Hersey Point Preserve, Pembroke

This Nature Conservancy trail was in not-so-great shape when I visited in August, 2016. It felt abandoned and unloved! Quite tricky footing in places and very overgrown. However, if you do manage to sort of bushwhack through the grass and clamber over fallen trees, you’ll come to a lovely rocky overlook and some pretty views. The total walk is about 1.2 miles.

As you make your way to the loop at the end end of the spit of land, the trail makes a sharp right close to the loop. There are blazes straight ahead, too, but don’t go down here — it’s a dead end, at least for now. Maybe one day the trail will be clearer? When I visited, a map had been posted at this junction.

Be careful not to miss the trailhead from the road — it’s very easy to do that. If you’re driving along Hersey Road and you get to Garnet Head Road, you’ve gone too far. The trailhead is at a sharp corner in Hersey Road, and is marked by a very small sign.

Directions: From Route 1 in Pembroke, turn east onto Front Street and go approximately 1.1 miles north of the US Route 1 and ME Route 214 intersection. Go .5 miles until Front Street ends at Old County Road and turn left on Old County Road. In .1 mile turn left onto Hersey Road and continue on Hersey Road 1 mile to a sharp left-hand bend from where the trail leaves just to the left of a private driveway. Parking is on the shoulder of the road.