QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: Not sure, private property
- Trail Mileage: ~1.4-mile there-and-back
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Sights: Sheepscot River, fields
This is a happy-inducing trail. It starts behind the recycling center and skirts a ball field before turning a sharp right into some beautiful fields. Eventually the path enters a forest and, in a short while, comes out along the banks of a quiet stretch of the Sheepscot River.
The original loop was roughly two miles. But the trail has been truncated, and now ends at 1.4 miles, at which point walkers must return the same way they came. Thankfully, you can still walk along a fair way alongside the river. A couple of benches have been set up overlooking the water. The trail was very well cared for when I visited in September 2017 and in February 2021 — well blazed and easy to follow.
Directions: From Route 126, turn onto Townhouse Road in Whitefield. The recycling center is just about 900 feet beyond, on your right, down Balltown Lane. The trailhead kiosk will be a bit beyond the bins.
This trail no longer makes a loop – there’s a sign directing hikers to turn around where the trail used to turn up from the river. The Amish community that started to move to Whitefield in 2017 now has the area past that fenced off (even if the old trail markers are still visible beyond the fence, along with some white horses).
Be aware that the map at the trailhead hasn’t been updated as of Feb 2021. Still a beautiful trail!
Thank you for the trail update! I’m sure it it still beautiful. Reminds me that I’d like to return soon.