Every week I wonder whether or not I will find a new trail worth sharing. And every week our gorgeous state of Maine, with its dedicated land trusts preserving endless trail systems, does not let me down. I will never, ever, stop being thankful for the abundance of natural spaces we have access to here. I am also thankful that I get to share those trails with you. We need to do things that make us happy, and this is one of those things for me. Ok, enough with the rambling and on to the weekly trail.
The Libby River Farm Preserve is located on an old saltwater farm off of Black Point Road near Camp Ketcha. The total trail network of 1.3 easy to moderate miles includes: an observation platform along the Scarborough Marsh, wetlands, woods, open fields, wildlife and plenty of stick forts. I assume Camp Ketcha had something to do with these ;).
In 1996, the Scarborough Land Trust purchased 125 acres from the Larrabee family, who once owned a saltwater farm here. 50 acres were deeded to the State of Maine and the remaining 75 acres became part the preserve. The Lucy R. Sprague Memorial Trail was built in 1999 and I would highly suggest taking it when you are here...it winds through a gorgeous section of woods. Camp Ketcha provides parking and an access trail to the preserve and individuals are welcome to explore the Camp's trails when programs are not in operation. Dogs must be kept on leash at all times and biking is not allowed.
The small dirt parking lot is located at 320 Black Point Road. It will be your first left after passing Strawberry Fields Lane. You will see a sign for the Preserve that looks like this:
To find the observation deck that overlooks the marsh, start out on the trailhead to your left and just stay left at every juncture.
If you are looking for a longer outing, swing on over to Higgins Beach. It's a great place to see some wild and crazy winter surfers. Yes those are surfers in the background, not seals. All 40 of them. Swimming in January is not for me, but I do give them credit for getting out there and doing what they love...regardless of the weather.
Happy adventuring!
