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“In a lot of ways, the Eastern Trail is a model of what could happen in the state.” —Jeremy Cluchey, volunteer member of the Maine Trails Coalition

A couple times a week, Bob Hamblen takes to the Eastern Trail on his bike, riding through various sections of the route that traverses 28 miles of southern Maine’s spectacular coastline. While he sees it as “a win” wherever he ends up on the trail, the long-time Saco resident has his favorites.

Hamblen, a trustee on the Eastern Trail Alliance board, is especially fond of the South Portland portion, also known as the Greenbelt, that passes through neighborhoods and ends at Bug Light Park on Casco Bay, as well as the southern section from Biddeford to Kennebunk.

He isn’t the only one who can easily pinpoint favorite trail features. Eastern Trail Alliance Executive Director Jon Kachmar loves the stretch he calls “the gorge” near the town of Arundel. It is the area where the old Eastern Railroad blasted through rock more than century ago to make way for the train track. “It’s quiet, and it’s unique,” he said of the rocky ravine.

Allison Kenty, director of communications and public affairs for the Southern Maine Health Care Hospital in Biddeford, is partial to the wooded trail section that goes right by the hospital campus. In fact, she sometimes uses it to get out of her office and into the fresh air while she takes a conference call.

And for Jeremy Cluchey, a volunteer member of the Maine Trails Coalition, the best part of the Eastern Trail is the Scarborough Marsh, the 3,200-acre saltwater marsh where he has often taken part in the Maine Audubon’s annual Snowy Egret 5K run. “Every time I’ve done it, it’s been this glorious May day,” he said.

When it comes to a trail as varied as the Eastern Trail, it should come as no surprise that everyone seems to gravitate to different features. Kachmar says the diversity of the Eastern Trail is one of its strong suits—the thing that makes the trail such a treasure.

Along with Bug Light—the area’s famous lighthouse, dubbed so for its small size—Scarborough Marsh and the charming South Portland neighborhoods, the Eastern Trail also passes by areas of dense forest and one particularly lovely 7-mile stretch of sandy beachfront at Old Orchard Beach.

There is no question that the Eastern Trail is beloved in the communities it passes through, including South Portland, Scarborough, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Biddeford, Arundel and Kennebunk.

“It has become a goal for multiple communities to see [the Eastern Trail] built within their borders,” Hamblen said. “It exists in seven towns now, with five to go. Towns that would ordinarily have little reason to communicate now have a common goal: to finish the Eastern Trail.”

The trail’s place in the community is a product of about three decades of work. The dream of the trail formed in the early 1990s, and the Eastern has been expanding gradually through the years.

The original route was built by the old Eastern Railroad, whose tracks traveled from Boston to Portland. The train started in the 1840s and ran through the 1940s when service was suspended. After sitting idle for 20 years or so, the rail corridor was tapped in the 1960s as a route for a natural gas line. It’s a use that continues today, and Kachmar said the Eastern Trail works with Granite State Gas, receiving significant in-kind benefits from the utility and the ability to use easements for the trail.

The Eastern Trail’s track record in the community serves as an example for other aspiring trail groups in Maine, according to Cluchey. “In a lot of ways, the Eastern Trail is a model of what could happen in the state,” he said. “They have done really important work. We leverage that.”

Tom Sexton, the northeast regional director for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, sees the Eastern Trail as a pioneer for other trail efforts in the region. “For Maine and the New England states, it’s been kind of an anchor,” he said of the Eastern Trail. “We needed those first trails to be the pioneers. It’s a great ambassador.”

Much more story and pictures in this article can be read online here.

A University of New England project is documenting animal’s use of the area for the Eastern Trail Alliance.

BY DREW JOHNSON | THE FORECASTER/PORTLAND PRESS HERALD | PUBLISHED APRIL 27, 2022

Wildlife abounds in the 1.6-mile gap between the Eastern Trail in Scarborough and where the trail picks up in South Portland, and for the past four years, the animals have been captured on camera.

The GapTracks project, conducted by University of New England professor Noah Perlut and students in his Terrestrial Wildlife course, has documented thousands of videos and still images of 60 animal species living in, feeding at and passing through the gap.

The wildlife includes coyotes, deer, turkeys, bobcats, river otters, short-tailed weasels, gray foxes and a even a moose.

The project is using its data analysis to aid the Eastern Trail Alliance, which is working to fill the trail gap between the Black Point area in Scarborough and Wainwright Recreational Complex in South Portland.

“It’s a huge benefit to us in terms of just understanding how wildlife is using that trail and after it’s built how it will use it, post-construction and that allows us to better understand our impact,” said Jon Kachmar, the alliance’s executive director.

Remote cameras placed in the gap pick up sights and sounds.

