Ocean Ave. Recreation Area and Quarry Run Dog Park, Portland

Old City Landfill trails in blue; Pleasant Hill Wood trails in green.

This is a dog and dog lover paradise. Adjacent to the park that now encompasses the old city landfill is a large fenced-in area—at least two or three acres—with trails, wildflowers, nooks and crannies, and a big open play space for dogs to run around off-leash. (I’ve marked this area in red on my map.)

The many miles of trails around the old landfill (I calculated approximately seven miles!) that weave in and around the fragmented forest surrounding neighborhood developments are quite nice as well. The landfill is now the site of a solar farm.

The only problem with this place is there are no great maps available and the trails could be better marked—so keep your wits about you. Thankfully, these trails are popular enough that they appear on Strava and AllTrails. That’s your best source to avoid getting lost, although my sense here is that neighbors (and their dogs) are very familiar with these trails.

Some of the trails are wheelchair accessible. A good accessible loop leads from the main parking area off Route 9 around the old city landfill.

The trails known as Virginia Woods, between Maine Avenue and Marlborough Road, are also easy, wide, and flat.

My map above includes Ledges Preserve, which is protected by the Falmouth Land Trust and connected to the landfill trail system via a trail on the power lines. From Ledges, it is easy to make your way to Pleasant Hill Woods Preserve along the quiet streets.

Directions:  The best place to park is at the official entrance, where Presumpscot Street and Ocean Avenue meet. While there are access trails throughout the park, none of them provide superb parking, although you can probably find a space to pullover on the various side streets.