Trails: 1.1 miles
Land: 18 acres
Open year round, dawn to dusk.
Leave no trace.
The Trails
The trails at Hemlock Grove are wide and mostly flat with areas of slight grade.
- White Pine Way is 690 feet long, wide, and flat, and provides access to all other trails.
- The Powerline Spur exits SLT property onto the powerlines.
- Esker Trail has slight grade in some places, and provides views of the streams and gullies, and takes visitors through a Hemlock nursery.
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Some roots and uneven or rolling topography are present on the half-mile Town Loop Trail. The Town Loop Trail takes visitors through a mature Hemlock Forest.
All trails have natural trailbeds.
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.
- Bow hunting on SLT land is permitted. Contact the Town for information on hunting on Town-owned land.
- 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
18 acres
Natural Features
This preserve was granted to Scarborough Land Trust for conservation when the neighboring development was planned. Its topography reflects glacial features called eskers, which are comprised of sand, gravel, and boulders and create knolls and steep gullies. Eskers are formed by subglacial rivers depositing sand and stone that was scraped up into the glacier as it traveled across the landscape. On the property are seasonal and perennial streams that flow into the Dunstan River, and wetland plants like skunk cabbage can be seen lining the sides of the streams. The hemlock trees that this preserve is named for are estimated to range in age from 50 -150 years, and create habitat for porcupines, who feed on hemlock tips and cones. fox, deer, coyote, racoons, owls, and many other woodland species benefit from this second-growth forest. Hemlock Grove Preserve provides wildlife and people with natural space in a rapidly developing area.