Tucked away from the bustle of traffic heading to Pine Point Beach, Blue Point Preserve provides a unique opportunity to relax and take in the beauty of Scarborough Marsh at your own pace. A wide, gentle main trail makes for an easy walk any time of year.
Trails: 0.87 miles
Land: 14 acres
Open year round, dawn to dusk.
Leave no trace.
The Trails
- 0.14 mile Access Trail
- 0.35 mile Northern Leg Trail to Marsh View Bench
- 0.28 mile Southern Leg Trail to Marsh View Bench
- 0.1 mile Marsh Overlook Trail
The Access Trail is a short winding trail with a natural trails – some roots and rocks.
The Southern Leg trail is a wide gravel track with a long gradual incline, with some waterbars and ditches crossing it.
The Northern Leg trail has a natural trail bed with roots and rocks, a wooden stair case with railings, short inclines and some narrow areas.
The Marsh Overlook trail has a natural trail bed with roots and rocks and some short inclines.
How to get there
Get directions to the trailhead location.
Activities
- Hiking, wildlife-watching, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing
- Dogs must be leashed at all times
- No bicycles
- For the benefit of visitors and wildlife, no drones
- Hunting is not allowed on this property due to its small size and proximity to neighbors
- Any collecting, foraging or commercial activity requires a permit from SLT. No exceptions.
Want to join others who help maintain these trails for the community?
The Land
14 acres
Natural Features
Blue Point Preserve permanently protects about 800 feet of frontage along Scarborough Marsh, the largest salt marsh in Maine. As sea level rises, a freshwater wetland on the property will allow for salt marsh expansion when formerly tidal areas become permanently flooded.
History and Current Uses
Scarborough Land Trust acquired the property in 2019. Prior to European settlement, the Sokokis people of the Abenaki Tribe might have foraged for shellfish in the type of sheltered tidal wetland that can be seen from the marsh viewpoint. Looking out from that same location as early as the 1600s, you might have seen people cutting channels in the wetland to control the tides and harvest salt marsh hay. More recently, there was a gravel pit created on the northern part of the property; its steep banks are visible from the Loop Trail. Neighborhood kids used to ice skate on the frozen bottom of the gravel pit where the cattails now thrive. An abandoned one-family home was demolished at the time of acquisition to make the property more hospitable for recreation and wildlife habitat. We look forward to caring for this property so that future generations can enjoy it.
Support for the purchase of Blue Point Preserve came from the Scarborough Land Acquisition Reserve Fund, the Friends of Scarborough Marsh, Blue Point Congregational Church of Christ and many individual donors.
