"Taste of the Town" Gala was a Huge Success

What a success - over 200 people joined us on April 7 for this unique and delicious event to benefit the Eastern Trail Alliance’s “Close the Gap” campaign!  They sampled signature dishes from local establishments, bid on exciting items in our silent auction, and danced the night away to music by the Time Pilots! Most importantly, they all were contributing, or otherwise helping, to raise funds to Close the Gap in South Portland.

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Eastern Trail has come a long way

Published online by the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier/Mainely Media, January 25, 2018

Legislative Lowdown by Rep. Martin Grohman
When I first moved to Biddeford 18 years ago, the path that is now the Eastern Trail was just a four wheeler track. I lived on Mountain Road and I was fortunate to have access from my backyard. But the trail was arguably kind of sketchy and quite swampy. There was no formal access point for people not as lucky as me to have direct access. If I headed out there to snowshoe or mountain bike, I practically never saw anyone else.

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Eastern Trail raises $4.1M to 'Close the Gap'

By Juliette Laaka on January 4, 2018 - The Forecaster

SCARBOROUGH — The Eastern Trail Alliance reached a $4.1 million fundraising goal to complete a nearly 2-mile section of trail, including building a bridge to traverse the Nonesuch River.

The fundraising campaign spanned five years and included donations large and small. Carole Brush, ETA executive director, said in December alone the organization pulled in $100,000 in donations and grants.

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Eastern Trail completes $4.1 million ‘Close the Gap’ campaign

The money will be used to build two bridges in Scarborough that will complete 16 miles of off-road trail from downtown Saco to Bug Light Park in South Portland.

BY KELLEY BOUCHARD  STAFF WRITER   Published 12/30/2017

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Funds arrive to close ET gap

By Michael Kelley Staff Writer  Published 12/29/2017
Christmas arrived early for the Eastern Trail Alliance, which for years has dreamed of finding the funding to close a 1.6-mile gap of the Eastern Trail between the Nonesuch River in Scarborough and Wainwright Athletic Field in South Portland and for the past few years has been working to raise the more than $4 million needed to complete the project.

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DONATE NOW TO BE PART OF SOMETHING BIG IN 2018!

Dear Friends of the Eastern Trail, 2017 has been a year of reflection for the Eastern Trail Alliance.

[Note: The Eastern Trail Alliance has released its 2017 Annual End-of-the-Year Appeal Letter - the text of the letter is shown here]

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Cycling, Rail Advocates On Collision Course Over Proposed Portland-Yarmouth Bike Path

Maine Public - All Things Considered - By FRED BEVER, DEC 15, 2017

[Ed. note: The Eastern Trail gets a nice plug about one-third into the article]

A proposal to create a new bike path along an existing rail line between Portland and Yarmouth is drawing strong interest from the communities it would pass through. It’s also raising worries that it would interfere with a plan to extend passenger train service from Portland to the Lewiston-Auburn area.

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Will You Please Complete Our Economic Impact Survey?

Will you help us document the impact and value of the Eastern Trail?  Please consider downloading, completing our online Economic Information Survey, and mailing your responses to us. Read on:

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MAINE MINI ADVENTURE: LOOKING FOR A LONG WALK ON THE BEACH? PINE POINT IS THE PLACE

Southern Maine just might have more than its fair share of gorgeous beaches. But when it comes to walking — really walking for miles across packed sand without needing to dodge chairs and umbrellas and small children making a sprint for the ocean — Pine Point beach deserves a spot at the top of the list.

[Read on in this article for an excellent section on the Eastern Trail]

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MLR Rider makes New York Times article

Two years ago, we were contacted by a rider who was writing a book about losing weight.  The ride had already sold out, but he wanted to be part of the event, and promised if we "snuck him in" he would mention the MLR in his book.

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