Dorothea Dix Park in Hampden
Today I went for a brief snowshoeing trek at Dorothea Dix Park in Hampden. I wanted to get in a quick trip before the snow started falling.
I had driven past this park on a number of occasions but didn't know much about it and didn't expect much. I was pleasantly surprised as the park has a nice (although unmarked) trail system.
The park is wooded and surrounded by residential development. The parking area wasn't plowed so I parked on 1A and walked in. The trails had signage but no trail markings. I'm assuming that in the warmer months the trails may be obvious but there was no indication of where the trails went as they were covered in snow. I did follow someone else's tracks for much of the way and was able to hike down near the river.
I did a total of 1.5 miles with only minimal elevation changes. There were nice although somewhat obstructed views of the river and evidence of deer activity throughout the park, including tracks, scat, a deer bed and evidence of feeding.
A portion of the trail runs near housing so doesn't feel remote; however, it was quiet and I didn't see anyone during the trip.
The park is named after Dorothea Dix, a Hampden native and 19th century nurse and activist.
Here is the trail map from today: trail map. Given that part of the time I was off trail I wouldn't recommend using this for navigation.
Due to the approaching storm it was overcast so the pictures are somewhat dark.
I had driven past this park on a number of occasions but didn't know much about it and didn't expect much. I was pleasantly surprised as the park has a nice (although unmarked) trail system.
The park is wooded and surrounded by residential development. The parking area wasn't plowed so I parked on 1A and walked in. The trails had signage but no trail markings. I'm assuming that in the warmer months the trails may be obvious but there was no indication of where the trails went as they were covered in snow. I did follow someone else's tracks for much of the way and was able to hike down near the river.
I did a total of 1.5 miles with only minimal elevation changes. There were nice although somewhat obstructed views of the river and evidence of deer activity throughout the park, including tracks, scat, a deer bed and evidence of feeding.
A portion of the trail runs near housing so doesn't feel remote; however, it was quiet and I didn't see anyone during the trip.
The park is named after Dorothea Dix, a Hampden native and 19th century nurse and activist.
Here is the trail map from today: trail map. Given that part of the time I was off trail I wouldn't recommend using this for navigation.
Due to the approaching storm it was overcast so the pictures are somewhat dark.
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| View of the Penobscot River |
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Deer bed next to a tree
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