SPMS Trail Challenge
Hike your local trails for a chance to win prizes!
This trail challenge is a self-paced, outdoor learning opportunity for South Portland Middle School students and their families. Participants will learn about South Portland's public trail networks, exposing them to the natural beauty that can be found in their backyards.
We've hidden five SPMS ceramic sharks on wooded trails in South Portland. Explore all five trails and locate the sharks for a chance to win a $25 gift card to L.L. Bean and a trail guide to Southern Maine!
To participate in the challenge, follow the steps below.
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How it works
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STEP 1: Hike the five South Portland trails listed below. Follow the instructions on where to find the hidden SPMS shark. Click on the link in each trail title for the South Portland Land Trust's description, including maps and directions to each trail.
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STEP 2. Once you've located the SPMS shark, please leave it on the trail, where found, for others to discover it.
STEP 3. Take a photo on the trail, with the shark.* If the shark is missing, take a picture on the spot where it should have been!
STEP 4. Once you've completed all five trails from our list below, email your photos to Jill at outdoormovementproject@gmail.com. The first 25 students to send in photos will earn a $25 gift card to L.L. Bean. The first 3 students to send in photos will ALSO earn a copy of: Southern Maine Trails: A Guide to 100 Hikes for Any Season, Any Age, Age Ability.
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* Participant photos will not be shared. They will be used for proof of trail completion only.
All are welcome. Join us outdoors!
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List of Trails
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0.3-mile stream-side wooded and meadow trails that includes bog bridges and a 45-foot bridge over Trout Brook.
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Park at the Providence Avenue trailhead. Cross the new 45-foot bridge then follow the trail until you've crossed a smaller foot bridge. From here, look to your right for a tree with a large rock tucked inside of its limbs. Find the shark hidden in this tree.
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0.3-mile loop through a 9.3-acres nature preserve that includes a small pond.
Park at the trailhead on Preservation Lane, across from the South Portland High School on Highland Avenue. Walk between the stone wall marking the entrance, then head right until you've reached the viewpoint of the pond. Look inside the large tree, pictured here, for the shark.
1.1-mile woodland trail that follows the shores of Clark's Pond.
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​Park at the far right side of the Home Depot parking lot and head right at the trailhead kiosk. Follow signs for the Clark's Pond Trail as it winds past the highway, then into a quieter section of woods. As the trail hugs the water, you will walk past a stick fort, then soon arrive at an overlook of the pond. The shark is tucked inside one of the trees at the overlook. Hint, the boy in the picture is hiding the shark.
One-mile wooded trail exploring the area surrounding the South Branch of Long Creek. Details here.
​Park at the old Cinemagic movie theatre in the Clark's Pond Plaza. The trailhead is located on the right side of this parking lot. Cross the first foot bridge, then head left to follow the loop clockwise. Before crossing the next foot bridge, look inside the tree on the right, just before the bridge. The shark is hiding in the back side.
0.7-mile trail that winds its way from high above Long Creek down to the water's edge.
Park in the lot to the right of the Opportunity Alliance, located at the end of Brick Hill. From the trail head, go right and follow the high trail along the water. Note, there is no railing here, so be sure young children are supervised. Follow the trail all the way to the end, where the trail meets the shore. The shark is tucked inside the first tree pictured here to the left of the trail leading down to the water's edge.
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Email questions to Jill at outdoormovementproject@gmail.com. Enjoy the hunt!