Posted on June 20, 2016 and last updated on October 09, 2023

Captain William Fitzgerald Recreation and Conservation Area, Brunswick

QUICK TRAIL FACTS

  • Preserve Size: 66 acres
  • Trail Mileage: ~2 miles in network
  • Pets: yes
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Sights: sandplain grasslands

This 66-acre 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, spotted sandpipers, Eastern meadowlarks, Eastern towhees and prairie warblers. It’s 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 here!

The entryway and one of the paths are paved, so the site is accessible for wheelchairs. The entryway, however, is gated, so you have to make your way around it on a rougher path visitors have created.

There is also a pond, manmade I believe, next to the preserve. I can’t tell if it is part of the protected area, but I have seen people fishing here. 

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.

Let me know if you have any trail updates or corrections!