Boothbay Region Land Trust is an organization that provides free public access to the nature preserves and has over 30 miles of hiking trails! According to their website, they offer over 100 free educational events annually! They have a visitor center at Oak Point Farm where you can learn more about the trails, get maps, purchase some swag and sign up for their programs!
I parked at the West Preserve entrance off of the Dover Cross road and Brock and I walked the entire shoreline trail. So you start out with a double marked trail, (blue and white) and then we split left and stayed on white blazes for our entire hike. This preserve is very well marked and the kiosks at both parking lots have nice maps (snap a photo) as well as hard copies you can put in your pack with you. (The blue trail will bring you back to the parking area down the center of the preserve and may cut off some time if you are cutting it close).
There is a beautiful bridge with a great view that connects both the east and west preserve. This was probably my favorite part of the hike. My second favorite was the bench and chair set up at one of the lookout points. Would be a great spot to stop for a snack as we did and take in the beauty of the river! There are dogs who reside at the East Preserve who I am told are very friendly and quite the attraction for that side. Unfortunately, we did not get to meet them during our time at the preserve.
The full shore line loop, doing both the west and east sections were about 3.7 miles total. Not a lot of elevation gain yet enough to see to keep your interest in the trail. I highly recommend checking out this really nice trail no matter what time of year it is!
About 6 miles (15 minutes away from either trailhead for the Oven's Mouth Preserve is Footbridge Brewery. The brewery is part of the Maine Beer trail and close to the trailhead, so I decided to try it out!
Highly recommend this brewery! The staff is so fun and attentive. The beers and food are great! Their prices are also incredibly reasonable! Highly recommend getting their pretzel and dipping it in their house made beer cheese. I would then pair it with their 'Oven's Mouth' Pale Ale that they brew with jalapeño and habanero peppers! I also had their "Why So Blue" Blonde ale made with Maine blueberries which was very good!
Overall, this area may be out of the way for some but it is worth the visit in my opinion! The views are great and from what I can tell, it isn't as crowded as some of the other touristy towns. Grab a beer and some food as a reward when you are done with the trails! The locals will even fill you in on a couple of different spots to go to while you are at the brewery!
Happy Hiking!
-Amanda & Brock
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