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Kick off Summer with a Bike andBrew on the Eastern Trail
Latest News

Summer Kick Off Bike & Brew on the Eastern Trail June 24

The Eastern Trail and Banded Brewing are excited to host their first Bike & Brew of 2023.

Our inaugural ride of the season will head north on the trail in Saco but first we’ll have to take a few streets in Biddeford and Saco to get to the off road section. We can do this safely by staying in a group and following the instructions of the ride marshals.

Once we get to the trailhead behind Thornton Academy we will ride through the Saco, Old Orchard Beach, and hopefully Scarborough sections of the trail enjoying the tranquility, beauty , and safety from motor vehicles that the Eastern Trail provides us all.

We will return to the start via the same route.

$1 of every pour goes to support the Eastern Trail

This is a free event however, donations to the Eastern Trail are most appreciated and can be submitted during the checkout process. GO HERE to reserve a spot.

  1. 10:00 AM – Meet at Banded Brewing Biddeford (13-W, 32 Main St, Biddeford, ME 04005)
  2. 10:30 AM-1:00 PM: Bike the Eastern Trail with ET staff
  3. 1:00-2:30: Beers, Relaxation & Fun at Banded Brewing

If you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities for this event please email mckenzie.penton@easterntrail.org

 

Latest News

April 6 Full Moon Walk on the Eastern Trail

Join the Eastern Trail Alliance for its April 2023 full moon walk in the Scarborough Marsh. This month’s full moon will be a Pink Moon!

The April Moon Walk will be held Thursday, April 6th 8:00 – 9:30 pm. The walk leaves from the Eastern Trail’s Pine Point parking area. Go here to Register (registration required).

The walk is limited to 25 people and is first come first serve.

In consideration of ongoing concerns around COVID19, we encourage all safety precautions including social distancing and masks when appropriate.

Pets and flashlights are not allowed for this event so as to ensure guests are able to best appreciate the marsh and full moon. Please email info@easterntrail.org with any questions you may have.

Visit our EVENTS page for information on other events.

John Andrews Memorial 5k Logo
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John Andrews Memorial 5k Walk/Run Saturday June 3

Join us for the 6th annual John Andrews 5K Trail Run and Walk on Saturday, June 3rd beginning at 10am. Registration and Check In begins at 8:30am. The 5k, all on the Eastern Trail, begins and finishes at the end of Mill Brook Road in the Mill Brook Industrial Park.

All participants receive one free beer or glass of wine when they show their race bib at O’Reilly’s Cure Restaurant & Bar on the day of the race!

The event honors John Andrews, Eastern Trail founder, mentor and friend. John’s vision to create the Eastern Trail started in the early 1990s. He was persistent, but patient, and made tremendous progress in a relatively short amount of time. After starting this amazing effort, John lived on the trail, used the trail, and guided countless others to understand and appreciate this great resource. Sadly, John passed away in February 2017.

Proceeds from this event benefit the Eastern Trail Alliance (ETA), an organization dedicated to building a 65-mile off road transportation and recreation greenway from Kittery to South Portland, Maine and will go directly to support the ETA’s trail development campaigns. With 22 miles currently off road, our goal is to raise awareness and funds to continue John’s vision of filling in the gaps and adding more miles to the off-road trail sections.

Registration fee is $25 per person, $30 day of race. Complimentary race shirts available for anyone registering on or before Monday, May 1st. Register here.

More information here.

December 2023 marsh strom damage before and after pictures
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Update to Trail Damage in Scarborough Marsh From Recent Storm

We had significant damage to the trail in Scarborough Marsh during the December 23 storm.  Unitil’s underground natural gas line was nearly exposed and there were obstacles to avoid and eroded spots on the trail in the marsh.

Thank you to Until/Granite State Gas Transmission for its quick repair of the trail in Scarborough Marsh. The before and after photos show the extent of the damage and the quick repair work of our partners who manage the gas pipeline.

There may still be some sections of the trail in that area that need a bit of work, so please be careful when using this section of the trail!

Here are some additional photos of the damage:

Proposed New Bridget to Cross the Nonesuch River
Latest News

Final Trail Easement for Close the Gap Segment Completed

Great news!!

