The 93-acre Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary is noted as having some of Maine's most valuable estuarine habitat. This trail system on the New Meadows River provides access to open fields and coastal forest and views of Back Cove's inlets and quiet waters. Osprey, blue heron, waterfowl, and a wide variety of migrant shorebirds are all known to be found here.
Starting across the road from the sanctuary parking lot, the Red Trail loops around an open meadow, offering great views of Back Cove’s marshes and clam flats. Leaving from the Red Trail, the Blue Trail traverses spruce and pine forest and crosses a brook before hugging the peninsula’s eastern shore. Reaching commanding views at Back Cove Point, the trail continues to follow the shoreline and reconnects with the Red Trail. Benches along the way offer spots to enjoy spectacular views of rocky shoreline, salt marsh, and open water. The Yellow Trail spurs off the Blue Trail at the heart of the sanctuary to weave between rocky outcroppings and freshwater marsh.
The Green Trail loops an additional mile and a quarter around a peninsula to the east.
Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary was established in 1987 at the bequest of Millicent Hamilton, an avid birder and naturalist who lived on the property for 40 years. After a long process of community-based planning, the sanctuary opened to the public in the fall of 1998 with the construction of a small parking lot and toilet, plus major trail improvements. Today, the sanctuary offers nature exploration to the public, and naturalist–led programs for school children. Sanctuary caretakers reside in a private residence that once was the property’s farmhouse. Maine Audubon continues to explore options to expand the sanctuary and the public access it provides for walking and wildlife watching.
The sanctuary is open to the public, dawn to dusk, year-round. Donations for sanctuary maintenance are appreciated.
Visit Maine Audubon online for more information or contact:
Take the New Meadows exit off US Route 1 in West Bath. Turn left onto New Meadows Road and go straight at the stop sign. Here New Meadows Road becomes Foster Point Road. Follow it 3.4 miles to the sanctuary parking lot on the right.
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