Brown’s Mill Park, Dover-Foxcroft

Are the trails here groomed for skiing in the winter? If not, they would be nice to ski anyway. The town provides a map of ski trails which I tried to follow by foot in August. Some of these unmarked trails appear to cross private property, since I ran into posted ‘no trespass signs.’ And a few trails just don’t exist at all—at least in the summertime.

This was the site of an old tannery, and so the land had to be cleaned up and toxic waste stored underground. You would never know that today. Large mown meadows slope down to the river and new trees have been planted. Since I was all by myself when I visited, it felt a bit like I was strolling on my own estate grounds, checking out the progress of tree saplings and considering adding new gardens. This park also edges a cemetery. The trails are not paved but they could be used by wheelchairs and strollers.

Directions: The address is 16 Vaughn Road (in northern Maine’s Dover-Foxcroft, not in southern Maine or near Dover, New Hampshire!), at the former Maine Leathers Tannery site. Coming from town on Essex Street, turn onto Vaughn Road, and the park entrance will be the first turn on your right.