Holden Nature Trails - Holden, ME
Holden Nature Trails – Dog-Friendly Hiking in Holden, Maine
Located near the Red Barn campground and behind the local school, Holden Nature Trails offers a peaceful, pet-friendly hiking experience in Holden, Maine. This wooded retreat is known for its well-marked, shady trails—perfect for dog owners seeking a scenic walk with their pets. With intersecting loops and trailheads designated by vibrant colored marks, visitors can easily find a route that suits their desired adventure, whether for a quick stroll or an extended outing.
The trails are suitable for families and kids, boasting picnic areas, a playground at the entrance, and plenty of benches along the way for relaxing. While dogs are welcome on all trails, pet owners should come prepared, as there are no trash bins or poop bags provided—so remember to pack out waste. The nature area is mostly tranquil and uncrowded, especially on weekends, making it a hidden gem for walking your dog in the greater Bangor-Holden region. Please note that parking is adjacent to the school, and access may be restricted during school sessions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are dogs allowed at Holden Nature Trails? Yes, dogs are allowed on the trails.
- Is there a playground or activities for kids nearby? Yes, there is a playground and picnic area at the entrance to the trails.
- Are there benches or seating areas for owners? Yes, there are wooden benches located throughout the trails.
- Are there walking or hiking trails connected to the park? Yes, the trails at Holden Nature Trails connect to the Red Barn Campground trails and intersect with snowmobile trails.
- Is the park wheelchair accessible? There is a wheelchair accessible parking lot, but the trails themselves are not fully handicapped accessible.
- Is there a fee or membership required to enter? No fee or membership is required to enter Holden Nature Trails.
- Where is the best place to park? Parking is available behind the school, adjacent to the Red Barn Campground.
- How busy does the park get on weekends? The park is usually very quiet and uncrowded on weekends.
Reviews
Nice Trail, been there twice, trail head is behind the school, after I finished my hike I was met with two police cars, I’m told I can’t be there when school is in session and was ask to leave, caption was very nice but I still had to leave, should there be a notice that you can’t be on this trail when school is in session? Jerry
Families, there are picnic grounds with a playground at the entrance. It looks like hardly anyone uses them on the weekends – why not you?
Walked these trails for over a decade. Used to be my favorite local place to walk my dog, but then the town “harvested the land” and destroyed the forest. It’s nothing but a tree cemetery now full of slash. Heartbreaking to see.
To get away from the crowds, there are many short trails you can walk, or take your dog for a walk, at Holden Nature Park. For the most part, the trails are clear and easy to read with their markings, but currently there are a few down trees, which you can step over or go around. These trails also merge with the Red Barn Campground trails, and there are many seating areas, as well as a couple picnic areas on Red Barn trails. Note: Not handicapped accessible
1st time visitor – My wife and I were looking for a place to take our two large dogs (Labs) for a walk and stumbled across the Holden Nature Trails. Google Maps gave us great directions but I drove by the entrance the first time by. It is adjacent to the Red Barn campground and the school – in fact you sort of drive through the school grounds to get to the parking area. We were there on Labor Day 2020 and we were the only ones there.
Heavily wooded, shady walk through well-marked trails. Lots of the interlaced trails intersect with snowmobile trails. The trails are marked by various paint markings on the trees – red, blue, green, purple, etc. – as long as you remember what color your trail is you’ll be guided through the woods. There are signs as well but we didn’t see any maps to orient yourself to the signs.
Several wooden benches located throughout but no trash cans! If your dog needs to go, you’ll have to carry it back out.
In some spots there were downed trees across the trail so we back-tracked here and there but it wasn’t bad.
Several kiosks located along the trail gave interesting info about Maine’s flora and fauna but they were getting faded…they will need new graphics soon. It would have been helpful to have a few “You are here” type maps so you could figure out where you were in relation to the entire trail system – we often felt like we were walking in circles.
Overall though, very nice, outdoorsy, peaceful hike in the woods. The dogs loved it – plenty of good woods smells to keep them busy.