QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 250 acres
- Trail Mileage: ~2.1 miles in network
- Pets: no
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: Somes Pond, wetland
The pond that lies at the heart of this quiet wildlife sanctuary, Somes Pond, is almost completely undeveloped. I saw just two structures on it. The solitude comes from the 250 acres around the pond protected from development “through the foresight of Virginia Somes Sanderson,” who donated the land and founded the sanctuary.
There are two places to walk around the pond. The longer of the two trails is accessible from the Wildlife Sanctuary headquarters, off Pretty Marsh Road, or from the fire station, at 1157 Main Street. It lets you wander close to the shore of the pond. The loop between the fire station and the headquarters is about 1.4 miles.
On the other side of the pond, you can make a shorter loop, about 0.6 miles, that brings you to some ledge sloping down into the water and along a wetland.
Directions: The longer of the two trails is accessible from the Wildlife Sanctuary headquarters, off Pretty Marsh Road, or from the fire station, at 1157 Main Street. The other trail system is off Oak Hill Road, about 0.9 miles from the intersection with Route 102.
