Bearce-Allen Preserve - Bristol, ME
Bearce-Allen Preserve in Bristol, ME, offers a beautiful dog park experience with pet-friendly trails perfect for dog owners looking for a scenic and engaging outdoor adventure. This preserve features a 1.5-mile loop trail that is well-maintained and easy to navigate, making it ideal for dog-friendly hiking and walking. The terrain is mostly flat with some gentle ups and downs near the shoreline, providing a varied but accessible hike for dogs and their owners. While the entrance is not wheelchair accessible, the wide trails and natural surroundings make it a great spot for families with kids and pets to enjoy nature together.
What makes Bearce-Allen Preserve unique is its stunning waterfront views of the Damariscotta River and the Atlantic Ocean, along with historical points like an old quarry and interpretive signs that educate visitors about sustainable forestry and local ecology. The preserve is a quiet, secluded area where you can enjoy birdwatching, spotting wildlife, and peaceful walks with your dog. Whether you’re looking for a relaxing stroll or a bit of adventure on pet-friendly trails, this dog park in Bristol, ME, offers a rewarding outdoor experience for you and your furry friend.
FAQ for Bearce-Allen Preserve in Bristol Maine:
- Are dogs allowed off-leash at this park? Dogs are allowed outside but the information does not specify if off-leash is permitted, so please keep dogs under control.
- Is the park wheelchair accessible? The entrance is not wheelchair accessible.
- Is there a playground or activities for kids nearby? The park is good for kids with kid-friendly hikes and activities like hiking and walking.
- Where is the best place to park? Parking is limited at the park.
- Are there walking or hiking trails connected to the park? Yes, there is a 1.5 mile loop trail with varied terrain and an additional 0.6 mile loop trail that connects, suitable for easy walking and hiking.
- Are ticks or other pests common in the area? It is recommended to bring bug spray or a mosquito net as there can be mosquitoes and bugs on the trails.
- Is the park regularly cleaned and maintained? Yes, the trails are well-maintained and not overused.
- Is there shade or shelter available? The trails pass through both new and mature forest areas which provide natural shade.
Reviews
Great Historically significant outdoor space in Maine! Free entry, and great place to sit and look for seagrass (without disturbing the natural environment!) Very cool tidal zone
I love it at the Rachel Carson Salt pond!! At low tide u can see catch and handle sea life. School field trip there to teach children about marine life..the rocks are so unique looking, the view is beautiful.. It’s just a great place
Hidden gem for sure! Very small off road parking area so easy to miss. Large, accessible tidepool (no climbing on big slippery rocks required). Water very clear. You just have to look carefully and watch for movement. Lots of small crabs, shrimp and sea snails all over
Very nice trails! Saw lots of cool bugs, fungi, and some baby toads. Nice sea of ferns in places. Loved the nature facts and boards along the trails. Nice and secluded, it was just the pup and I the whole time.
Very beautiful trail. 1.5 mile loop trail with a total elevation gain of 134 feet. Well maintained and easy to navigate.
Such a fun hidden gem! We spent about an hour just looking at all the birds near the salt pond after we took a puffin cruise that left from New Harbor. We then went back 2 other times during our vacation to see all the shorebirds again. Birders, stop if you have the time!
Great trails in an extremely quiet location. You can hear the cars on the roads in the distance for the beginning of the walk but it tunes out as you walk in. Blue trail leads to the yellow trail (loops around back to the blue trail) for an easy out and back walk. Lots of birds! Ovenbird, Blue Headed Vireo, Pine Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Black Throated Green Warbler, Black Capped Chickadees. Birder’s paradise. Bring bug spray or a mosquito net. 10/10!
This is a delightful woods walk over varied terrain through both new and mature forest. The trails are well.maintained and not overused. There are some small hills and granite ledges, making the walk a bit more challenging in places and also more interesting. The forest was planted in part as a tree farm in the 1940s, and some harvesting was done fairly recently–monitoring the recovery is in progress and managed by Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust. A section of the forest also suffered a fire in 1953, and recovery is also in progress. All of this is well documented in the interpretive placards (19 of them) developed and placed in about 2005 by volunteers from the Pemaquid Watershed Association, now part of Coastal Rivers. We particularly enjoyed the “name that tree” stations along the walk…a fun way to learn how to identify the common varieties growing in the forest–oaks, spruce, pines, firs, beech, ash, white yellow and black birch, and a smattering of black cherry and cedar, along with others. Many coppice trees are evidence of prior forestry and the profusion of invading beech trees, which will eventually dominate the forest, is manifest in the clearings.There are several springs and streams giving rise to some woodland ponds and surely several vernal ponds. The forest floor is rich with lichens, fungi and moss, as well as princess pines. There are many ferns in the wet areas and surely many wildflowers, including pink lady slippers.The entire walk is a nice loop, totals about 1.5 miles. It also gives rise to the adjacent NORGAL trail, a separate short loop that adds another 0.6 miles. With only 24 degrees to work with in a 15 mph breeze, the walk was long enough for a January day in Maine.We look forward to hiking here as the winter grows into spring and the forest grows into it greenery.Well worth more than one visit…
Sustainable forestry demonstration project and ecology explained through interpretive signs along a great short loop trail.