Greely Woods, Cumberland

The lucky people who live adjacent to this 40-acre municipal forest and well-marked trail system have a wild and beautiful backyard. Several of the trail legs lead from one small housing development to the next. Because the land here seems to be more like a neighborhood park than a preserve, there aren’t many parking spots. I’ve marked the area off the Greely Road Extension where there is a small pull-over area for about three cars. It was plowed when we visited in January. The red trail off Lockwood Lane is the most convenient place for walkers to access the trail system from town, and there is also some space for parking along the lane.

If you want to continue your walk beyond the woods, you can cross Blanchard Road to walk the Waterfall Trail into Rines Forest (and beyond that into Hadlock Forest, Blackstrap Forest, etc.) Here’s my map of the local interconnected trail system.

The trails are all color coded, with blazes frequently posted. But there is no map at the trailhead or at any intersections, so I’ve tried to replicate the color-coded trail system in my Google map. A quick note: The yellow trail ends at a swamp, a deer wintering easement.

The blue trail, which extends the length of the forest from Greely Road Extension to Blanchard Road, is 1.1 miles. I recommend, if you want to do a loop, to start on the blue trail from Greely Road Ext., following a narrow curvy stream. At the first intersection, jump onto the green trail, which loops around a small pond. You can return via the blue trail. I’m estimating that this walk is a little under 1 mile.

Directions: From the intersection with Route 9, go .5 miles on Greely Road Extension toward Knight’s Pond Preserve. The town forest is marked with a sign, and there is a small area to pull over a car on the side of the road.