Peltoma Woods

While the trail section that follows the river a short distance is quite pleasant for walking, many of the other trails here appear to be designed for mountain biking. So walking them as they circle and sweep about in a kind of crazy way can be a bit dizzying.

Also, as far as orienting yourself and remaining undizzy, the trail blazes are only intermittent and I found that the map at the trailhead wasn’t terribly helpful (it kind of guiltily admits this, too). I recommend following the river trail and doing a loop around the perimeter of the preserve.

The land here was once the Town Farm Property, and long before that, was used by Native Americans. You can still see an ancient rock weir in the river used to trap fish. (I believe it is one the oldest known weirs in North America, more than 7,000 years old.)

There is tons of good information on the trailhead kiosk, including info about the weir, a story about Peltoma — a Native American fellow unlucky in love, who gave his name to a bend in the river known as Peltoma Point — and Moses Martin, the town’s first homesteader. You can visit the site of his home, which was a simple cabin before he built a fancier framed house in 1818. The site, accessible via a snowmobile path, is marked by a plaque that was, when I visited, being gracefully overtaken by plants.

I’ve also saved a snapshot of a Portland Press Herald article with more good info. “At Peltoma Woods, you’ll pad over soft needles beneath stately 100-year-old white pines, then along the river’s floodplain there are 16 acres of gracefully spreading silver maples; these are two of a dozen tree species found on the land,” writes Carey Kish.

Directions: From Main Street, turn onto Peltoma Ave. Drive 1.1 miles. You’ll see a small parking area on the left. Park by the trailhead kiosk, on the right of the parking area. Take a minute to read some of the wonderful info on it!