Located on Broadturn Road, Broadturn Farm is our largest property and includes a diversified organic farm that brings many benefits to our community. Sandi’s Silver Brook Trail is located behind the farmstead, off Hanson Road.
Trail: 0.6 mile
Land: 434 acres
Open year round.
Leave no trace.
The Trails
0.6 mile, Sandi’s Silver Brook Trail
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 to safeguard crop fields and livestock.
- No biking.
- For the benefit of visitors and wildlife, no drones.
- Hunting is allowed only with SLT permission on non-farm areas, clearly marked on the Trail Map. Visitors are encouraged to wear blaze orange during hunting season. No hunting is permitted on Sundays in Maine.
- 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
434 acres
Natural Features
You’ll find open fields, woodlands, streams, wetlands, and farmland that includes agricultural soils of statewide significance. Wildlife on this land includes abundant bird life. Silver Brook and Fogg Brook flow through the property, and join with other streams that empty into the Stroudwater River in Portland.
History & Current Use
Broadturn Farm, formerly the Meserve Farm, was purchased by SLT from the Meserve family in 2004. This landmark farm in western Scarborough dates back to the 1800s and includes an old cemetery. The Silver Brook Trail was created by Eagle Scout Ben Acker in 2009.
SLT leases the farm buildings and part of the land to local farmers, John Bliss and Stacy Brenner, who live on the farm. They raise certified organic vegetables and field-grown flowers, and host farm weddings, farm camp for kids and other education programs. Some cropland is subleased to Snell Family Farm of Buxton. Over the years, SLT has made substantial renovations to the farm buildings. To learn more about Broadturn Farm, Inc., visit www.broadturnfarm.com.
Support for the purchase of this property came from individuals, foundations, Scarborough’s Land Bond Fund, the Land for Maine’s Future program, and the USDA Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program. Project partners also included The Trust for Public Land and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, which holds an agricultural easement on the land.
Other Info
We plan to create additional trails on this large property in the coming years.