QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 98 acres
- Trail Mileage: 1.6 miles in network
- Pets: no
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: coastal fog forest, moss-covered boulders
Come here for the quiet and for a walk through a forest blanketed in moss. If you begin at the trailhead off Whitman Road, the trail quickly leads over massive boulders covered in moss and lichen — vividly green in midwinter. From one end of this 98-acre preserve to the other is roughly 1 mile.
The Nature Conservancy describes this 98-acre forest as a “coastal fog forest,” shaped by cool, moist air. The preserve was donated by designer and painter Emily Muir in 1975. Here is a self-guided tour.
Directions: From Route 1, take Route 15 down the Deer Isle peninsula. About three miles past the Sunset Post Office, turn right on Whitman Road. Turn right onto Fire Lane 88. The preserve entrance is marked by a small sign. Note: When I visited in the winter of 2019, the road to this parking lot was gated, so I parked in the smaller lot off Barbour Farm Road.
