Knight’s Pond Preserve, Cumberland

The trails in Cumberland, Falmouth, Windham, and North Yarmouth are very well connected, mostly by footpath. In my map above, Knight’s Pond Preserve is in light blue; Farwell Forest in lavender; Rines Forest in green; Hadlock Forest in maroon; Falmouth Town Forest trails in dark blue; Falmouth Community Park in yellow; Blackstrap Preserve in orange. Not shown on this map are the connected trails of North Falmouth Community Forest, Greely Woods, and Lowell Preserve.

Knight’s Pond is part of a large, multi-town trail system. 

But just walking around this preserve is sufficient! The trail system at Knight’s Pond is well marked, with maps posted at most intersections. The pond is gorgeous year-round, but particularly pretty in the fall. You’ll be able to hear the FAA tower when you’re close to it — it makes a low whirring sound.

There’s a mix of footpaths and wider snowmobile tracks in the preserve. For the most part, the trails marked on the official map indicate walking paths. You can access the preserve from the Cumberland side, off Greeley Road Ext., or its North Yarmouth Side, where there is a medium-sized lot off Wildlife Lane. From North Yarmouth, the trail starts just around the corner from the lot, off Village View Lane, reachable by sidewalk. Though it begins as a wide, crushed-gravel path, it quickly changes over to a regular woods path that was easy to follow but not marked when I walked it. It’s about 0.6 miles to the power lines.

Directions: The main lot is off the Greeley Road Extension. From the intersection with Route 9, drive about 1.23 miles and you’ll see a large parking lot on your right. The trail system starts from the back corner of the lot. You can also park in a medium-sized lot off Wildlife Lane, in North Yarmouth.