Sears Island Preserve

Where:  Searsport, Maine

What:  A variety of trail systems featuring coastal, woodland, shrub and wetland environments. 

Trails:  There are a number of trails running through the preserve, including a paved road, a double track, and narrow single track trails, some of which appear overgrown at the trailheads.   I did roughly 6.4 miles out to a cell phone tower and then around to a jetty and small beach.  There was little elevation gain.  Here is the trail map for my hike today.  For a map of trails in the park, visit the Friends of Sears Island website here.

Tick Index:  Low on paved path, moderate on double track due to high grass in areas, likely high on smaller trails due to high grass.

Commentary:

I went to Sears Island not knowing what to expect and without having done much advanced planning.  I was pleasantly surprised by what I found there.

A small causeway leads out to the island, and the road is blocked by a gate.  A paved roads runs most of the way to a jetty and small beach, and a double track trail splits off from the road around 1/2 mile into the island.  The map for the island showed "tower" on it, so I headed in this direction, hoping there would be a tower to climb at the end.  Unfortunately, there is a cell tower at the end, but the 2 mile hike was enjoyable nevertheless.  The path was overgrown in parts, however, so I found myself doing frequent tick checks (I didn't find any).   

After retracing my steps back to the paved road, I headed down to the jetty.  The paved portion goes most, but not all, of the way to the jetty.  When the pavement ends, it turns into a well-maintained pathway.  The path ends shortly before the shore with a short overgrown trail leading out to the beach and jetty.  

There are a number of smaller side trails from both the tower and jetty trails, but I found many of these were overgrown with tall grass.  

The island has an interesting history, which is explained in detail at the Friends website here.  Planned industrial development led to the causeway and road being built on the island. 

During my hike, I observed an osprey, bald eagle and pileated woodpecker. It was also possible to hear the clanging of the bell on a nearby buoy.  The preserve was not very crowded - there were a couple of runners and dog walkers.

The beach and jetty.

The path to the jetty, once the road ends.

The paved road.

The double track trail to the tower.