Ovens Mouth East and West Preserve, Boothbay

This is a real beauty! And quite popular because of it. The colors of the rivers here (Back and Cross rivers) and their small tributaries  are astonishing — some an opaque minty green or bewitching mossy green, others fresh and blue. You can walk along the rivers (stopping to sit on one of the benches), and traipse along a wetland where the stream’s loops look like a modern rug pattern. There are two parking lots, so you can do just one of the two loops or do them both, a roughly 3-mile walk. The BRLT maintains this land and offers some history of this unique place.

For those with bad hips and knees, I recommend hiking on the interior trails to reach the water. While these are not completely easy or obstacle free, they are easier than the shore trails, which have some steep ups and downs, and quite a few exposed roots. The easiest trail, with the greatest reward!, is on the east side of the preserve, or Ovens Mouth East. From the parking lot, if you take the .4-mile trail that cuts straight through the interior section of the peninsula, you’ll reach a fantastic spot on the river, with a bench on exposed ledge. 

Directions for Ovens Mouth East: From the monument at Boothbay Center, travel north on Route 27 for 1.6 miles. Take a left onto Adams Pond Road. Proceed .1 miles. Turn right onto Dover Road. Continue 2.4 miles to the dead end. Parking is on the left. Directions for Ovens Mouth West: See Ovens Mouth East but go only 1.9 miles on Dover Road and bear left onto Dover Cross Road. The parking lot is 0.2 mile on the right.