QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: Not sure
- Trail Mileage: 1.6 miles in network
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights:
This roughly 1.5-or-so-mile trail system, protected by the Gorham Conservation Commission, is passable for most wheelchairs. The majority of trails are hardened dirt, wide, and smooth, and when I visited in June 2016 there were lots of wildflowers.
However, there are two trails that are single track—the squiggly mountain bike trail and the short segment that connects to Route 4, across from Gorham Savings Bank. The preserve is close to Tannery Brook (across Route 4), where there are many more bike trails.
If you park off Chick Drive, near the police station and elementary school, you’ll have to walk across the playing fields—past the pickleball courts and skateboard park—to reach the trailhead, where there’s a kiosk. Or you could walk down Chick Drive and catch the wheelchair-accessible trail from the road.
Directions: Park behind the Gorham police station (270 Main Street), on Route 25, 0.3 miles east of the intersection with US Route 202/ME Route 4. Park in the lot closest to the playing fields, off Chick Drive. Walk across the fields, staying to the left, to reach the trailhead at the edge of the woods marked by a sign. Additionally, there is a small lot off Libby Lane, with room for six or so vehicles.
This is a wonderful trail for families with children under 10. We even happened upon a retired gentleman cross country skiing it. Perfect for doing as a loop again and again. Thank you so much for highlighting it. We just visited it in winter and it was fun imagining it through the seasons walking, biking and skiing or snowshoeing.
You may want to update the name of it though. It is called the Claire Drew trail, not Claire “Dew”. Your photos confirm this.
Thanks for your comment! I agree about this trail. For me, this was one of those places that I thought might be fairly ordinary, but ended up being truly delightful. And I will correct the name, pronto!