Whitney Brook and Canton Rail Trails

Whitney Brook Trail in blue; Canton Rail Trail in orange.

Whitney Brook Trail, maintained by the town, is a pleasant trail system that lies between the brook and School Street (Route 140). From the parking area (off of School Street) to the little Canton Heritage Park, it’s roughly 1.2 miles. The walking is flat and easy throughout.

While stream sightings aren’t as frequent as you might expect, the forests that grow along the stream and its floodplain are beautiful. The trail is well marked and well tended, with some mowed stretches. At one point, as you cross Bog Brook, you must walk a short way along School Street before rejoining the trail.

The southern end of the trail starts at a little park that is dotted with beautiful old granite benches. At one end of the park is a gazebo and at the other, an enormous Adirondack chair, made for Paul Bunyon. From the parking area, large blue footprints painted on the asphalt indicate where to go to find the Whitney Brook Trail. You’ll follow these prints a short way on a discontinued paved road before the path bends left, into the brush.

The town created the park after a severe flood in 2003. With federal money, the town bought up homes within the floodplain, razed them, and turned the area into a park and trail. It used some of granite foundation slabs from the houses to make the beautiful benches at the heritage park.

Canton Rail Trail, by Sam Shirley:  This state-owned rail trail leads north from downtown Canton along the old route of the Rumford Falls and Buckfield Railroad, which eventually became part of the Maine Central Railroad before being abandoned. The 1.7-mile trail is completely flat with surfaces ranging from dirt to gravel to sand. The northern part of the trail is wooded and ends close to CSX’s active Rumford Branch tracks, while the southern part passes by farm fields and houses. While it is a very easy trail to walk and bike on, trail users should be mindful of motorized vehicle traffic, especially on weekends. A nice loop can be made by joining the rail trail and the Whitney Brook Trail.

 Directions: For the brook trail and rail trail, you can park at the large Canton Park & Ride lot. This parking lot is marked by a large sign 0.9 mile north of the flashing light in the center of Canton. You’ll find the trailhead for the Whitney Brook trail on the other side of the street. Alternatively, limited parking is available at a small town park (Canton Heritage Park) at the trail’s southern end, where a discontinued road dead ends right before the bridge over the brook.