Clarry Hill Preserve

Blueberry fields create stunning views. Their colors of red, purple, fawn and deep brown are beautiful in the fall. In the winter, when they’re covered with snow, they’re bleakly alluring when the sky is overcast, or they glitter icily when the sun is out. The Midcoast Conservancy says its preserve provides significant habitat for two rare grassland birds, the upland sandpiper and the vesper sparrow. From the top of the highest point at 643 feet, you can see the Camden Hills to the east, as well as the White Mountains.

The trail marked on the map makes its way, rather steeply, down to Storer Pond, which the trust describes as an undeveloped 869-acre headwater pond of the Medomak River. It’s 1.25-miles one way, beginning in a blueberry barren along the Elmer Hart dirt road. The way is well marked with blue flags, some of which are on two- to three-foot-high stakes to show the way in high snowdrifts. The path seems to mostly follow stone walls and faint old roads in the field.

These are productive blueberry fields and the land trust asks that hikers stick to the trails to avoid damaging plants, and to keep dogs on leash. The trail may be closed at certain times of the year to protect the barrens and prevent interference with the harvest.

Directions: The address is 530 Elmer Hart Ln, Union. From Route 1, take Route 235 5.2 miles and turn left onto Clarry Hill Road. After 1 mile, bear left to stay on Clarry Hill Road. After 0.5 miles, turn right to stay on Clarry Hill Road. In 0.8 miles, turn left onto Elmer Hart Road. Follow the stone road, which veers to the right after 100 feet or so, to the trail head sign on the left. The land trust asks that visitors park in the designated lot next to the kiosk at Clarry Hill, not on Elmer Hart Lane.