Land Trust Spotlight #2: Maine Coast Heritage Trust
We’re thrilled to continue our land trust spotlight series with Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT). This article, written by Michelle Hennessey at MCHT in collaboration with the stewards of the properties mentioned below, highlights just a few of their 165 preserves (😮) open to the public. To learn more about the roles of land trusts in Maine, check out the first article in our series. There’s also an excerpt if you scroll down to the bottom of this page. From the bottom of our hearts here at Maine Hikes, thank you MCHT — for all you do to make hiking in Maine accessible, available, and preserved for the future.
Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) is a leading conservation organization in Maine, protecting and caring for Maine’s lands and waters to ensure ecological wellbeing and foster thriving communities. Since 1970, the organization has worked to balance the needs of people, plants, animals, and ecosystems while mitigating the effects of climate change on Maine’s iconic coastline. MCHT has helped conserve over 190,000 acres and 339 islands, including over 160 places open to the public offering over 100 miles of hiking trails.
The organization collaborates with landowners, communities, organizations, Tribal entities, and others to meet the challenges Maine faces. These collective efforts grow the conservation movement to protect natural areas from overdevelopment, improve public access to lands and waters, and mobilize a network of more than 80 land trusts to address pressing threats through action and advocacy.
This place called Maine is unlike any other in the world. Together with partners, MCHT is working to ensure that the lands and waters that make Maine so special are held sacred, remain a source of connection, and support all life for generations to come. Join MCHT in protecting Maine’s lands and waters, and empowering communities to save the places that make people’s lives better.
Check out these three unique walking trails on MCHT preserves!
1. Cousins River Fields & Marsh
This highly visible preserve is comprised of a tidal wetland and 25-acre field that is home to one of Maine’s most prominent active marsh protection projects. The beautiful, varied landscape with fertile soils and abundant wildlife viewing opportunities features family-friendly paths leading to picnic spots and scenic marsh vistas.
Image by David Kitchen
Town: Yarmouth
Property Size: 81 acres
Approx. Trail Length: 1.2 mile-network (See the trail map)
Trail Highlights: Explore the trail network’s short loops and spurs, while visiting the preserve’s meadows, forests, and marsh habitats. These hardened, comfortable trails are rock- and root-free with many picnic tables and benches along the way. We're currently fundraising to expand the trail system and create a more accessible outdoor experience. You can learn more here.
2. Erickson Fields
This former dairy farm is an important community resource where food is grown for local schools and hunger relief organizations. It also hosts many programs, nature walks, and workshops that foster an appreciation for the environment and sustainable food production.
Image courtesy of MCHT
Town: Rockport
Property Size: 164 acres
Approx. Trail Length: 1.4 miles (See the trail map)
Trail Highlights: Enjoy the loops through field and forest on this family- and dog (on leash)-friendly trail. Beautiful artwork by Wabanaki artist Norma Randi Marshall adorns the archway to the trails and a four-acre vegetable farm managed by local teenagers. This trail also includes a one-mile connector to Coastal Mountain Land Trust’s Beech Hill Preserve, featuring gorgeous views of Penobscot Bay, Camden Hills, and the St. George Peninsula.
3. Long Point
With a rich history, this scenic point boasts incredible natural beauty with sweeping views to the islands of outer Machias Bay. Beaches and inlets are rich in shellfish, fish habitat, and feeding birds, and archaeological sites tell stories of thousands of years of Wabanaki relationship with this land.
Town: Machiasport
Property Size: 180 acres
Approx. Trail Length: 3.4 miles (Out & Back - see trail map here)
Trail Highlights: Lace up your hiking boots for a picturesque excursion that loops around the peninsula past an old walled field, clam flats, and beautiful cobbled beaches, with exquisite vistas along the way. Be ready with binoculars to spot seals, bald eagles, osprey, or the next songbird singing in the surrounding forest or shorebird feeding in adjacent mudflats.
Images courtesy of MCHT
About Land Trusts in Maine
Land trusts have worked tirelessly to conserve 12% of Maine’s total land, which is double the size of state parks, national parks, and national forests combined. There are 84 land trusts in Maine. While that number continually evolves, a couple of things stay the same:
Most of the permanent conservation of these lands is made possible by generous private landowners, who selflessly entrust their beloved family land to these trusts for conservation, environmental education, and community benefits.
Members and volunteers are the driving force behind land trusts, from creating and maintaining hiking trails, to environmental research, to nature-based community programs. Their efforts, both physical and monetary, make our favorite trails possible.
Getting into winter hiking? Check out our winter hiking articles, and gear checklist!
Have a favorite MCHT trail? Comment it below as a way to show your appreciation to MCHT!