Viking and Riverside Trail

On this trail you will walk along beautiful stretches of the Little Androscoggin River and an extended boardwalk that gives you elevated views, through trees, of the river below where it meanders around a sandy plain.

In addition, the trail offers a couple other interesting features: a narrow trail by a railroad yard and a paved trail around the middle school’s playing fields. On the downside, sometimes you can catch a whiff of the water treatment center (Paris Utility District), which the trail passes. The elevated boardwalk is located where the train tracks cross the river, just past the Paris Utility District.

The trail links the high school with the middle school, and extends all the way to the parking lot of a church on East Main Street. From one end to the other, if you take the shortest distance, it’s about 1.5 miles. The walk in its entirety is about 3.5 miles if you explore all the meanderings of the trail, which is recommended! These include a few places where you can descend the bank for views up and down the river.

If you start at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, you’ll see a sign for the Riverside Trail set into the woods at the northwest corner of the parking lot, close to the electric chargers. Walk down the short hill, and the trail splits into a loop. (I believe the trail to the right is the Viking Trail, and the trail on the left is the Riverside Trail.) You’ll find a boardwalk that crosses the hollow between the two trails close to this trailhead. If you explore the boardwalk, just take care on the steep access path from the Riverside Trail side.

You’ll find that the Riverside Trail is an easy, well-made, smooth path while the Viking Trail is a regular walking trail. But it’s still easy, plus it offers the beauty of the river, with floodplain glades and water views.

Directions: You’ll see a kiosk for the trailhead from the parking lot of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. You can also start at the the Oxford Hills Middle School. The high school is off Route 26, across the street from Paris Farmers Union. Coming from South Paris it is 1.1 miles from the junction of Routes 117/26, and from Norway it is a little less than a half mile from Route 118. The middle school is off Pine Street.