Enjoy the outdoors in winter!

← Back to Harpswell's Preserves & Trails

It’s easy to feel cooped up during the cold and dark of winter. It’s worth the effort to overcome your inertia and get yourself and your family outside! Research shows that being outdoors helps our mood, our brain and our body. Luckily in Harpswell there are lots of options for where to go.

This being coastal Maine, conditions change constantly. Sometimes a pair of boots is all you need. Other times it can be helpful to have grippers, snowshoes, skis or skates. Here’s our guide to winter recreation in Harpswell. Almost all of the trails and preserves listed below allow dogs. Some require leashes. Click on the links below for more details about user guidelines.

Looking for trails outside of Harpswell or places to walk indoors? Harpswell Heritage Land Trust works collaboratively with Mid Coast Hospital, towns, land trusts and other nonprofits to make it easier for you to find where to go. Check out the Get Active Southern Midcoast Winter Activity Guide below! It covers Bath, Brunswick, Georgetown, Harpswell, Phippsburg, Topsham, West Bath, Westport Island and Woolwich.

Get Active Southern Midcoast Activity Guide

Harpswell Neck & Mountain Road

Cliff Trail (Town of Harpswell)

Parking lot is plowed.
Great for a walk in all conditions, though if it’s icy, grippers or microspikes would be helpful. One of the longest trails in Harpswell.
Click here for details.

Curtis Farm Preserve

Parking lot is plowed.
Great for a walk in all conditions. You could ski the short loop around the field at the Harpswell Neck Road entrance, but it’s not groomed.
Click here for details.

Hackett & Minot Trails

Parking lot at Harpswell Historical Society is plowed.
Great for a walk in all conditions.
Click here for details.

Mitchell Field (Town of Harpswell)

Parking areas are plowed.
Great for all kinds of winter recreation. Trails are good for snowshoeing and cross country skiing (ungroomed). The beach provides a snow-free place to walk and explore.
Click here for details.

Otter Brook Preserve

Parking lot is plowed.
Great for a walk in all conditions. The trails are good for cross country skiing (ungroomed). And you can sled down the wide entrance trail!
Click here for details.

Potts Point Preserve

Roadside parking at the end of Harpswell Neck Road is plowed, but could be tight with snow banks.
Pott’s Point Road is a scenic, plowed walk. The preserve is a snow-free place to walk and explore the shoreline.
Click here for details.

Skolfield Shores Preserve

Parking lot is plowed.
Great for a walk in all conditions. This trail is mostly flat and easy. Dogs are not allowed.
Click here for details.

Widgeon Cove Trail

Parking lot is plowed.
Great for a walk in all conditions.
Click here for details.

Wilson’s Cove Trail

Parking lot is not plowed, but you can park across the street at the Widgeon Cove Trail.
Great for a walk in all conditions. This trail is very short and flat.
Click here for details.

Orr’s & Bailey Islands

Devil’s Back Trail Area (Town of Harpswell)

Great for a walk in all conditions.
Click here for details.

Giant’s Stairs Trail and McIntosh Lot Preserve (Town of Harpswell and HHLT)

Parking areas are plowed.
Great for a walk in all conditions. The snow doesn’t accumulate much in this exposed location, and it could be icy.
Click here for details.

Houghton Graves Park

Roadside parking can be tight with snowbanks, but is doable.
This tiny walk is great for winter.
Click here for details.

Johnson Field Preserve and Mackerel Cove Lot (HHLT and Town of Harpswell)

Parking areas are plowed.
The beach provides a snow-free place to explore and walk. The hill is great for sledding if conditions allow.
Click here for details.

Schiller Coastal Studies Center (Bowdoin College)