Surry Hill Community Forest, Fayette

Mountain bike trails in green; walking path in blue.

My point-and-shoot camera was out of batteries when I summited this open 600-foot hill on a brilliant afternoon in late fall. Too bad! The views are great for a little hill — you can see all the way to the White Mountains 63 miles away, as well as over lakes both north and south.

By December, 2021, there were three winding mountain bike trails posted with little pink flags, and one walking trail up a wide, easy track. The walking path (in blue on my map) is 0.8 miles one way. It curves around the south side of the hill before ending at the top of the open summit. It looks like the preserve is still a work in progress; the trails, while easy to follow, hadn’t been blazed or signed yet.

More information here from the Kennebec Land Trust.

Note: The parking lot is plowed in the winter, but the land trust asks that you avoid parking in the turnaround during snowstorms.

Directions: Turn south on the Tom Surrey Road from Route 17 (labeled Tom Surret on Google maps, or even Pine Needle Alley), opposite the Fayette Central School. Parking is at the end of the maintained road. I estimate there’s room for five or six cars in the small parking area on the right.