QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 23 acres
- Trail Mileage: ~3 miles one way
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: old railway, Skillings River
One of the most scenic parts of this trail, on the discontinued Maine Shore Line Railroad, is the first mile to the Eagle Scout bridge (if you’re beginning at the east entrance). As you walk along the narrow causeway, you have expansive views to the left and right of beautiful Old Pond, a tidal cove. Beyond the bridge, the trail continues through forest.
The old rail bed still contains many disintegrating wooden railroad ties, making for excruciating and bumpy biking. It is better walked! In addition, on the west entrance of the one-way path, you have a fairly steep descent to the old rail bed.
According to the Crabtree Neck Land Trust, which stewards the preserve, the railroad was built by Maine Central Railroad in the 1880s to carry visitors from places like New York City and Philadelphia to Hancock, “where they boarded ferries to reach the famous Gilded Age summer resorts on Mount Desert Island.”
Directions: The eastern access is on Point Road in Hancock, across the road from the Hancock Town Hall. The western access is off Old Route One. Both have parking areas.