“Every time there was a movement or sound, a picture would be taken and then a video,” said Nicole Corriveau, a senior and environmental science major at UNE. “If there were animal sounds or animals in the picture or videos, we would mark that video and put it into our database of what species it was.”

Perlut’s students spend two hours per week sifting through the videos and photos and gathering data.

Many of the clips the cameras have captured, however, are of the wind.

“It’s a lot of watching footage that has nothing on it,” said Cameron Indeck, a senior environmental science major. “But the few clips you end up finding in there that have a deer and a fawn walking by or a fox, it’s very rewarding.”

The GapTracks project captured this photo of a moose on the 1.6 mile gap of the Eastern Trail between Scarborough and South Portland. Contributed / Noah Perlut, GapTracks

Madi Harvey, a junior environmental studies major, agrees that “hours of looking through videos of wind blowing gets a bit discouraging.”

“But it was all worth it – seeing beautiful videos of regal red foxes, to red-tailed hawks hunting squirrels, to fat raccoons waddling around,” Harvey said in an email to The Forecaster.

Catching a moose on camera in the fall of 2020 was a bit of a surprise.

“There was a moose that showed up on Scarborough High School’s football field in the morning on a school day,” Perlut said. “It hung out there for a while and it made its way to Willard Beach where it was tranquilized and brought to the forest away from suburbia.”

Read the entire article online here

South Portland (WGME) — The Eastern Trail that runs from South Portland to Kittery is set to expand thanks to new federal funding.

The Eastern Trail management district is getting $7,000 for an 11 mile, off-road extension.

That new portion of the trail will run from Kennebunk to North Berwick.

Organizers say the expansion will provide more opportunities for a trail that already has wide-spread use.

“We had 250,000 people use the trail last year. And that was an economic impact of $44 million. So it has a huge impact on the community. A lot of people used the traisl to commute to work. To reach local businesses and to use their services it passes through many communities right now and we’re looking to extend it to even more,” says Eric Wright, President of the Eastern Trail Alliance.

Organizers say the expansion could take several years to complete.

Read the entire story online here.

Shawn P. Sullivan | Portsmouth Herald | Published March 25, 2022

KENNEBUNK, Maine – The Eastern Trail Management District will receive $700,000 in federal funds to go toward engineering an 11-mile, off-road expansion of the Eastern Trail from Kennebunk to North Berwick.

Jon Kachmar, the executive director of the Eastern Trail Alliance, which is part of the district, said his organization is “very excited” about the funds, which Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, recently announced were part of the transportation appropriations bill for 2022.

“It’s clearly a major push,” Kachmar said Monday.

The Eastern Trail spans 65 miles from Bug Light Park in South Portland to the Memorial Bridge on Route 1 in Kittery. According to Kachmar, the first 22 miles of the trail, from Bug Light Park to Kennebunk Elementary School on Alewive Road in Kennebunk, are through wooded areas. The remainder of the trail, from the school to the bridge in Kittery, is along roads.

The expansion will take the trail off-road, along wooded passages in view of occasional rural houses and farms, from Kennebunk Elementary School, through Wells, to the border of Pratt & Whitney, the aircraft manufacturing company at 113 Wells St. in North Berwick.

Collins, who co-authored the appropriations bill, said the trail’s expansion will provide increased opportunities for transportation and recreation throughout York County.

“The Eastern Trail is a scenic route that allows Mainers to enjoy some of our state’s most beautiful natural resources,” Collins said in a press release.

The funds are part of the omnibus package that Congress passed and President Biden signed into law last week. Kachmar said the alliance is expecting to receive its funding in two or three months.

Kachmar said the cost of engineering the expansion’s design is $910,000. The alliance has the bulk of the remaining $210,000 “in hand.”

The expansion itself will cost $7 million, according to Kachmar. The alliance will seek state and federal funding for the project and will continue to raise funds for the financial match it will be required to provide.

Kachmar said that, realistically, the project should take three or four years to complete. He added that a feasibility study should be completed next month, paving the way for a cost analysis and, “ideally,” an opportunity to put the project out to bid this summer.

The design engineering could take a year, according to Kachmar. Actual construction could take two years, he added.

Under this timeline, the trail expansion could be complete by 2025, Kachmar said.

Read the entire story online here.

Scarborough Leader /Portland Press Herald | December 31, 2021

A new economic impact analysis of the Eastern Trail located in southern Maine states the total annual economic impact of use associated with the trail is $44.6 million.

The trail goes from the state border in Kittery and ends in South Portland; a portion of the trail is located in Scarborough

The analysis was conducted by Camoin Associates  in partnership with Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission.

It is estimated roughly 250,000 people use the trail annually based on recent trail counts, and each user spends an average of $118 per day, according to the analysis. The trail also supports 364 jobs across the state, $12.5 million in earnings and $32.1 million in sales, with most sales coming from overnight lodging, food and drink, and retail items.

