QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 1,340 acres
- Trail Mileage: ~2.6 miles one way
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: wetlands, North Pond, Little Norridgewock Stream
By Sam Shirley
At 1,340 acres, Chesterville Wildlife Management Area (WMA) protects a large area of upland forest, as well as wetlands surrounding North Pond and Little Norridgewock Stream. An old logging road and informal trails provide opportunities for exploring the upland portions of the management area on foot or on skis during the winter. Additionally, Little Norridgewock Stream (mislabeled as Wilson Stream on Google maps) can be paddled from a boat launch in the center of Chesterville to Parker Pond, six miles upstream.
The main logging road, shown on some maps as Brunswick Road, runs south from Borough Road and makes for easy walking. The road is seasonally open to vehicle traffic. Branching off of the main road are smaller roads and informal trails that either dead end or lead off of state property. Many of these trails are interesting to explore, and some lead to former log landings which have been maintained as meadows. Some of these side trails are more well defined than others, and none are marked.
Winter is the best time to explore the roads and trails in Chesterville WMA, as the road in is gated, water crossings are frozen, and you don’t have to worry about overgrowth on the trails. Much of the forest is also well-suited to bushwhacking in winter, and you can reach points of interested not located along trails, such as North Pond.
Directions: From the center of Chesterville, head north on Zions Hill Road. After 0.3 mile, turn left onto Borough Road. In 0.4 mile, there will be a parking pull-off and an orange gate on the left, marking the entrance to the WMA.
