QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: >313 acres
- Trail Mileage: ~6 miles in network
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Sights: Pond Cove, streams, forest, fields, ponds
Robinson Woods and Stonegate trails in blue, Fort Williams trails in red.
I am combining three protected areas into one map because their trails link up, creating the possibility of a walk of several miles through forest, around enchanting meadows and lily-padded ponds, and along dramatic seaside cliffs, if you include the Fort Williams park.
I’m not going to add “quiet” walk to my description of Robinson Woods, because the the preserve’s trail network — at least on the days I visited — was filled with people, relatively speaking of course, with joggers, kids on bikes, and dog walkers. The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust has an online map of the area, and there are occasional maps at trail intersections.
The land trust says some of the white pines, red oaks, and hemlocks in the forest are three centuries old. The forest floor along the aptly named Wildflower Trail, in the forest, was covered in buds on the verge of blooming when I visited in mid May. Beyond the woods, about 12 acres of fields, 5 acres of ponds, and 20 acres of wetland habitat have been protected, according to the land trust.
If you begin at the main trailhead off Shore Road, by the stone pillars, you’ll see the start of a roughly
0.3-mile accessible dirt road—it reminded me of Acadia’s carriage roads. It starts off next to the fields and then wanders up past a home to the end of Belfield Road. The paths that head southwest away from Shore Road, through the meadows, tended to be flat and easy, while the paths through the woods were a bit more twisty, with roots and rocks.
You can also check out the stony beach across Shore Road where a two-acre section of shoreline is protected.
Directions: You can access this trail system at a number of different spots. The best place to park is in the parking lot on Shore Road. If you’re coming from the south, it’s on the left, after Olde Colony Lane and across the street from Lawson Road. If you’re coming from the north, the lot is about a half mile down the road from Fort Williams park on your right.
