multiple viewpoints of the river.