QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 1,500 acres
- Trail Mileage: ~6.5 miles in network
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Sights: ocean views, blueberry fields, small pond, gravel and cobble beaches
Accessible trail in orange.
You can go for a long walk at this Maine Coast Heritage Trust preserve. There are two main trailheads and more than six miles of trails — all of them well maintained with lovely things to see.
If you start at the Bog Brook Cove trailhead to the south and hike all the way to the Moose Cove trailhead, to the north, and back again, you’re looking at a 7-mile hike, at least. Of course, you can make a shorter loop if you wish — both options are rewarding!
On the Moose Cove side, to the north, you have the option of starting your hike on an enticing accessible trail, which brings you to a bench overlooking the sea in about 0.25 miles. If you take a left off the accessible trail, you’ll head toward the fabulous rocky knoll on the Ridge Trail. A short, steep climb brings you to the top of the knoll, with views over the preserve and sea. This high point is about 0.35 miles from the parking area. If you don’t have great knees, you can bypass the short but steep climb up the knoll and follow a wooded path about 1 mile to reach a rocky beach and sit by the cove. The land trust estimates the full Ridge Trail is 2.3 miles in total, there and back. (My GPS clocked it at 3.25, though!) Expect minor ups and downs along the trail. It can be a bit tiring!
You should also check out the beautiful little coves and beaches along the mostly easy 0.7-mile Chimney Trail. (You might want to skip a side trail to the summit, as tree growth obscures what views it could have!)
If you start your walk at the Bog Brook Cove side, on the southern end of the preserve, the trail makes a ~3.0-mile loop, bringing you to a beautiful shingle beach and to Norse Pond. The path is mostly flat and gentle, save for a couple moderate hills. But the trail down to the beach is steep, with a large switchback to ease the descent. The beach is about 1.5 miles from the parking area and trailhead, according to my GPS. Kids might like clambering up the rocky outcrops on the beach.
If you head to the pond first, you’ll reach it in about 1.3 miles from the parking area and trailhead. Two side trails along the main path bring you to large, flattish rocks — great perches for bird watching. Bring your binoculars!
To walk from Norse Pond in the southern part of the preserve to Moose Cove in the north, you’ll cross a brook and skirt fields along a mown path. The path bend around a little rocky knoll. While there is no formal path to the top, I found the barest of paths scratched out that will take you up to an open ledge with views.
Note: Check out the comment section below for interesting info about the geology of the area — and for a geological mystery!
Directions: (From the land trust:) There are two main parking areas. The south lot, in Cutler, is located on Rte. 191, 18.5 miles from the junction of Rte. 1 and Rte. 191 in East Machias. Use this lot to access the Norse Pond Trail and to visit Bog Brook Cove Beach. To reach the north lot in Trescott, as well as the accessible trail, beaches at Moose Cove, Chimney Trail, and Ridge Trail, turn onto Moose River Road. Continue 1.1 miles on the road; it’ll change from pavement to gravel road and you’ll drive a ways through fields. Go straight at an intersection with Bog Brook Road, near the midway point. Moose River Road ends at the parking area.
This can be a long hike if you combine the Norse Pond hiking trails with the Seashore set of hiking trails. It requires hiking up a gravel road for a ways, but netted me 6.5 miles of hiking when I took the Norse Pond to Chimney trail, pausing at the ocean for lunch before returning to my vehicle. Had I taken in the Ridge Trail as well, it would have been an 11 mile hike round trip.
I remember being quite worn out after doing a similar hike! I had to do the Ridge Trail another day. It was all very beautiful, though.
Update: On 07-25-26 I parked at the Bog Brook Cove Preserve and hiked to the second Preserve located on Moose Cove and back. Staying to the right as I hiked around, I went around Norse Pond, then down to the Beach, over Bog Brook, then up the private Bog Brook Road to Chimney Trail, around and then around the Ridge Trail and its end loop before returning. On the way back I visited the Summit and View trails before going back to my parked vehicle. Interestingly this is an exact 10 mile hike for people looking for longer day-hikes. The trek took me six hours and I only saw 4 people the entire trek. I mention this because in passing the Bold Coast Trailhead there were 30-40 cars were lined up along the road. For people looking for longer hikes with few people, this is a great alternative to the popular Bold Coast Trail and is just a mile and a half up the road and has similar coastal views. Other options with less people with similar views to Bold Coast would be Westernhead Preserve, or my preferred option: Boothead Preserve. Both are located within a few miles of Bold Coast.
