Posted on June 6, 2022 and last updated on June 10, 2022

Keyes Woods Preserve, Bristol

QUICK TRAIL FACTS

  • Preserve Size: 70 acres
  • Trail Mileage: ~1.8 miles in network
  • Pets: no
  • Difficulty: easy to moderate
  • Sights: Pemaquid River, stone walls and foundations

My map is a bit screwy because we heard a lot of warblers singing in treetops, requiring a lot of starts and stops. This is a mostly wooded preserve, protected by Coastal Rivers Conservation trust, although the entrance trail abuts a meadow and reaches a small grassy area before splitting into a loop. The view highlights are down by the marshy Pemaquid River, where, on the day we visited, we saw a family of Canada geese. You can climb onto an erratic to get a better look of the waterscape through the trees.

Directions: From Damariscotta downtown, follow Bristol Road (Route 129 to Route 130) south toward Pemaquid for 4.8 miles. Turn left onto Poor Farm Road. The trailhead is located 1 mile down Poor Farm Road, on the right. When we visited in June, 2022, there was just a small open area in front of a gate at the trailhead. Walk past the gate and down the old woods road — you’ll eventually reach a clearing and will see the blue blazes marking the loop trails in the woods.

Let me know if you have any trail updates or corrections!