Latest News

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.

More information here.

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:

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)

Special 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!

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.

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.

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:

• Eastern Trail inducted into Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame (Portland Press Herald)
• Southern Maine trail inducted into hall of fame (WCSH NewsCenter Maine)
• Maine’s Premiere Trail Being Inducted into the United States Rail Trail Hall of Fame (WOKQ 97.5)
• Southern Maine rail trail inducted into national group’s hall of fame (Maine Public Radio)