Talking Brook Public Land

Upstream from the public land is both the upper Meadow Brook watershed and the upper Talking Brook watershed, both of which are nearly entirely undeveloped. Downstream of the preserve are the Irving Thurston Wildlife Marsh (Maine Department of Fish and Wildlife) and RRCT’s Intervale Preserve at the confluence with the Royal River. For decades what is now Talking Brook Public Land was managed for trails and traditional public access by neighbors in private ownership.

There is one existing, and a second planned, parking areas for trail users:

1. Existing Parking Area: The parking area at 402 Woodman Road, New Gloucester can fit around 7 cars, with excess parking available along road shoulders. Please respect neighbors’ parking signs: “No parking beyond this point.” The parking area is owned by the Town of New Gloucester and maintained entirely at the expense of RRCT-BPL and neighbors.
2. Planned Parking Lot: Norumbega Cidery has transferred to BPL one-half acre of land near the corner of Woodman Road & Meadow Lane (with access by the existing Norumbega Cidery driveway off Woodman Road), for a new 28-space parking lot. Hikers would proceed from this parking area down Woodman Road to reach hiking trails further along Woodman Road.

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Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and Royal River Conservation Trust are working to improve and realign trails with a goal to build relatively primitive, rustic trails that provide experiences of solitude. The soils and topography of the area will likely prevent the construction of trails that meet ADA standards or that meet the expectations of mountain bikers. A significant number of new bridges, boardwalks, and bog bridges will be necessary to support simple pedestrian use by addressing stream crossings and muddy areas.

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As the trails are improved and realigned, visitors can enjoy primitive loop trails that follow the discontinued end of Woodman Road (today a woods road and driveway) before turning left or right into the woods, following either of the two streams, and looping back onto the woods road to return to the parking area. Exercise caution if exploring the waterfall; the rocks are exceptionally slippery.

Talking Brook Public Land was created in late December 2023, replacing (expanding) Big Falls Preserve along with the conservation of formerly private land – Norumbega Trails. The Maine Bureau of Parks & Lands (BPL) now owns this public land and key decisions are made through formal state management planning processes, with coordinated early efforts by BPL and RRCT to address any issues.

Michael and Julie Fralich owned the land that is now Talking Brook Public Land, allowing the land to be used by the public for decades. Later they led two conservation transactions in 2018 and 2023, securing the land for the public, for conservation, forever. Michael died in 2024. His legacy lives on through Talking Brook Public Land.

“I could hear someone laughing and talking during the night only to realize that it was only the brook babbling as it played over its rocky bed. It was then that we gave the stream the name Talking Brook.”

Permitted:  Hiking, hunting, skiing, snowshoeing, and trapping. Dog on leash only, with no evidence of their visit.

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Not Permitted:  Bikes, camping and tenting, parking beyond the trailhead parking area at 402 Woodman Road

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Required: Wearing of orange during all hunting seasons and adherence to postings on private abutting land.

On the town/city line on the edge of abandoned Woodman Road is an historic granite boundary monument, with a small interpretive kiosk explaining the historic boundary of New Gloucester and Danville (now Auburn).

For more information, visit https://www.tpl.org/our-work/talking-brook-public-land