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Maine Land Conservation Conference > 2025 Maine Land Conservation Conference Archive > Getting Outside While You’re at This Year’s Conference

Getting Outside While You’re at This Year’s Conference

If you’re looking to get outside while you’re in town for the Maine Land Conservation Conference, look no further than the local land trusts lands.

Local Trails and Preserves

  • Viles Arboretum:  Located in Maine’s Capital City, the Arboretum is a 224-acre botanical garden which features miles of trails, a rotating suite of programs and events, a full service visitor center, and a variety of habitats home to flora and fauna of Statewide importance. For more information: https://vilesarboretum.org/
  • UMA’s Nature Trails: The University of Maine at Augusta offers well-maintained peaceful and panoramic nature trails with different difficulty zones directly adjacent to the Civic Center. The wooded paths are a great option for leisure walking, running, and mountain biking. For a map of the trail, please check out their Nature Trails Map.
  • Howard Hill: The property is crisscrossed by an informal network of old carriage roads and woods roads that provide expansive views of the State House and the Kennebec River valley. Howard Hill is owned by the City of Augusta with a conservation easement held by the Kennebec Land Trust. For more information (including other KLT conserved properties): https://www.tklt.org/
  • Kennebec River Rail Trail: This 6.5-mile public trail runs parallel to the existing railroad bed and the Kennebec River, connecting the communities of Augusta, Hallowell, Farmingdale and Gardiner. The trail is available for all kinds of non-motorized uses, including hiking, jogging, biking, rollerblading, and birdwatching. For more information: https://www.krrt.org/

Please keep in mind that April can be a very muddy time of year and some trails and parking lots may be closed due to muddy conditions, so please check these websites before heading out!

Going Farther Afield

If you want to stop along the way or have the time to travel a bit further, there are many other land trusts lands and noteworthy places to visit.