Thom and I have driven past the trail head for the Fore River Sanctuary countless times, so I suggested that we check it out for our evening walk. The Fore River Sanctuary is a 85 acre preserve around the Fore River and surrounding salt marshes. A two mile hiking trail winds along the river and ends at Jewell Falls, Portland's only naturally occurring waterfall.
Unfortunately, the sun was already rather low in the sky when we arrived at the trail head, so we were only able to explore the first half mile or so of the trail. Spring is definitely not the most ideal time to visit the Fore River Sanctuary, the wetlands were very much so still in their winter slumber mode. We were able to see two pairs of ducks.
With the exception of a bit of a hill to get down into the sanctuary, the hill is for the most part flat, and there are even boardwalks and bridges to get over the muddy areas. Thom was not a fan of the proximity of houses to the park, at times you definitely feel as though you are walking through someone's backyard. I am sure that feeling goes away as the leaves fill in on the trees. The history geek in me really enjoyed the fact that the park is the site of a canal that was used to connect the working waterfront of Portland to Sebago Lake. I was intrigued with the idea of walking on what used to be a horse trail to pull the boats through the canal.
We will definitely be returning to the Fore River Sanctuary, just a bit later in the year when we have more time before sunset and the leaves and grasses have had a chance to fill in. The scenery is pretty, and I want to find the waterfall.
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I bet that will be a really pretty place to explore as summer (slowly) starts to come in.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how much a weekend of sun can do, when we visited just last week, the trees were starting to bud, now there are mini leaves and an aura of green around the trees. With any luck, the sanctuary will show the same transformation :)
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