Blandings Park Wildlife Sanctuary

Official Blanding trails in blue; trails open to the public in green; Clifford park trails in yellow.

This is a wonderful place to walk, and also has a unique story. Local land owners took steps to protect the more ecologically valuable part of their land as part of the creation of a subdivision along Route 9. They convinced nearby land owners to also donate parcels, leading to the protection of more than 200 acres. The area is known to harbor endangered Blanding’s turtles, and is part of a larger ecological focus area in Kennebunkport and Biddeford important to many species.

Because these woods were once quarried for granite — an important historical industry for Biddeford — there is a system of old, rough tracks cutting through the land. Some of these have been turned into marked trails. Most are wide and easy to walk, like the green, orange, and red trails. The blue trail feels a bit more like a footpath. Take care to follow the blazes, as there are many intersecting unmarked trails.

Or, you can wander off the official trails and check out the interesting features of this land: high rocky outcrops, piles of quarried granite, quarry pools and vernal pools. If you do leave the Blandings trails to walk the trails I’ve marked green on my map, you’ll find a mixture of wide, multi-use tracks and narrow footpaths that can be hard to follow at times. One of these footpaths includes a secret little set of granite steps!

Directions: The trail head is at the end of Blandings Way, off to the left. Pull into the little driveway. The park is open dawn to dusk.