QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: N/A
- Trail Mileage: ~2 miles from pt to pt
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: Meadow, woods, adoptable dogs possibly!
If you’re okay with walking a short section along a sidewalk, you can make your way from the Westbrook Riverbank Park Trail to the Blue Spruce Trail system, a distance of roughly 2 miles.
Some of the trails, especially near the Animal Refuge League, are quite bucolic. They’re wide, and pass through shaded woods and low-growth brushy areas. You need to take care walking close to the animal shelter, though, since the trails are in frequent use by volunteers walking the shelter’s dogs, a few of which are still being socialized.
Other sections of the trail system are a little rougher, especially the short section linking the Westbrook dog park and skate park (picked up near Hannaford) to Stroudwater Street, and the longer section between the middle school and Spring Street. This latter trail crosses a large meadow (a former golf course), and it is hard to see the unmarked entrance (or exit) on Spring Street. Another difficult spot was the point where the path emerges from the woods onto the meadow. If you’re coming from the school, take a hard right at this juncture, away from the river, to find the footpath that follows the southern edge of the field.
Directions: You can park and pick up the trail at the Westbrook Dog Park/Skate Park, just off to the side of the Hannaford grocery store on William Clarke Drive. You will have to walk a short stretch along Stroudwater Street to find the high school trails. You can also easily park at either Westbrook High School or Middle School — although probably best to avoid school hours. Additionally, there is room for one car at the trailhead on Landing Road.
