Mud Pond Nature Reserve, Windham

Deer Hollow/Mud Pond trails in blue; Chaffin Pond Preserve trails in green; snowmobile trail in yellow

This is a town preserve, with easy, flat trails that circle Mud Pond and take walkers to a small observation deck overlooking the pond. You can also walk from here to Donnabeth Lippman Park. These preserves are close to some snowmobile trails, so I imagine you can do quite a bit of walking back here.

I revisited Mud Pond in 2022, and the trails are well marked and maintained. The preserve has a small parking lot from which you can do a little loop, blazed with yellow markers, around the pond and between two ponds via a charming boardwalk. Or you can extend your walk by heading over to the nearby park. This is a pleasant, watery landscape to explore.

Directions: At the traffic light on US 302 (1.2 miles north of their intersection with ME 115 in Windham), turn onto Angler Road, a dirt road, and follow it just under a half mile. Veer right onto Woodland Road and stay straight. This becomes Mount Hunger Shore Road. In 0.4 miles, you’ll see a parking area and trailhead on the right. A painted sign says Mud Pond Nature Preserve.