Broadturn Farm, Scarborough

Broadturn Farm Preserve offers trails through forest and along the pretty Silver Brook. The farm, which is on land protected by the Scarborough Land Trust, also looks like a good place to visit after you finish your hike to grab flowers or vegetables!

The preserve offers two well-marked trail systems on either side of Hanson Road. On the south side, you can explore a beautiful brook, over which you will cross a sturdy little bridge. If you take the short dead-end trail close to the bridge, called “Trail to Falls,” you’ll reach a charming spot by the stream with a bench for contemplating the waterfall. You can also do a 0.6-mile forested loop along Sandi’s Silver Brook Trail.

You can head out for a longer walk of about 2.3 miles if you explore the trail system on the other side of Hanson Road. From the trailhead and parking area, you’ll take a short section of the Maple Sugar Trail through the woods to the road. Turn right to walk along the road for 300 feet, and then you’ll take a left onto a dirt farm road marked with a sign for the Maple Sugar Trail. This section of the route, along the edge of farm fields and close to the greenhouses, is really nice. When you enter the woods, you’ll be able to look down a high bank to the curvy Fogg Brook before heading off to do a woods loop of either 0.7 or 0.8 miles. The Maple Sugar Trail remains wide and flat for most of the way, climbing up gently as it meets the 07-mile Stonewall Loop, which is more of your standard forest footpath.

Directions: From Broadturn Farm at 4 Hanson Road, turn onto Hanson Road. The large parking area and trailhead kiosk will be on the left in about 0.2 miles.