Find the top rated trails in Scarborough, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Portland’s Bayside Trail packs a lot into its 1-mile length. The paved pathway provides a pleasant route between commercial and residential areas in the Bayside and East Bayside neighborhoods. Once an...
The 28.9-mile Eastern Trail connects the historic towns along Maine’s southern coast from the woods near Kennebunk to South Portland’s harbor lighthouse. Nearly 22 miles of the route follows off-road...
The Mountain Division Trail exists as two separate segments of what will eventually be a more than 50-mile-long trail from Fryeburg to Portland. The southern section rolls for about 6 miles between...
The Papermill Trail celebrates the heritage of mills in the development of the town of Lisbon and the surrounding area while providing an easy, pleasant trail experience for users of all abilities....
The Cotton Valley Rail Trail connects the small town of Wakefield, near the Maine border, and the quintessentially quaint New England vacation town of Wolfeboro. In 2017 the towns held a...
Portland’s Fore River Parkway Trail provides an important transportation link in the community while at the same time offering sweeping views of the Fore River. At the north end of the trail, you’ll...
Old salts should love the Eastern Promenade Trail, as it skirts the shoreline of Portland’s Casco Bay and Portland Harbor. The 2.1-mile paved trail is always within sight of the water and is one of...
The 83 acre West Foss Farm is one of the properties owned by the University of New Hampshire, Durham. The property was purchased from the Boston & Maine Railroad company, and features a 1.6 stretch of...
The paved Back Cove Trail rings its namesake tidal basin and offers lovely views of the Portland skyline. You also might spot great blue herons or other birds along the tree-lined waterfront. A...
The Dover Community Trail snakes its way through the heart of the Garrison City—so nicknamed for the fortified log houses, or garrisons, built by 17th-century settlers—-offering a variety of trail...
The scenic Riverton Rail Trail—also known as “Sandy Road” by residents of Portland’s Riverton neighborhood—follows the former corridor of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban Railroad, which stopped...
The Auburn Riverwalk passes through the heart of the old mill district of the Twin Cities of Auburn and Lewiston. The 1.6-mile paved and gravel path offers many scenic views of the Androscoggin River,...
The trail sits on the northwestern shore of Lake Auburn. A former roadway, the wide gravel path can accommodate various kinds of uses including, running, biking, walking dogs. And in the winter, the...
The Papermill Trail celebrates the heritage of mills in the development of the town of Lisbon and the surrounding area while providing an easy, pleasant trail experience for users of all abilities....
The Sanford-Springvale Rail Trail (also known as Railroad Trail) traverses the woods on either side of Sanford’s scenic Springvale community in southern Maine. Founded by a mill owner in the 17th...
The Dover Community Trail snakes its way through the heart of the Garrison City—so nicknamed for the fortified log houses, or garrisons, built by 17th-century settlers—-offering a variety of trail...
The Mountain Division Trail exists as two separate segments of what will eventually be a more than 50-mile-long trail from Fryeburg to Portland. The southern section rolls for about 6 miles between...
Old salts should love the Eastern Promenade Trail, as it skirts the shoreline of Portland’s Casco Bay and Portland Harbor. The 2.1-mile paved trail is always within sight of the water and is one of...
The Cotton Valley Rail Trail connects the small town of Wakefield, near the Maine border, and the quintessentially quaint New England vacation town of Wolfeboro. In 2017 the towns held a...
The Auburn Riverwalk passes through the heart of the old mill district of the Twin Cities of Auburn and Lewiston. The 1.6-mile paved and gravel path offers many scenic views of the Androscoggin River,...
Portland’s Bayside Trail packs a lot into its 1-mile length. The paved pathway provides a pleasant route between commercial and residential areas in the Bayside and East Bayside neighborhoods. Once an...
Owned and actively maintained by the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway museum, this trail meanders along the currently disused railroad right of way through the Town of Alna in the village...
The 83 acre West Foss Farm is one of the properties owned by the University of New Hampshire, Durham. The property was purchased from the Boston & Maine Railroad company, and features a 1.6 stretch of...
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The Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail brings at least two superlatives to mind: it’s one of New Hampshire’s longest rail-trails at just more than 28 miles, and it begins in Manchester, the state’s...
The scenic Riverton Rail Trail—also known as “Sandy Road” by residents of Portland’s Riverton neighborhood—follows the former corridor of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban Railroad, which stopped...
The trail sits on the northwestern shore of Lake Auburn. A former roadway, the wide gravel path can accommodate various kinds of uses including, running, biking, walking dogs. And in the winter, the...
The Farmington Recreational Rail-Trail runs for 6 miles between the towns of Rochester and Farmington. The trail parallels the Cocheco River and State Route 11 through a wooded corridor. The trail is...
The Conway Branch trail runs for 21 miles along an old rail corridor between State Route 113 in Conway and Polly's Crossing in Ossipee. The trail is popular with snowmobiles and rail car clubs; the...
Portland’s Fore River Parkway Trail provides an important transportation link in the community while at the same time offering sweeping views of the Fore River. At the north end of the trail, you’ll...
The 28.9-mile Eastern Trail connects the historic towns along Maine’s southern coast from the woods near Kennebunk to South Portland’s harbor lighthouse. Nearly 22 miles of the route follows off-road...
The paved Back Cove Trail rings its namesake tidal basin and offers lovely views of the Portland skyline. You also might spot great blue herons or other birds along the tree-lined waterfront. A...
Owned and actively maintained by the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway museum, this trail meanders along the currently disused railroad right of way through the Town of Alna in the village...
The 28.9-mile Eastern Trail connects the historic towns along Maine’s southern coast from the woods near Kennebunk to South Portland’s harbor lighthouse. Nearly 22 miles of the route follows off-road...
The Sanford-Springvale Rail Trail (also known as Railroad Trail) traverses the woods on either side of Sanford’s scenic Springvale community in southern Maine. Founded by a mill owner in the 17th...
The Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail brings at least two superlatives to mind: it’s one of New Hampshire’s longest rail-trails at just more than 28 miles, and it begins in Manchester, the state’s...
The Conway Branch trail runs for 21 miles along an old rail corridor between State Route 113 in Conway and Polly's Crossing in Ossipee. The trail is popular with snowmobiles and rail car clubs; the...
The Mountain Division Trail exists as two separate segments of what will eventually be a more than 50-mile-long trail from Fryeburg to Portland. The southern section rolls for about 6 miles between...
The trail sits on the northwestern shore of Lake Auburn. A former roadway, the wide gravel path can accommodate various kinds of uses including, running, biking, walking dogs. And in the winter, the...
Portland’s Bayside Trail packs a lot into its 1-mile length. The paved pathway provides a pleasant route between commercial and residential areas in the Bayside and East Bayside neighborhoods. Once an...
The Papermill Trail celebrates the heritage of mills in the development of the town of Lisbon and the surrounding area while providing an easy, pleasant trail experience for users of all abilities....
The Cotton Valley Rail Trail connects the small town of Wakefield, near the Maine border, and the quintessentially quaint New England vacation town of Wolfeboro. In 2017 the towns held a...
The paved Back Cove Trail rings its namesake tidal basin and offers lovely views of the Portland skyline. You also might spot great blue herons or other birds along the tree-lined waterfront. A...
The 83 acre West Foss Farm is one of the properties owned by the University of New Hampshire, Durham. The property was purchased from the Boston & Maine Railroad company, and features a 1.6 stretch of...
Old salts should love the Eastern Promenade Trail, as it skirts the shoreline of Portland’s Casco Bay and Portland Harbor. The 2.1-mile paved trail is always within sight of the water and is one of...
Portland’s Fore River Parkway Trail provides an important transportation link in the community while at the same time offering sweeping views of the Fore River. At the north end of the trail, you’ll...
The Auburn Riverwalk passes through the heart of the old mill district of the Twin Cities of Auburn and Lewiston. The 1.6-mile paved and gravel path offers many scenic views of the Androscoggin River,...
The Dover Community Trail snakes its way through the heart of the Garrison City—so nicknamed for the fortified log houses, or garrisons, built by 17th-century settlers—-offering a variety of trail...
The scenic Riverton Rail Trail—also known as “Sandy Road” by residents of Portland’s Riverton neighborhood—follows the former corridor of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban Railroad, which stopped...
The Farmington Recreational Rail-Trail runs for 6 miles between the towns of Rochester and Farmington. The trail parallels the Cocheco River and State Route 11 through a wooded corridor. The trail is...
Went to this trail today. Waste of time. It’s only open for about .5 miles and stops. Nothing like the description of this trail.
Our family rode the trail from Wolfeboro to around mile marker 4, a while past the Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club on Rt. 109, in October 2018. There were a lot of great water views including a couple stretches with water on both sides, and winding parts through very pretty woods from about 1.5 miles just before Albee Beach onwards. The trail surface was very hard and not bumpy and presented no problem for hybrid-style bikes, basically as good as pavement (or even better than some paved trails I have been on that haven't been resurfaced recently). All of the crossings over the rails were clearly marked with signs instructing to walk your bikes and painted arrows indicating to do so at a right angle. After walking over many of them and them seeming very solid I began to slowly ride over them at 45 degree angles and never had a problem, and none of the several kids in my group did either. The parts of the trail in between the rails are narrow enough that you need to take extra care. If you are looking to go fast I wouldn't recommend this trail but if you are looking for a very scenic and leisurely ride I would highly recommend it. On the return ride I noticed that there were no signs for westbound bikers so this might explain some other peoples' complaints (although I still found the crossings vey obvious and good). I hope to return and ride the eastern portion of the trail another time.
Most of this trail is over packed earth, which is satisfactory, except following rain. The 4.5+ miles through Biddeford are poorly marked (download a map) and often hazardous. Scarborough marsh is beautiful and the rest of the trail is pleasant, often scenic. I rode the entire trail north one day and south the next. If I were to do it again, I would cut it into two smaller trails, and avoid Biddeford.
I started at the Massabesic Lake trailhead which offered plenty of parking as well as a beautiful start to my ride. There were no mile markers or any history signs on the trail so mileage is difficult to track. The first four to five miles of my ride were very rough with large rocks strewn all over the trail and three tunnels underneath roadways. The rocks in this section are all very well marked by orange spray paint, I just had to take my time on my hybrid bike. A hybrid bike will do just fine on the trail but a mountain bike would offer more confidence in this section.
After this first section of trail I found the rest of the trail to offer beautiful scenery as well as a much smoother ride. There are a fair share of road crossings but all but two are very quiet roads that had very little traffic. Raymond offers the perfect mid-trail stop to take pictures as well as a place to get food. Epping also offers more places to get refreshments. The last stretch of the trail from Epping to Newfields was my favorite part of the trail and offered an easy finish to my ride.
I rode the entire trail starting at Bug Light Park in South Portland and ending at Kennebunk; roughly 30 miles each way. I knew about the on road gaps and found them to be a positive as it added variety to the trail. The on road sections are fairly well marked and I only had an issue finding my way through Biddeford. The shoulders are very wide and I must say I found Maine drivers to be very courteous to me at every road crossing.
The off road sections of the trail are very well marked, shaded and very flat. I rode through forests and marshes and around residential neighborhoods. There is a fundraising effort to close one of the on road gaps on this trail. If that gap is closed I would give this trail five stars. I still highly recommend this trail as you can have a nice ride no matter what section you chose to ride.
I was delighted to read about the Cotton Valley Rail Trail from Wakefield to Wolfeboro. I picked up a copy of Rail-Trails, read up on the route and search Trail-link to read the reviews. I was aware of the switch over crossings on the trail and the dangers from what I read. Starting my ride in Wakefield at the Railroad Turntable I enjoyed a short ride to Route 16 and crossed over. I found the trail to be well maintained and walked over the first switch over crossing, I made a mental note that they might not be marked for hazards and continued riding. I was right! With the forest canopy and sun filtering through I came up on one with little notice and continue to cross and my back tire slipped out and I had crashed. Needless to say that ended my ride and caused an injury. I have ridden on many different surfaces and was shocked by what looked like an easy cross over. Please mark all switch over crossings as Hazards to avoid accidents. I am looking forward to riding this trail again after my recovery. If I had finished my ride I would have rated it a 5 Star, as I have heard it is a beautiful trail with a lot of great historical sites.
Disappointed to read that there is still a hazard on this trail. This could be so easy to fix by putting cement in between the rails or putting mats on the crossings. I will not go on this trail until this is fixed as I took a bad spill due to the rails.
the first 6 miles was somewhat boring, just a dirt path in the woods but the remaining trail to Saco was fun weaving through neighborhoods and Saco river crossing was cool. excited to do the second section :)
I drove about half an hour from Rochester to ride this trail on my new hybrid. The trail is compact gravel with beautiful scenery. I read some reviews on here and noticed some people mentioned the hazards crossing the rails, they weren't lying. About 4 miles in I tried to cross the rails almost fully parallel and my wheel slipped out underneath me. I skid into a burm and cut my knee. I chose self-care but could have used 2 or 3 sutures. After another 2 miles my girlfriend picked me up and after a trip to rite-aid for butterfly sutures we enjoyed the rest of the day in Wolfboro.
Along the way another rider gave me a large bandaid and showed me to the nearest road. I didn't get his name but thank you if you're reading this. I will hit the trail in a week or two again when my knee is healed, this time crossing the rails at a 90 degree angle.
Tried it out with dat wheel bike- I like a smoother ride for relaxation and to enjoy scenery.
My 9 year old and I found this and loved it. We started at Kennebunk Elementary, which was easy to find, and went about 5 miles. The trail has a very nominal and unnoticeable grade. The trail is shaded and has numerous small bridges crossing streams. It’s a beautiful and easy ride.
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