Bowdoin College’s Schiller Coastal Studies Center (CSC) on Orr’s Island offers lovely coastal walking trails.

A fine old farm with 2.5 miles of coastline, 3.6 miles of trails and a variety of habitats, the CSC has great views of Long Cove and Harpswell Sound and opportunities to view wildlife or just take a quiet walk in the woods. Keep an eye out for osprey and other birds, or pick up an interpretive trail guide and take a self-guided tour of the property along aptly named trails like “Pine Needle Path” or “Stonewall Walk.”

Bowdoin’s Schiller Coastal Studies Center is located on historic Thalheimer Farm, donated to Bowdoin College in 1981 by Irma and William Thalheimer. Today students of biology, environmental, earth and oceanographic science conduct a variety of research studies on land, in the sea and several state-of-the-art laboratories.

In her 1882 book, The Pearl Of Orr’s Island, Harriett Beecher Stowe described the peninsula: “…the magnificence of the evergreen forests…groves of birch, beech and oak in picturesque knots and tufts…while the sea seems to flash and glitter like a new gem…through the framework of a new setting.” More than 140 years later, you can see it for yourself!

Find more information on Bowdoin College’s website.

Directions

Click here to get directions from Google Maps.

From Cook’s Corner in Brunswick, follow Rt 24 south for 10.7 miles. Turn right on Bayview Rd. Follow Bayview Rd until you see signs for the trail system.