QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 14 acres
- Trail Mileage: 0.5 mile
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: Androscoggin Lake, large pitch pines
By Sam Shirley
Perkins Woods, a Kennebec Land Trust preserve on the west shore of Androscoggin Lake, offers a unique hike because it can only be accessed by water (or ice, when the lake freezes over). Although relatively common in Maine, hikes like this are rare in other areas.
We put our canoe in at the state boat launch on Route 133 at the northern tip of the lake. It was an easy paddle of under a mile to the landing at the trailhead in a little cove. The landing would also be the perfect place to go for a swim! Also of note is a stand of pitch pines just north of the landing, which are some of the largest I’ve ever seen.
The hike itself, along the the Cathedral Woods Trail, is quite short. The loop trail is under a half mile long and circles through a beautiful older-growth white pine and hemlock forest. Some of the “legacy” trees — which besides hemlock and pine include red oak and white ash — are more than 150 years. This forest has some impressively large trees and very little undergrowth. The land trust describes the forest as having “a cathedral-like open structure.” The trail seems to be very lightly used, but was well blazed and maintained.
After hiking the loop, we spent some time on the shore before paddling back. This outing offers a great combo of paddling and short hike; I highly recommend checking it out!
Directions: (From the land trust) Access to KLT’s Perkins Woods Preserve is by watercraft in the summer. In the winter, hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing are possible when the frozen lake can be safely crossed. Begin at the Maine state boat launch on Route 133 in Wayne and paddle south toward the undeveloped western shoreline just north of the Androscoggin Boys Camp. A white KLT sign marks a small landing area on the southern shore. The sign-in box and trailhead are a short distance uphill from the shoreline.
