Clifford Park

Clifford Park trails in yellow, trails beyond the park’s boundaries in green; Blandings Preserve trails in blue.

This large park near downtown Biddeford, with more than 140 acres, was dedicated in 1896, after the Clifford family donated land to the city. Its trail system — a combo of wide and narrow trails — can be confusing! If you stick with the official trails, marked with little color-coded metallic markers, you’ll be fine. I tried to do this on my map.

The park was once the site of a granite quarry, and today it’s monumentally fun to explore because there are many interesting rock formations, ledges, a few scramble-able cliffs, and pools. The red trail takes you to a small waterfall and up a sparkly stream with mossy banks.

One feature to look out for is a set of granite stairs off the Black Trail. They once led up to a bandstand that hosted outdoor concerts and shows from the 1800s to the 1950s.

You can also make your way outside the park’s boundaries to a series of nice forested trails that eventually connect to Blandings Park. The highlights of this network are beautiful stream-side trails along West Brook (which I’ve marked in light green) and more interesting rocks. Over near Blandings Park, you can explore the remnants of another bygone quarry.

Directions: The parking lot, 130 Pool Street, is off Route 9, across from George Street and Parent Ave.

Check out more info and photos from Clifford Park at Carefree Creative, a Maine-based web company that has helped us with our website!