QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 81 acres
- Trail Mileage: ~2.4 miles
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Sights: Shorey Brook, old forest
At Goodwin Forest, you can do two loops through the woods and to the wetland area of Shorey’s Brook. The shorter loop is about 1.3 miles, or you can tack on an additional 1.1-mile leg that’s more strenuous but goes through old-growth Red Oak and Hemlock forest.
The trail begins down a straight, wide, and easy 0.4-mile established forested track (or “Old Johnson Lane”) to a ~0.5-mile loop. The loop is a little less easy, but brings you to a marshy stream and the interesting plant life there.
If you want to explore the old forest up on the hill, take a right across the brook and get ready for a breathy climb! The land trust has built some helpful switchbacks to ease the strain. The forested loop itself is 0.7 miles, and the leg to it is 0.2 miles, according to my GPS, which always posts slightly longer distances than the official numbers. (See map below for the land trust distances.)
Directions: The address is 870 Goodwin Road, or Route 101, in Eliot. The parking lot probably is large enough for four cars.
