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Launched in June, 2010, Maine Trail Finder is a free, interactive mapping site designed to help Maine residents and visitors search for non-motorized trails in the state. Our ultimate goal is to help people get out, be active, and explore our state’s well-known and hidden treasures.
At present, the website allows users to search trails by four permitted uses—hiking and walking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing—as well as by difficulty, town or township, keyword, and using an interactive map base. Detailed trail description pages allow users to view the trails, get essential information, submit trip comments, find nearby geocaches, and a whole lot more.
Trail maps are great and essential. (We know, we make them for a living!) However, simply trying to find comprehensive sources on what trails exist and their current status can be very challenging. Maine Trail Finder brings together extensive and up-to-date information about trails in one convenient location.
Search tools help users quickly find the right trail for a Sunday afternoon stroll or short-list a handful of trails to be explored during a week-long vacation in Maine. Administrators can quickly edit online trails data when notified by trail managers, and approve those changes so that they show up on the website instantaneously. The ability of trail managers and Maine Trail Finder account holders to post announcements and trip reports can help users know what to expect or entice you to choose one trail over another.
And, yes, you are able to print simple maps from Maine Trail Finder, and if paper maps exist, find out where to get your hands on one from the trail manager!
Posting high quality information on trails takes time. All posted trails are closely reviewed by Maine Trail Finder administrators and trail managers before they are made available to the public to ensure the maps and content are accurate and current. If you don’t see a trail you may know about let us know! We are likely working with partners to develop it! If not, we may not yet know about it, or the trail may not meet the minimum standards held by Maine Trail Finder. You can learn more about our expansion plans below (“When will Maine Trail Finder add trails for my area?”).
Maine Trail Finder is overseen by the Center for Community GIS (CCGIS), a dedicated mapping support center based in Farmington, Maine, and associated with the non-profit organization, Quebec-Labrador Foundation (QLF). CCGIS delivers a unique suite of specialized community-based mapping services to public interest organizations working in the areas of natural resources management, land conservation, economic development, cultural heritage, poverty alleviation, social services delivery, education, and service learning. Maine Trail Finder is CCGIS’s answer to requests that it has received from many groups to help get information about Maine’s great trails out to the public. CCGIS’s partner and website guru, Pixel Hive Design, expertly handles all our website development for Maine Trail Finder.
It takes a village to raise a child. Likewise, Maine Trail Finder exists because of partnerships, collaboration, and widespread public involvement.
In 2009, leadership funding secured by Healthy Community Coalition (HCC) of Greater Franklin County and CCGIS through the Environmental Funders Network’s Quality of Place Initiative was used to initiate the Mapping Our Footsteps project. This effort has actively engaged youth and families in mapping and documenting local trails with the primary goal of strengthening Mainers’ connections to their natural and built environments. The second goal of the Mapping Our Footsteps project, which has also been supported by the Maine Department of Conservation and Maine Office of Tourism, was to develop an online trails portal and begin to populate the site with comprehensive content. In 2010, CCGIS received additional funding from the Maine Department of Conservation (Recreational Trails Program) and Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.
These financial contributions have been matched in value through significant in-kind support from trail managers, steering committee members, and students who all assisted with promoting the project, GPS’ing trails, organizing trainings, and sharing information about trails.
ASAP, we hope! Efforts are ongoing to develop strategic regional partnerships and raise the funding needed to add fully documented and approved trails into Maine Trail Finder. Immediate efforts are focused on adding trails for state parks and public reserved lands; Washington County, Cumberland County, and Franklin County, We will post updates on what trails and counties are coming online on the Maine Trail Finder home page (Happenings) and using our Facebook page. At a future date, we are looking to develop a trail notification tool that account holders can use to help us identify trails for inclusion in Maine Trail Finder.
Have fun. Be safe. Show respect. Always use good judgment when out on the trail. Be a good trail steward, and show respect for the places that trail managers, including private citizens, make available for public use and enjoyment.
Share your knowledge. Signing up for a free Maine Trail Finder account has perks for you – and expect more with time! Submitting trip reports helps keep trail content engaging, living, and current. This information is not only useful for trail users, it also helps land owners and managers better understand how to manage their trails.
Help get the word out. Lots of people have shown interest in Maine Trail Finder. Use it today and begin to explore trails in western Maine. A growing and active user base will help Maine Trail Finder’s partners demonstrate the value of the site and raise the resources needed to add trails and expand functionality.
Keep checking back. Whether from the home page or Facebook, Maine Trail Finder wants to keep you informed about the latest news and developments. Expect new trails content starting now!
Give us feedback. Use the site. Kick the tires. Let us know what works well. Fill in the blank: Maine Trail Finder would be that much better if ___________.
Help us keep Maine Trail Finder free for all. Consider making a tax deductible donation to help Maine Trail Finder grow. Are you a corporate donor? Support Maine Trail Finder and get your business profiled on the bottom of each and every web page. Contact us for more information.
Give today and help Maine Trail Finder make new trails available to you.
Joining Maine Trail Finder is free and always will be!
Comment on the trails and stay up to date on major trail and site updates.
We have advanced member features planned for the future.
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Maine Trail Finder is a collaborative effort between organizations and funders committed to promoting active recreation in the state of Maine.
Maine Trail Finder wishes to acknowledge all land owners and land managers who maintain trails for all of us to enjoy. Thank you!
Special thanks are also due to the many volunteers, young and old, who helped to gather and review trail content posted on Maine Trail Finder.