Skolfield Shores Preserve

The Details

Location: Harpswell, Maine
Parking: Good amount of parking with a designated parking lot.
Dogs: Not allowed
​Family Friendly: Yes
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate

Rooty Beauty

There's something about Harpswell that gets me every time. You can be driving along on a sweet little road, jamming to tunes and then you turn a corner - and BAM - the ocean appears. There's three islands that are connected by bridges, Sebascodegan Island, Orr's Island and Bailey Island and every time I reach one of these bridges it's like the first time all over again. All of the roads wind and curve without any straightaways to be found, are dotted with lobster shacks and when you least expect it, a shimmering ocean view.

The Skolfield Shores Preserve walk showcases this essence of Harpswell and the history of this walk is something to marvel at pre-walk. Also, the parking lot to the trail sits next to this sweet seaside shanty (I mean. c'mon!)

​There's a wooded walk that leads you to a salt marsh and more than 4,000 feet of shoreline on Middle Bay Cove. Fairy Houses are hidden throughout and there's some impressive "rooty beauty" - a term I am hoping catches on. One trail leads to a turn of the century boathouse at the shore.

A 1 mile trail that will take you longer to complete than you might expect - who can resist finding horseshoe crabs and sifting through the broken shells of those that recently feasted?