Update: as of 07/25/2026 the trail off Chimney Trail to Bog Brook Road is unmaintained. The blazing is extremely faint and the blowdowns have not been cut, nor is the trail all that easy to follow. I think this is due to so few hikers using the connector trail of the two preserve areas. In fact, I had a discussion with the Trails Coordinator on this trail in April while on this trail and he mentioned they might discontinue this trail altogether. I think it is too bad because I really enjoy hiking it. I did see bent over grass so it was apparent another hiker had used the trail earlier that week, but for now, the .4 mile trail is usable but, in the future, if it is indeed discontinued, a hiker can still take the private Bog Brook Road to the Moose River Road to gain access to the Moose Cove portion of the preserve. This just means hiking on a boring dirt road flanked by blueberry barrens for a mile and half instead of the half mile of boring dirt road as is required now. Even then though, I really like hiking this preserve. It really has everything for a hiker; from fresh water ponds, to beaches, to rock shores, to summit views.
My hope is, people on this site will read how great this preserve is and more people use the connector trail so that the trail becomes better maintained. It truly is a great preserve.
Update as of 07/25/2026: It should be noted that the Summit Trail off the Chimney Trail is unique. At the summit there is NO view, but for those of us who love geology it is definitely worth trekking up. That trail is becoming unmaintained and harder to find, but as of 07/25/2026 it was hikable.
But there is a view in this area and it can be found about 250 feet up from the Chimney Trail off the Summit Trail. It is hard to see but there is a sign nailed to a tree that says “View” with an arrow.
This is a SEPARATE trail from the Summit Trail.
A trail that is almost impossible to see, but it will take you to the top of an outcrop of rocks about 350 feet from the sign with a potential view of the ocean beyond. At the time I visited it, heavy fog prevented me from seeing anything but on clear days a view of the ocean from the hillside can be seen. The clarification here is that at most places a summit offers a view and that is not the case here. The vista (view) and the summit are two separate places. I missed the sign for the view trail on the way to the summit and barely saw it on the way back. I am posting this update so that other hikers will be looking for it.
Excellent tips! Thank you! I’m curious about what is unique about the geology of the Summit Trail?
That is a loaded question actually! 🙂
The Downeast area of Maine has a lot of unique geology overall, but especially so within the Moose Cove portion of this preserve. It was also clear that I was not the only one to notice this.
My initial assessment of the “chimney” along Chimney Trail was that it was built for smelting ore, assuming it was built during Maine’s Silver Boom of the 1870’s. I checked the Maine Geological Survey site for a former mine at this site, and while there are numerous mines located west, east and north of this cove, there was not a mine said to have ever existed here. Further research suggested the brick structure located along Chimney Trail was just a fireplace in a former domestic dwelling.
I did not take the summit trail until a few days ago, but it seems clear to me, an area near the summit was extensively mined. It has identical scaring of the landscape that other preserves have in the area that have documented cases of previous mining activity; Petite Manning and Catherine Mountain being only two examples. The use of dynamite to blast potential quartz seams, then mucking out of the rock, then further splitting of rock to see what it contained is clearly visible; at least to me.
The real questions is: why is the site not marked on the Maine Geological Survey’s map as a former mining site? Considering the map has so many obscure, microscopic mining sites from days of old, it just seems odd to me that one this size, and having a smelting kiln, was missed. As an example, a mere 10 foot pit in Knox, Maine is listed and mapped, so how was one this size missed?
The answer may be within myself as maybe I am seeing things that are just not there. Such as what looks like blasted, mucked rock is really just glacier tilled rock? And what looks like a brick smelter to me, was just a huge fireplace in some family’s house? Cognitive bias on my part perhaps???
But what is not in question is that Downeast Maine has some unique geology and especially so the summit of the Moose Cove portion of the preserve. Documented mining sites all around it clearly prove that. But this is why I stated (rather simplistically) that the summit trail may be of interest to hikers interested in geology. It certainly is for me. I just need to keep researching this area to see what is there and what was formerly found…
Disclaimer: I am NOT an advocate of mining in Maine. As an avid hiker I just like to know what I am stepping on. To date, palladium has been my most interesting discovery in Maine, though I do doubt that will ever be found on this summit.
This is such great info! Thank you so much for adding this geology/history write-up to this post! I will direct readers interested in this to the comment section.