“While trails are undoubtedly economic drivers, in this case at the regional and state levels, they also provide other significant benefits such as opportunities to promote a healthful lifestyle, transportation alternatives via pedestrian and bicycle options for residents and commuters, and a link between communities that each add their own unique services and amenities along the trail,” said Jon Kachmar, Eastern Trail Executive director.

New portions of the trail are currently under construction in Scarborough, Biddeford/Saco, and between Kennebunk and North Berwick, totaling 16 miles.

Read the full article online here.

Read more about the Eastern Trail’s Economic Development data collection efforts here.

Camoin Associates was retained by the Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC) to conduct an economic impact and fiscal benefit analysis of the Eastern Trail on SMPDC’s region and the state of Maine. The Eastern Trail is intended to provide the route for the East Coast Greenway in southern Maine through a four-season, non motorized, multipurpose, transportation and recreation trail between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and South Portland, Maine. The approximately 65 mile trail brings users through historical landmarks, scenic vistas, recreation spots, and places to eat and shop.

The report’s analysis considers both the (1) impact of current trail usage; and (2) impacts of a hypothetical trail expansion scenario that results in new construction spending and trail usage.

A copy of the 18 page report can be viewed here (pdf format).

A Summary Infographic of major findings of the report can be viewed here (pdf format).

More information on past Eastern Trail Economic Impact Studies can be viewed here.

What if the northern terminus of the Eastern Trail at Bug Light in South Portland allowed a trail user to continue north through Portland, Falmouth, Cumberland, Yarmouth and beyond?

The Casco Bay Trail Alliance is focused on just such a vision, and you can view their efforts at: cascobaytrail.org.

Let them know you care about building more long-distance trails north of Portland, join their mailing list, and see how you might lend a hand to make this vision happen sooner rather than later.

[Eds. note: We recently came across another version of this article listing the Eastern Trail is one of ten best national rail-trails, and thought we should highlight this recognition once again. To read about the other nine, read the full article here.]

By Cindy Barks,  published January 14, 2020

It might be the ultimate example of repurposing: Since the 1960s, thousands of miles of old abandoned railroad lines have been converted into recreational trails.

Owing to their scenic locales and gentle grades, the Rails-to-Trails routes are perfect for an epic bike ride or a leisurely stroll. The routes offer dizzying variety: They run along the East and West Coasts, past mountains, across rivers and forests, and through bustling urban landscapes.

After hiking and biking rail-trails all over the country, I’ve found that not only do the routes provide an opportunity for exercise in splendid outdoor settings, but they also take me back to the heyday of train travel. I often imagine passengers gawking at gorgeous seaside and mountain scenes to the rhythmic sway and lonesome whistle of the train.

Today, every state in the nation has a roster of rail-trails. According to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, there are more than 2,100 rail trails in the United States, totaling 24,215 miles.

And hundreds more are in the works. Among them is the mammoth Great American Rail-Trail, which will run 3,700 miles from Washington State to Washington, D.C. Once complete, the trail will allow users to literally walk or bike across America on a seamless, scenic trail. The Great American Rail-Trail is currently more than half complete, with about 1,700 miles left to fill in.

Meanwhile, rail-trails are beloved amenities in communities all over the country. Here are 10 of the best.

3. Eastern Trail, Maine

Lighthouses, lobster rolls, and white-pine forests: These are just a few of the wonderful things you can experience along southern Maine’s Eastern Trail.

Running roughly from South Portland to Kennebunk and parallel to Maine’s Atlantic Coast, the 29-mile Eastern Trail takes in the charming towns of Saco, Biddeford, Scarborough, and Old Orchard Beach.

Nearly 22 miles of the trail follow off-road sections, but some sections feature on-road bike lanes.

Tip: Start your ride or hike at the northern end at the Bug Light Park Lighthouse (Portland Breakwater Light) in South Portland, where plenty of parking is available.

You can read the full article online here.

From our friends at the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority:

The Amtrak Downeaster has expanded its carry-on bike program and is now accepting bicycles from all Downeaster stations in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Newly installed custom-designed luggage racks that convert to bike racks at the end of each car now make it possible to roll bikes on board from any Downeaster station, then secure and store them on the train.  Previously, bikes had to be stored in a special car, restricting access to only a few stations.  Now, standard full-size bicycles may be carried on from any Downeaster station and stored in the designated racks. Because Bicycles are hung vertically by their back wheels using special bike tire hooks to ensure safety, the front wheel, panniers, and bags must be removed.

Bicycle space is limited to four bikes per train, so advance reservations for bikes is required. A $3 to $8 one-way bicycle fee applies.

NNEPRA has been working to improve bike access on Downeaster trains for years. This project could not have been accomplished without the continued support of the bicycle community and the partnership with Amtrak to modify the current train equipment.