Payeur, Town Forest, and Kirkpatrick Preserves

In the Payeur Preserve, you can follow an easy one-mile loop — perhaps a good place for dog owners to take their pup after they or their dog get tired of playing. The forest is filled with stone walls and vernal pools, and plays an important part in protecting the Ogunquit watershed.

You can also go for a longer walk — and check out more vernal pools and stone walls — in the adjoining Ogunquit Town Forest. But when I explored here in the spring of 2025, I found the trail wasn’t well marked or well trafficked and I wasn’t able to close the ~1.2-mile loop that you can see on the map. But the old stone wall you encounter (on the east leg of the loop) is one of the largest I’ve ever seen, both in height and length (though I didn’t follow it to its end). The other leg, on the west side, brings you to a large vernal pool

Directions: The trailhead is accessed from the Ogunquit Dog Park, next to the Transfer Station off Berwick Road. Additionally, there is a small place to park in the road shoulder at the end of Meadow Lane with enough room for three or four cars.