QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: Not sure
- Trail Mileage: 0.25 miles
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: whimsical wooden scultpures
(My map is more squiggly than usual because of all the times I stopped to look at figures.)
This is a fun/odd spot to visit, filled with heavy wooden figures with expressive faces that are manifested from fairy tales, myths, and fertile imaginations!
The trail is short and wheelchair accessible; it consists of a gravel path with sculptures lining either side and tucked into the forest. One of the more striking pieces, I thought, was a small blocky figurine of a wood chopper set behind glass in one of the cases. There were also two haunting driftwood figures guarding one of the two entrances, like wraithlike sentries.
In all, there are more than two dozen “life-size, hand-carved figures,” according to the website. The trail was created by the Paegles of Barrows Lake, who were inspired to create the outdoor gallery after coming upon similar sites of fantastical sculptures in their European travels and being inspired by the totem poles of Alaskan natives.
Some of the work is created by locals, some of it is imported by Lithuanian artists, according to online sources.
The owners ask for a small donation, $2 or so.
Directions:The trail is half an hour west of Calais, on dirt roads off of Route 9. From Route 9, turn onto Davis Road. Turn right on Crawford Road at the Pleasant Lake Camping Area, then stay left on Barrows Lake Road. At the T intersection, turn right. The sculpture park will be on your left. There is a space for one car at the first entrance, but if you continue a short ways, you’ll find more parking in front of a red barn called the Boathouse Studio (the studio is flanked by two fecund women sculptures!).
