By Bridget M. Burns
From our May 2025 issue
Beech Hill Preserve
This Coastal Mountains Land Trust preserve encompasses 295 acres, including grassland bird habitat and organic blueberry barrens on 533-foot Beech Hill. The Summit Road Trail follows an old farm road from Beech Hill Road to the hilltop open meadow, making for an easy 1.2-mile out-and-back hike. The 0.9-mile Woods Loop Trail, also easy, begins at the Rockville Street trailhead and winds through a mixed hardwood forest before dividing into a loop trail with two possible routes to the summit. On top of the hill sits Beech Nut, a sod-roof stone picnic hut built in 1914 and offering panoramic views of Penobscot Bay, the Camden Hills, and the St. George peninsula. 316 Beech Hill Rd./76 Rockville St., Rockport; 207-236-7091.
Camden Hills State Park
Camden Hills State Park includes 30 miles of hiking trails to some of the area’s most scenic vistas. The 0.5-mile Mount Battie Trail ascends up the south-facing side of the mountain and ends with a view of Camden village and the Penobscot Bay islands. Get an even better view by climbing the circular staircase of the summit’s 26-foot-tall stone Mount Battie Memorial Tower. The park’s highest peak, 1,385-foot Mount Megunticook, is reached via the 2.6-mile Megunticook and Adam’s Lookout Trail Loop. A detour to the ledges at the Ocean Outlook offers a view to Mount Battie. 280 Belfast Rd., Camden; 207-236-3109.
Harkness Preserve
Families with young children can enjoy the easy, 1-mile loop trail in the Coastal Mountains Land Trust’s Harkness Preserve. The trail includes two footbridges over the gentle Ott Brook and passes a lime-kiln chimney cap, a relic of the area’s once-thriving industry. Little ones can refuel on the stone seat overlooking Rockport Harbor. Spruce St., Rockport; 207-236-7091.
Merryspring Nature Center
This 66-acre nature park and education center includes 4 miles of trails through forests and meadows and past cultivated gardens and vernal pools. The Kitty Todd Arboretum hosts 35 different native-Maine tree species, and visitors are invited to add houses to the fairy village next door. 30 Conway Rd., Camden; 207-236-2239.
Pen Bay Hospital Community Wellness Trail
This 1.5-mile, easy-to-moderate loop trail winds around the MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital campus and is accessible from trailheads on the campus and off Route 1 near the hospital entrance. It has several benches overlooking Penobscot Bay and 11 fitness stations. 3 Glen Cove Dr., Rockport; 207-301-8000; mainehealth.org/penbay
Ragged Mountain
Ragged Mountain is home to an 11.5-mile trail network on a Coastal Mountains Land Trust preserve and conservation easement land, with some of the most challenging hikes in the area. The Hosmer Brook Trail climbs from the Camden Snow Bowl parking area to the top of the Ragged Mountain ridge, where it connects to the Georges Highland Path, maintained by the Georges River Land Trust. The trail is open to foot traffic only due to exposed roots and loose rocks. The Thorndike Brook Trail has a smoother surface and more gradual ascent from its trailhead off Route 17 in Rockport. Follow it to the Ragged Mountain ridgeline for views of Penobscot Bay. The 5.5-mile Round the Mountain Trail is a more accessible option with wide gravel paths for hiking and biking. Accessible from the Camden Snow Bowl and the Thorndike Brook Trailhead, it winds through mixed forest and offers views of Mirror Lake and Hosmer Pond.
20 Barnestown Rd., Camden/223 Hope St., Rockport; 207-236-7091.
