QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 200 acres
- Trail Mileage: 1.4-mile loop
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: open ledge, quiet forest
A plaque on a boulder at the main trailhead for this wonderful forested walk explains that the 200-acre area behind campus was bequeathed to the University of Maine at Machias by the DeShon children in honor of their parents, Clifford and Kathleen.
From the trailhead behind the fitness and aquatics center, a 0.3-mile trail brings you to a ~0.8-mile loop over mossy forest floor and through sunlight filtered by spruce and cedar trees. Follow a 0.1-mile spur from the loop to a high, open ledge with a limited view of the town (mostly of the water tower). There’s a bench and fire pit here.
Additionally, the trail system connects to the short mown path around part of the campus pond, where the university has set up chairs and picnic tables.
Directions: There are several places to pick up the trail system. The easiest to find might be the one behind the Murdock Fitness and Aquatics Center.
