Thayer Brook Preserve

Description

The 147-acre Thayer Brook Preserve contains sections of Thayer Brook and a large beaver flowage with exceptional bird and wildlife values. The preserve hosts a short segment of a regional snowmobile trail and is home to mountain bike, hiking, and cross-country skiing trails that integrate with Libby Hill Forest.

Thayer Brook Preserve is part of a state-designated wildlife sanctuary that prohibits hunting and trapping but allows fishing. As a result, dogs must be on leash at all times.

Location

92 Ramsdell Road, Gray

Length

2.6 Mile; 3.4 Mile

Permitted activities
Biking
Bird Watching
Fishing
Hiking
Snowmobiling
Snowshoeing
Dogs on leash or under voice control
Backcountry skiing
Picnic Table

More information

Maps
Adjacencies

Thayer Brook Preserve's trails connect to the Libby Hills Forest trails network, creating even longer loops or hikes from Ramsdell Road. Please abide by rules and regulations set forth by Libby Hill Forest Trails. Parking near Gray-New Gloucester schools (Libby Hill Road) provide convenient access to those trails.

Trails, Trailhead, + Accessibility

Parking: There is a fourteen-space trailhead parking lot at 92 Ramdsdell Road, Gray, ME. This parking lot is plowed during the winter. Parking also exists at Libby Hill Road.

The multi-use Mill Trail enters the preserve from the Ramsdell Road trailhead, with pedestrian and bicycle access from the trailhead parking lot. The Mill Trail and its bridges have some large puddles and safety issues, pending improvements. Except during mud season, the Mill Trail is suitable for bikes and hiking but plan on skirting a large puddle or two.

3.4 Mile ‘Round the Marsh Loop Trail: The Ridge Runner and Upper Trails leave the Mill Trail at various locations creating a 3.4-mile round trip loop around the beaver marsh. Recommended route from the junction: Clockwise, starting and ending the loop at the junction of Mill and Ridge Runner. By going clockwise, you can easily take every single right turn (except left at the junction of Mill and Ridge Runner).

For a shorter 2.6 mile experience, follow the Mill Trail to the Ridge Runner Trail and then loop around the Outback Trail.

Accessibility: Trails are rocky and unsuitable for even the most adventuresome wheelchair users. Even the Mill Trail has rocks, slopes, and puddles that limit access for wheelchairs.

Image of hikers traversing bog bridges on the Ridge Runner trail
Stewardship and Conservation History

Thayer Brook Preserve is a component of the Libby Hill unfragmented habitat block. At 2,580 acres this is the 5th largest unfragmented habitat block (undeveloped forest) in Greater Portland. Along with Libby Hill Forest, the Thayer Brook Preserve is now one of the few protected lands within this undeveloped forest. Royal River Conservation Trust and Presumpscot Regional Land Trust are today prioritizing more work to conserve more of this undeveloped forest.  Many years and considerable effort and focus by numerous individuals and organizations have brought us here.

Thayer Brook Preserve was established in 2022 and was acquired in part with funding from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund (MOHF), the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (CBEP), and Land for Maine's Future (LMF). 

Rules +  regulations

Thayer Brook Preserve is located within a state wildlife sanctuary.  No hunting or trapping is permitted.  Please be judicious with trail activities during spring thaw and excessively wet periods.

Permitted:  Biking, fishing, hiking, backcountry skiing, snowmobiling (on the Mill Trail only), and snowshoeing. Dogs are welcome but must be leashed at all times due to wildlife sensitivities unique to this parcel.

Not Permitted:  ATV use, hunting, trapping, tenting and camping.

RequiredDogs must be on leash at all times. Please adherence to postings on private abutting land.

Interpretation

Royal River Conservation Trust protects and stewards properties, including Thayer Brook Preserve, located within the traditional homelands of the Wabanaki. We strive to ensure that our properties are inclusive and accessible and provide opportunities for healing, education, and respite.

Libby Hill was named after Daniel Libby (1742-1826) who was an early settler and one of the first members of the Town of Gray Select Board. His descendants donated the land which became Libby Hill Forest.

An 18th or early 19th Century very primitive stone boulder dam (breached) crosses Thayer Brook very near the Mill Trail crossing of Thayer Brook. The stone dam is parallel to the beaver dams which form the upstream marsh and ponds.

Notable details
Property

Thayer Brook Preserve

The 147-acre Thayer Brook Preserve contains sections of Thayer Brook and a large beaver flowage with exceptional bird and wildlife values. The preserve hosts a short segment of a regional snowmobile trail and is home to mountain bike, hiking, and cross-country skiing trails that integrate with Libby Hill Forest.

Thayer Brook Preserve is part of a state-designated wildlife sanctuary that prohibits hunting and trapping but allows fishing. As a result, dogs must be on leash at all times.