Mill Brook Preserve

This trail includes six delightful miles along the Mill Brook — a mostly wide, shallow, and rock strewn little river. There are four trailheads with parking. The riverside path does go up and down quite a bit, and there are a few scrambles up steep sections.

This waterway is important for the alewives, a kind of river herring, which each year, in late May to early June, make an arduous migration from the ocean in Casco Bay to Highland Lake to their freshwater spawning ground. If you can, try to catch the impressive — and heart-wrenching — sight of the fish swimming upriver! It is pure struggle. The Presumpscot Regional Land Trust’s maps indicate the best places for viewing and ropes these places off to protect the fish and prevent bank erosion.

If you prefer loop trails, you can make a 2.4-mile loop at the southern end of the preserve, which is also a recommended route for fish viewing pools. This area avoids the steepest parts of the trail system.

Additionally, close to the Willow Drive trailhead, you can do a few smaller loops (with a couple steep hills) that include cascading streams (it feels at time like you’re in a landscape of waterways that create a sonic wonder world!), charming landmark signs, and an overlook (mostly of power lines).

The land trust map marks the trails as moderate and difficult (as well as the route for prime alewife viewing in season). The difficult ones can be very steep! But you can plan your walk to mostly avoid these sections. 

History lesson! After being stymied by dams and pollution for more than 250 years, the alewives are once again swimming up Mill Brook to make their annual 11-mile journey from Casco Bay up the Presumpscot River to Highland Lake. The fish usually time their migration for late May and early June. The adults usually spend about two weeks in the lake to spawn before returning to the sea. Juveniles follow later in the summer. Alewives can live up to 10 years, so some will make this perilous yearly migration four or five times.

Before European settlers began to dam the rivers in Maine for power, 10 fish species migrated annually along the Casco Bay-Presumpscot River-Mill Brook route. It must have been a magnificent sight! The removal of the Smelt Hill Dam at the mouth of the Presumpscot River at the turn of the 21st century, replacement of culverts, and construction of a fish ladder at the Highland Lake dam have helped lure the fish back to their traditional waterway.

Directions: There are four places to start your walk and leave your car. The primary one, with the biggest lot, is the northern trailhead, at the intersection of Methodist Road and Route 302, with spots for eight cars. Another small lot is off Methodist Road, on Allen Knight Road. From here, you’ll walk down a bank on a mown trail. Follow this until you see a trail sign. You can also park on the roadsides of Willow Drive and cross Route 302 to reach the trail. You can also start your walk from next to 55 Perry Court road, where there’s a small lot and you can also park on the roadside.