We have completed the final trail easement for the Close the Gap segment, which allows up to move forward with construction.

We anticipate that the Close the Gap project connecting Scarborough and South Portland will be ready to go out to construction bidding by January 30, 2023.

Please remember this project will take 18-24 months to complete, but we plan to get started soon!

(image shows the future crossing of the Nonesuch River in Scarborough headed towards Wainwright Fields in South Portland)

Here are some local news reports of this exciting news:

The Eastern Trail to “Close the Gap” between South Portland and Scarborough with connecting expansion (Portland Press Herald)

Eastern Trail completes final trail easement between Scarborough and South Portland (News Center Maine)

Bench near Scarborough Marsh
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Bench Improvement on the trail near the Scarborough Marsh

Bench being improved near Scarborough MarshSpecial thanks to Boy Scout Ben Shields of Troop 47 in Scarborough for his work in updating five benches along the trail in the Scarborough Marsh area. Ben led the effort and worked alongside his father, Scout Master James Shields, Eastern Trail’s Patrick Conlon, and other scouts.

The work involved five benches on the trail in the Scarborough Marsh and just north of the marsh. Three of the benches received some new boards and a coat of water proofing wood treatment. The other two benches were in bad shape and were completely replaced with new ones hand made by Ben.

Great effort all – THANKS!

Jon Kachmar, executive director of the Eastern Trail Alliance, stands on a culvert at West Brook that runs under the next phase of the off-road trail expansion.
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Work on the Eastern Trail could expand rapidly in the coming decade

It’s been 10 years since southern Maine’s signature off-road trail has expanded. But work in the next decade could connect existing trails and extend the Eastern Trail to North Berwick.

BY DEIRDRE FLEMING, STAFF WRITER | MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM | NOVEMBER 13, 2022

Jon Kachmar is working on the ultimate conservation juggling act: Getting three significant new sections built on the Eastern Trail in southern Maine.

Expansion of the trail – envisioned as a 50-mile, off-road trail upon completion – has stalled in the past decade, but Kachmar believes the Eastern Trail Alliance has a shot at completing another 15.7 miles of the trail in the next 10 years. That would extend it to 37 miles, and connect three different existing sections.

“There will definitely be momentum moving forward,” said Kachmar, executive director of the Eastern Trail Alliance. “There’s no doubt about it. It is a unique time. Right now there is an unprecedented amount of federal money for infrastructure for things that will benefit the public. We fit a lot of those qualifications for that money. I’m pretty optimistic.”

The Eastern Trail is the southern Maine section of the proposed 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway envisioned to link Key West, Florida, to Calais via off-road trails. In the past 20 years, 20.9 miles of the trail have been built in Maine across three sections from South Portland to West Kennebunk.

Read the entire article online here.

Latest News

The Eastern Trail Now Has a Twitter Account

The Eastern Trail recently created a Twitter account.

Our official Twitter “Handle” is @EasternTrail.

Include hashtags to link your tweet to a larger conversation. Hashtags related to the Eastern Trail are limitless. Use #easterntrail, and maybe some others such as #trailmoments, #biking, #outside, #southernmaine, #closethegap.

View the Eastern Trail Twitter account.

So go to your Twitter account and follow us, and add to the conversation by sharing your experiences, pictures, thoughts, ideas, appreciation, and love of the Eastern Trail.

 

Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Latest News

Maine’s Eastern Trail Earns National Recognition

PORTLAND (WGME) – Maine’s Eastern Trail system is getting some national recognition.

Friday, Rails to Trails Conservancy, the nation’s largest trail advocacy organization, welcomed Maine’s Eastern Trail into the “Rail Trail Hall of Fame.”

According to an economic impact study, the trail brings more than $44 million into Maine’s economy each year and employs more than 300 people around the state.

“This is something that people can use to commute to work on, to run errands on and to have an option to be mobile without having to rely on a car or to put themselves out on one of our busy streets on a bicycle,” James Tasse of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine said.

The Eastern Trail is more than 65 miles long, running from Kittery to South Portland, and 16 additional miles are under construction.

You can read the story with video online here.

You can view related news coverage of the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony: