Hatch Cove Preserve
A landmark for all who approach Castine, the preserve's mowed fields provide an entrance to this town that is unique. There are no structures to impede the beauty of the fields rolling down to Hatch Cove with the woods of the town rising beyond. The property encompasses a significant portion of the fields on either side of the Castine Road (Rt. 166) just north of the British Canal. It consists of 10 acres on the east side of the road and 20 acres on the west side bordering the Wadsworth Cove Road. The property has received a high rating in the State's Penobscot Bay Scenic Inventory. These fields are open to the public at all times.
Rene Henderson Natural Area
The largest property in Castine owned by the Conservation Trust, its 90 acres include a small pond (the "ice pond"), wetlands, and on the higher ground, stands of soft- and hardwood trees. Though softwoods predominate, the property includes almost every tree native to the Bagaduce region. This is a multiuse area and is not posted.
Two well-marked trails are the Eagle Trail (pink markers) and the Garden Club Trail (orange markers). The Eagle Trail is roughly U-shaped and follows the boundaries of Rene Henderson. It runs north from the parking lot to the ice pond, east to the eastern edge of the area, south briefly, and then back to the parking lot along a logging road built in the mid-nineties. The hike takes an hour at an easy pace. Water-proof hiking boots are recommended during rainy periods.
The Garden Club Trail stays closer to the center of the park, occasionally overlapping the Eagle Trail. Roughly a half hour hike that avoids wetlands.
Rene Henderson is located on the east side of Rt. 166A, 0.7 miles north of its southern intersection with Rt. 166. Motorized vehicles not pemitted beyond the off-road parking lot, nor are fires without permission from the Trust and the Castine Fire Department.
Ferry Landing Natural Area
The Bagaduce Ferry Landing property consists of 23 acres of fields and woods bordering the Bagaduce River across from North Castine. Elevated spots along its six hundred and fifty feet of shore frontage provide views north along the river and south to the Negro Islands. Being former farmland and orchard, the property provides good habit for deer, small mammals and birds.
The site has considerable historical interest. Following the French and Indian War, English colonists established the town of Penobscot which incompassed what is today Castine, Penobscot and Brooksville. A ferry across the Bagaduce made the west bank the closest spot to the three villages of the original town. Accordingly, the first meeting house was erected on the Castine shore. After the three towns divided, the ferry continued to operate well into the nineteenth century. Consequently, the landing is a good launching site for canoe and kayak enthusiasts interested in exploring the Bagaduce River and Penobscot Bay. From North Brooksville, drive west on Rt. 176 approximately 3 miles to West Brooksville and turn right on the Ferry Road.
Ram Island
For years Ram Island had been a popular destination for people in Castine, Penobscot, and Brooksville who rowed, sailed, or powered to clam its flats, to camp overnight, to watch for ospray and to fish. When the property was put up for sale in 1979, the fledgling Conservation Trust, realizing one of the most popular spots in the area might be lost to the public, formed The Committee to Save Ram Island (Margaret Booth, Richard Danforth, Elizabeth Foote, Douglas Endicott) to raise the $30,000 needed for purchase. The result of their efforts was the first property purchased outright by the Trust.
Ram Island, actually two islands connected by a bar, lies southeasterly from Nautilus Island and north of Harborside.
Richard and Virginia Weinland Nature Study Area
This site encompasses more than forty acres of what used to be known as the Condon Forest. Purchased for the Trust in 1990 by Helen Weinland in memory of her parents, it is intended for nature study by students in local schools and for recreational use by the public. Last cut over in the 1970s, a time not noted for proper forest management practices, the land is now wooded and and includes a variety of woodland spaces with both hard and soft wood stands, a brook, wetlands, and granite outcropings on the ridge to the west. All these features are visible along a one-mile+ walking trail through the property. The Weinland property is located on the south side of Gray Ridge Road in South Penobscot on Rt. 175 one mile south of the 175/177 intersection.
Maude E. and Eugene Snow Natural Area
This is a 40 acre parcel with over 2550 feet of shorefront on the Bagaduce River. The Bagaduce is one of only four estuary systems in Maine supporting a horseshoe-crab population; look for these primeval crabs along the Snow Natural Area shore. Just east of the Snow Natural Area is Bagaduce Falls, a "reversing tidal rapid." The Bagaduce River is tidal, flowing in two different directions depending on the tide. Water forced through the narrows at the Bagaduce Bridge results in exciting wave trains that are exciting canoe runs when the tide is right. A unique population of pygmy alewives (a small anadromous fish) passes by the Snow Natural Area on its way to spawning grounds in Walker Pond. Seal sitings are common here. Just west of the Snow Property in Green Cove is a major seal pupping ledge. Bald eagles abound on the Bagaduce; with a nesting site near by, look for them overhead.
This parcel even comes with its own island. Nab Island is so small that until recently it was not recognized on any state maps or deeds. It is accessible at low tide (but not for very long--don't get stranded), but we ask that you use extreme caution when exploring Nab Island. Small islands are extremely fragile systems; they are easily irreparably damaged.
To get to Snow Natural Area, starting at the reversing falls on Rte. 175/176 in North Brooksville, head south to the stop sign, turn right on 176. A quarter of a mile down the road, take a right onto Young's Point Rd. When the road forks, bear right. Look for a small parking area on the right marked by a Trust sign. Park in the parking area. PLEASE DO NOT PARK ON THE ROAD. A right of way leads from the parking area into the Natural Area. Please stay on the trail.
Schumacher Property
There are two parcels of land included in this property, a 6+acre plot of gently sloping, wooded land with 881 feet along the south shore of Hatch Cove. A gift from Mary and Sherman Schumacher, it was the first land given to the Trust. A British Revolutionary War redoubt is located on the property which offers nice views of Hatch Cove and the meadows beyond. Located in Castine, it is the first plot on the northeast side of Rt. 166 just above the British Canal. The second parcel is on the same side of 166, two plots up the hill from the first parcel. This site is currently managed as forever wild.
Sherm Perkins Park
Located in Penobscot village on Rts. 175 and 199 immediately west of the Bay View Market and Take Out, the park was given to the Trust by Alice Perkins in memory of her husband. This gift makes available to everyone what is possibly the best view of Northern Bay obtainable. It consists of 444 feet of shore frontage and runs 394 feet along the highway. In earlier times it was a brickyard and Penobscot's wharf and landing. Pick up a picnic lunch at Bay View and enjoy it on these rocks and ledges--but please carry out what you carry in.
Frank L Wiswall Natural Area &Dunc's Meadow
One of the Trust's most recent acquisitions, this 30-acre preservation gem is a gift from Elizabeth and Frank Wiswall , Jr. The property was given to honor Frank's father who restored these wetlands by removing tons of aquatic growth from the eastern end and rebuilding the beaver dam that has been maintained ever since by beavers living in the pond. At least one beaver lodge is usually visible from the road. Duncan Dunbar used ice from the pond for his Meadow Farm Dairy. Earlier, pond ice was sold to sailing ships in the port of Castine. This property is on the west side of route 166 a half mile north of the Rt. 199 intersection; about five miles north of Main St. The "natural area" is the land just south of the pond "Dunc's Meadow" refers to the pond itself. There is a parking area just north of the pond.
