Pineland Public Reserved Land

Looking for a quick hike while visiting the Portland area? Do as the locals do and head up Route 231 to the 600-acre Pineland Public Reserved Land, situated along the Royal River. Maine’s southernmost public reserved land, the Pineland Public Reserved Land consists of a pleasing combination of rolling fields, pasture land, and woods. Wildflowers brighten the bucolic landscape in spring and summer, and some eight miles of “edges” between forest and field provide safe habitat for many animals and birds. Visitors share the Pineland hiking trails with everything from white-tail deer and wild turkey to red fox and ruffed grouse. Bluebirds, meadowlarks, and kestrels add flashes of color and song to the area.

Three miles of well-marked hiking trails traverse Pineland Public Reserved Land. A North Loop Trail heads to the river. The South Loop Trail winds through a more wooded setting. Come winter’s first snowfall, visitors swap out their walking shoes for snowshoes and cross-country skis.

Adjacent to the public land is Pineland Farm, a large, private recreational and farming community that welcomes the public to explore and learn. The Farm is located on the site of the former Pineland Center, a state mental institution whose staff and residents were fed by the fields of Pineland Public Reserved Land. The peaceful beauty of the general Pineland area today is proof of the healing and rejuvenating power of nature.

Latitude: 43.8931
Longitude: -70.2422