Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands Partners with Maine Trail Finder for State Trail Information

January 27, 2011

AUGUSTA, Maine – A partnership between a free-to-use, online trails portal and the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands is allowing users to find non-motorized state trails in Maine more easily and trail managers to monitor use and report conditions.

Expected to be an important tool for tourism, recreation, health organizations and local economies, the descriptive trails website – Maine Trails Finder – already lists state trails for both parks and public lands in Franklin, Washington and Cumberland counties.

This week, ski trails at Mt. Blue and Aroostook state parks are live on the site. By June, Maine Trail Finder will include information on at least 25 trails in Washington County. The website will expand by this fall to include trails on many state park, historic sites and public-reserved lands, or more than 200 miles of trail, throughout Maine, according to Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) officials.

As it continues, the project site also is creating a significant database about all non-motorized trails in Maine, according to its developer, the Center for Community GIS (CCGIS) of Farmington.

“We encourage people to get outside, have fun and recreate, and this helps them find out where they can go to enjoy the best that Maine has to offer,” Will Harris, BPL director, said. “Maine Trail Finder is an important link to draw visitors to our state parks, historic sites and public reserved lands, and that, in turn, supports Maine’s economy.”

“The Maine Trail Finder website provides real-time information about our state trails in an innovative way,” Mick Rogers, BPL grants and recreation manager, said. “I’m sure it will prove to be very useful to everyone.”

“What we’re trying to do is create a one-stop shop for non-motorized trails in the state,” Stephen Engle, CCGIS director, said. “Maine Trail Finder brings together in one location a growing body of information about Maine’s expansive trail network for the benefit of visitors and residents alike. The website can help people find the right trail for them and help them discover the vast network of trails that exist in Maine.”

Launched in June 2010 with a list of more than 30 trails in Franklin County, Maine Trail Finder was developed by CCGIS in response to the strong, broad-based interest in Maine’s extensive, non-motorized trail system. The attractive website uses cutting-edge, interactive mapping and data-base tools to provide up-to-date information on trail conditions and activities in a format that’s very easy to use.

Maine Trail Finder currently is supported with funding from the federal Recreational Trails Program, administered by BPL and the Maine Department of Conservation, the Environmental Funders Network, Maine Office of Tourism, Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, the Ferguson Foundation, Healthy Community Coalition of Greater Franklin County, Healthy Portland, and Portland Trails.

The funding also has been matched by in-kind contributions from trail managers, trail stewards, volunteers, and students, who have helped promote the project, worked on providing GPS coordinates for trails, organized training sessions and shared trail information.

The home page of the website contains a featured trail and a listing of trail and outdoor events. The trail finder itself contains extensive information about each trail, including Google maps, general description and features, degree of trail difficulty, current weather, photos, trail manager listings, and even nearby geocaches. After signing up for a free account, users also can post comments about their trail experiences and eventually may add photos and download GPS coordinates for their own use.

Engle said that CCGIS has “a rolling inventory” of about 800 trails to add to the site. “We expect that Maine Trail Finder will grow to catalogue more than 1,000 trails,” he added. The process of doing the trail list “is allowing us for the first time to document the total mileage of non-motorized trails in Maine,” Engle said. “We really have to do our homework to accurately map what each trail network looks like.”

In Franklin County, listed state-site trails include: Whistle Stop Trail; Mt. Blue State Park, with four trail postings; Tumbledown Mountain and Little Jackson trail network; Blueberry Mountain Trail; Mount Abram Trail; and Bald Mountain Trail in Oquossoc.

In Washington County, more than 23 miles of state trails already are listed, including trails in five state properties. They include trails at Cobscook Bay State Park, Quoddy Head State Park, Roque Bluffs State Park, Shackford Head State Park and Cutler Coast Public Reserved Land.

Other trails in Washington County that soon will be included are the Down East Sunrise Trail, the multi-use trail owned by the Maine Department of Transportation and managed by MDOC, and the trails at Roosevelt Campobello International Park, Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge and the City of Calais.

The trail information for state lands in Maine’s most eastern county is expected to be a recreational and economic boon for an area fast developing its natural resources, according Misha Mytar, BPL senior planner for the region.

“Washington County is known for its scenic beauty and natural treasures, but most of us aren’t familiar with all the opportunities to get off the road and onto the trail to explore the landscape up close,” Mytar said. “Maine Trail Finder is easy to use. One website provides current information from multiple trail managers. This resource will help local folks discover some of the lesser-known gems, and potential visitors will learn how much Washington County has to offer, whether researching day trips or searching for enough adventure to fill a summer vacation.”   

State trails in Cumberland County also have started to be listed, such as those at Mackworth Island. Other state sites to be included are: Two Lights, Crescent Beach and Kettle Cove state parks; Bradbury Mountain and Wolfe’s Neck Woods state parks; Eagle Island State Historic Site, the summer home of Admiral Robert E. Peary; and the highly popular Sebago Lake State Park, Rogers said.

The real-time aspect of the website will be especially useful for trail managers, who can post the latest information for users, such as ski conditions and hazards, Rogers noted. Engle added that trail managers also will be able to list special events and opportunities, including volunteer work days.

For more information about Maine Trail Finder, go to: http://www.mainetrailfinder.com/

For more information about Maine state parks, historic sites and public reserved lands, go to: http://www.parksandlands.com

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