Hiking in Maine

Peltoma Woods is located in Pittsfield, on the Town Farm Property along the banks of the Sebasticook River. On a mid-May morning, I took the easy Outside Loop Trail counterclockwise from the trailhead kiosk, located at the DriftBusters Snowmobile Club on Peltoma Avenue. A sign on the kiosk (which has a trail map and other info) warned of vernal pools and wet areas, which proved quickly true, with much rerouting needed around dark pools, their surfaces cloudy with pollen and amphibian eggs. For a much deeper dive, including other nearby hikes and refreshments, check out this Press Herald article regarding Pittsfield.

The trails themselves were wide and sunlit, covered with soft pine needles. No people were on them, but I heard the trilling of a pine warbler, as well as the calls of a northern flicker and black-capped chickadee. The trail parallels Peltoma Avenue, a fairly busy road, but it is green and peaceful enough in the forest that you quickly forget where you are until a truck passes by. The loop trail pivots back toward the river at a recycling center, shortly after crossing the Peltoma Woods Trail, which looked green, wide and inviting.

I flipped around to continue on the Outside Loop Trail. Close to the river, there was a wide, swampy area where the banks had overflowed with the recent hard rains, and then the wide, peaceful Sebasticook. As I continued the turn on the loop to head back to the start, I skirted the trail into the woods several time, due to deep water across portions of the trail. This loop of 1.4 miles or so took less than half an hour, and is a great break from work or a Portland to Bangor drive, not that far from I-95.