A 0.2 trail leads from the Winery through open fields to a picnic area shaded by trees. From the picnic area, trails lead into the woods, both to the north and south. A 0.5 mile loop can be made on these trails from the picnic area, connecting to the west on an old woods road. From the woods road, a 0.2 mile trail travels through the woods to the banks of the Medomak River, and to the western parking area on Carroll Road.
ECOLOGY
Sweetgrass Farm is uniquely nestled between the bank of the Medomak River and the ridge that forms the watershed divide with the St. George River. This gives the property an interesting variety of habitats as it transitions from working farmland, to hardwoods and mixed conifers, to a wide grassy intervale (an old New England term for low lying land along a river).
Much of Sweetgrass Farm is managed for wildlife. The intervale along the Medomak is only hayed in the fall to provide habitat. A large stand of hardwoods close to the farm is disturbed only for spring sugar tapping, and the rest of the forest is currently regenerating after a 1995 timber harvest.
HISTORY
Sweetgrass Farm was originally owned by the Carroll family, who settled the land in the early 1800s. Five generations of Carrolls made this land their home, raising various livestock, vegetables, apples, hay, timber, and dairy cows. The oldest surviving structures include the ell, circa 1822, which connects the main house (1850) and large barn (1889).
The farm now comprises 70 acres of woods and fields with frontage along the Medomak River. In 2005, the current owners purchased the farm to start Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery, with the goal of preserving working farmland and open space. Sweetgrass became Maine's first winery/distillery and today produces wines and spirits using locally grown fruits including heirloom apples planted by the Carroll family.
The trails were created to connect people to the river, their local landscape, and foster an appreciation of the land and an active interest in protecting it.
For more information, visit the Midcoast Conservancy website, or contact:
Midcoast ConservancyFrom US-1 in Waldoboro, take ME-220 north, and follow it for 10.1 miles. Turn right on Calderwood Road just after crossing ME-17. Continue for 1.8 miles and turn right on Old Union Road. Go 0.4 miles
and turn left on Carroll Road. Park at Sweetgrass Farm Winery, or on the northern side of Carroll Road just to the east of the Medomak River.
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