Maine by Foot

02/02/2026

Let's free the Androscoggin River and watch an ecosystem return to life!

Free the Andro is a community based coalition promoting improved fish passage into the Androscoggin watershed. Relicensing of the Brunswick dam is being revi...

05/21/2025

Thirteen years and 1,300+ trails later, we made it to Chronicle on WCVB Channel 5! The show featured the Wayne/Winthrop area — its treats and its trails!

Plan Your Adventure: Must-Visit spots in Maine’s Winthrop Lakes regionSubscribe to WCVB on YouTube now for more: http://bit.ly/1e8lAMZGet more Boston news: h...

04/23/2025

The indefatigable Sam Shirley, who has a knack for finding out-of-the-way, spectacular preserves and trails open to the public, has been sharing his finds with us! Here's one of his recent posts:

Check out how to get to this walk and what to expect.

02/03/2025

In the last few weeks, I've been doing an "audit" of sorts on Maine by Foot, going through older posts to update info, fix mistakes (some howlers, erg!), and swap out older maps with newer ones when I find them.

Along the way, I've been reading old notes and emails from site visitors over the years. I really appreciate everyone who's written in! I try to respond to every message, so if you don't hear from me, it may be the email's gone to your junk folder or something. Reach out again!

Thank you everyone for your support! I even appreciate the (slightly cranky at times) corrections 😉. I love working on this project, nutty as it, to walk every public trail in Maine that I can find — which is only possible due to the incredible work of land conservationists and trail builders.

Send a message to learn more

08/16/2024

Inviting anyone who’s interested to an outdoor talk! In Orland, Sept. 19. Bring your own chair and beverage. I’ll talk about the absurd but fun goal of trying to walk every trail in Maine, and give recommendations of some of my favorite trails around the state.

🌲Views From Great Pond Mountain: "Maine By Foot" w/Rebecca Goldfine, creator of Maine by Foot, the online trail guide showcasing Maine’s walking and hiking trails.
🗓 Thursday, September 19, 2024, 5:30 pm @ Half-Mile Field, The Wildlands | Free Event | Gate Opens 5 pm | Arrive in time to park.
Bring your own chair and beverage

08/15/2023

Thank you Heather for the kind words! We are so glad Maine by Foot helped rescue your summer.

It is beautiful out there right now. The rains are easing up a bit, the sun is out, but not too hot. It doesn’t get much better than this, folks. I hope you and yours are able to get out there and enjoy this weather before summer is nothing but a memory. At the start […]

05/28/2022

It's easy to mix up the native Eastern tent caterpillar nests (good guys) with the invasive browntail moth! Tent caterpillars are an important source of food for birds. If you're ever in doubt, try the fantastic app Seek. My friend used it the other day to ID a caterpillar nest (it was Eastern tent). The Press Herald also reports that browntail moth nests are empty at this time of year. https://www.pressherald.com/2022/05/25/conservationists-say-some-maine-residents-are-killing-the-wrong-moth/

https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app

Some nature advocates are concerned Maine residents are killing the wrong caterpillar as they seek to wipe out an invasive species that causes a rash with its toxic hairs

02/01/2022

I finally returned to Pratt's Brook Park in Yarmouth and Twin Brooks in Cumberland in the wintertime, post-blizzard, to check out the ski trails. Twin Brooks was wonderful, with smooth, recently groomed trails sweeping across the field and through the woods. Pratt's Brook hadn't yet been groomed when we visited, but it was still fun, with lots of skiers and snowshoers out and bright snow clumped on tree branches.

(I know you're not supposed to look/take pictures directly at the sun...sorry for the sun spots!)

https://mainebyfoot.com/twin-brook-recreation-area-cumberland/

https://mainebyfoot.com/pratts-brook-park-yarmouth/(

04/25/2021

Try the blue dot! If you ever want to see where you are on a trail (say you are feeling lost, or wondering how much hiking you have left) you can see your location using the Google maps I embed on Maine by Foot posts. You have to have the Google map downloaded on your phone with location services enabled.

Just bring up the Maine by Foot site on your phone and expand the Google map at the top. The blue dot will show you where you are on my trail map!

["Expand" the google map by hitting the little box on the upper right corner of the map]

03/28/2021

The crowds were out on a warmish Saturday on the smooth, wide paths at Shaw Cherry Hill Farm in Gorham. The popularity of this wonderful trail system seems to indicate a big need for more universally-accessible trails in beautiful areas!

The Shaw Brothers Family Foundation finished the trails in 2019. The 2.7 miles or so in the network are mostly flat and laid with crushed gravel (I think?). They follow a sweep of fields before making a couple of loops in the forest.

When we visited, the large parking area (big enough for 38 or so cars) was nearly filled. Older people, younger people, kids on bikes, people with strollers, dog walkers, and families with children in tow were all out. Ideally, every town would have a large park and a trail system like this so that everyone — no matter their walking ability — could get outside for a stroll through nature. https://mainebyfoot.com/shaw-cherry-hill-farm-gorham/

I am trying to compile a list of universally accessible trails in Maine. You can check that out here: https://mainebyfoot.com/wheelchair-friendly-trails/

Please let me know of more that are not on the list!

12/22/2020

If you like to X-C ski, there are lots of wonderful places to go, either for a small fee or donation, or for free! I have tried to track down as many of these trail systems as I can over the years. (I can't vouch for their grooming conditions or grooming frequency, but even non-groomed trails can be an adventure!)
https://mainebyfoot.com/places-to-x-c-ski/

Additionally, rail trails can be great places to ski—Like Sebago to the Sea (https://mainebyfoot.com/sea-to-sebago-trail/)—(especially if skiers stick to one side and snowshoers to the other) as is the lovely Kennebunk's Bridle Path, which we just revisited. https://mainebyfoot.com/bridle-path-kennebunk/

11/08/2020

I run a trail guide website because I love walking in the woods (and a few other habitats), but I don't always know how to fix website problems! So, the site is down right now because of a plugin incompatibility but I'm working on it and hope it will be resurrected soon! :)