Libby Hill Forest and Thayer Brook Preserve

Ski trails are blue, walking trails are green 

What an amazing place! Here you can x-c ski on about four miles of groomed trails, or snowshoe on another four or so miles in what feels like fairly rugged wilderness. You can hike or walk the rest of the year. All together, Libby Hill has roughly eight miles of trails. The creation of this center was an inspired community effort. You can read more about it on the Libby Hill website. The wooded trails are well-marked, with maps at every junction.

Libby Hill is adjacent to the 147-acre Thayer Brook Preserve, a Royal River Conservation Trust property. You can pick up the trailhead on Ramsdell Road and follow either the Mill Trail — a yellow-blazed snowmobile track along a rutted and stony snowmobile track through a forest recovering from harvesting — or the narrower, windier, rolling Ridge Runner Trail (blazed blue). As you head north on the trail system, you’ll reach the edges of an impressive beaver marsh in about 0.6 miles. You can head around the wetland on its west or east sides. If you head left, on the Outback Trail, you’ll have a great view of a beaver lodge (I marked a good viewing spot on my map with a red icon), and there’s also a bench at a marsh overlook a bit farther on. If you turn right, you can follow the Far Side Trail to another bench with a look over the marsh, at the old mill site. You can see stones from the old mill tumbled into Thayer Brook.

Dogs are not allowed on groomed trails in the winter.

Directions: Park on Libby Hill Rd., across from Gray-New Gloucester Middle School. You’ll see a big trailhead kiosk. A trail starts across the street from the parking lot. There is a snowmobile trail on the same side as the parking lot — don’t go down that! Unless you want to, but it’s not part of the Libby Hill trail network. You can also pick up the trail system on Ramsdell Road. The parking area is between Bud’s Lane and Hat Trick Drive.