Explore the best rated trails in Gardiner, ME. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Whistle Stop Rail-Trail and Papermill Trail. With more than 22 trails covering 134 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
My family goes out to Shaw park often and get right on the trail. We can’t wait for the trail to extend past our house in Steep Falls!
Flat, quiet, road crossings are few over the first 8 miles and well lit/marked. No portapotties, which is unreasonable. Lovely ride thru forest and wetlands.
It’s fairly narrow in most spots, but very quiet, and serene.
Plenty of parking at trailhead point off Clark St. in Saco. 8 miles one way to point where the on-rode portion begins in Scarborough. A few complex road crossings in first mile or so then only a few - and calmer - crossings remainder of ride. Scarborough Marsh area was worth the ride. Very even surface, light bike traffic and lots of shade.
So I can only speak to the first 3 miles from the trail head in Kennebunk to mile 3. I ride a tadpole trike and found the obstacles at road crossings either just wide enough with caution to fit to one 3 mile in that I could not fit my trike at all. That means no trikes or wheel chair of any type and I would be very careful if you use a kid trailer. Overall it was a bad experience that did not need to be if the trailfiljs had put any real thought into it!!!
Started at Capitol park entrance enjoying the walkers passing by. All were saying good morning! Great walk paved with asphalt. Follows the Kennebec River. A little disappointed it was by the waste treatment facility.
I rode this two weeks ago but forgot to review. Before going, I read the review by potterdunn from Oct 2021. Their review was awesome because it gave me the exact details I needed. I rode the Scarborough to Saco leg which is number 3 or lll in their review. There were some Sandy parts but I found them doable and I am not a sand rider! I will ride this section again before the end of summer!
We have used the kennebunk section (to the southern Maine medical center) often over the years. We just returned and someone put down an excessive amount of loose sand that frankly made a 1/2 mile stretch treacherous and I’m not sure what the point was of adding that much sand.
This, so far, has been the roughest trail I have been biking on since arriving in Maine. As stated in other reviews, portions of the trail, especially on the southern end, are tremendously sandy. This makes it very difficult for biking, even with a good mountain bike. I actually was getting bogged down so bad today that I gave up about 4 miles from the end (I started on the north end at Farmington).
In addition, this trail seems to be a "highway" for ATVs. I probably would have dealt with less traffic riding along US Route 2. In some cases, I had convoys of 5 or 6 ATVs passing me at a time. Getting blasted with exhaust fumes, and being pelted with sand and grit as they sped away was not my idea of a good time. Granted, most everyone was friendly and slowed down while passing me (with just a few exceptions). During my ride, I only encountered one other bicyclist.
Finally, the scenery is so/so. For Maine, its nothing specially. There are a couple of nice bridges. And, I did encounter a beaver den and dam. But otherwise, I have enjoyed several of the other trails much more.
Last weekend we did this so-called shared trail (bikes, hikers, horses, 4 wheelers). Unless you like to inhale the whiff of gasoline from ATVs and the din of their engines, avoid this trail like the plague. We had the bad idea of ¿¿doing this trail back and forth...I believe we must have passed at least 60 ATVs. If some drivers showed civility, by slowing down when they passed us, the majority demonstrated that the words civility and courtesy are not even part of their vocabulary. They make it clear to you that you are not welcome on THEIR path. The majority pass by you without slowing down and I do not recommend this trail for families with young children for obvious reasons. In addition, it is a very rocky trail that requires at least a hybrid bike with good tires, or even a mountain bike.
I'm trying to find a positive to this trail but even trying to be objective I can't find one. There are no infractrustures (no picnic tables, no toilets, nothing). I imagine my review is going to be deleted as it probably won't appeal to everyone but until then hopefully it helps other people not to waste their time on this tasteless trail.
Twas a lovely way to start the day, walking above & beside the river with the dogs. Very accessible hard packed stone dust path & fairly smooth bridges. Highly recommend for those visiting Belfast.
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