Captain William Fitzgerald Conservation Area

This town parcel is one of the few remaining bluestem-blueberry sandplain grasslands left in Maine, and birders say it is a good spot to see field and vesper sparrows, clay-colored sparrows, upland sandpipers, Eastern meadowlarks, Eastern towhees, and prairie warblers. Prairie warblers are declining throughout most of their range, so this place is important to them. It’s also a former U.S. Navy transmitter site, and the obvious trails I walked aren’t marked — they look like former jeep paths. There are a lot of wild blueberries and service berries here!

A series of manmade ponds created by former sand and gravel excavations lie next to the sandplains. They’re really beautiful and you can swim in them.

The main entryway (from Lindbergh Landing) and part of the central path are paved, making the site almost accessible for wheelchairs. The entryway, however, is gated, so you have to make your way around it on a rougher path. Other than these two trails, the paths are grassy, sandy, flat, and easy.

The town owns acreage all around the ponds, and you can access the trail system from two other trailheads a bit farther north on Old Bath Road. The middle entryway is closer to the ponds.The trailhead farthest to the north is marked with a kiosk. Park at the gate and walk through the grassy field next to the abandoned house toward the pond. A worn, somewhat grassy track brings you to a big open clearing by the pond’s edge. Jump in for a swim! In a half-mile from the kiosk, the path dead ends at a little stream and beaver dam. Return the way you came.

Dogs must be leashed, especially to protect wildlife.

(The preserve is right next to the roaring Route 1, and depending on the wind direction, can be a bit noisy!)

Directions: From Cook’s Corner intersection, take Bath Road to the stoplight at Lowe’s. Turn left (northeast) on Old Bath Road, go approximately 1.3 miles and look on your right for Lindbergh Crossing (identified by a street sign). On Google maps, this road is called Wilderness Way. Park along the road before the iron gate and walk around the barrier and down the paved road toward the sand plan. Additionally, you can park at a gate at the end of the little lane next to Sturgeon Lane (Sturgeon Lane is a private drive). Turn onto this unmarked road from Old Bath Road, right across the street from Harry’s Drive. Additionally, there is a third parking area off Old Bath Road 900 feet from this entrance. Park at the gate.