trail through blow-downs, Ocean Point Preserve

Earth Garden III: Ocean Point Preserve (BRLT)

One of the great attractions of the Boothbay, Maine area — besides the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, the ocean, the harbor, the restaurants — is the Boothbay Region Land Trust. The Land Trust has conserved and maintains more than 30 preserves, many of which have well-marked trails on them, on the Boothbay peninsula and islands around it.

We’ve hiked more than half of the trails, each a unique exploration of meadows, forested upland, mixed forest, tidal marshes, freshwater wetlands, rivers, and quiet coves. The walks range from easy and only a mile or so (most of them) to moderate and longer, some as long as 4 miles.

Yesterday, we walked a new area, the Ocean Point Preserve in East Boothbay. It’s a short walk, about a mile on 25 acres that includes many blow-downs — looked like something cataclysmic occurred — as well as swampy areas, two ponds, and a marsh. The main feature at this time of year, other than the blow-downs, is a very healthy plethora of skunk cabbage.

Below are some photos from this “garden” spot.

path, Ocean Point Preserve
path, Ocean Point Preserve
skunk cabbage in boardwalk, Ocean Point Preserve
skunk cabbage in boardwalk, Ocean Point Preserve
skunk cabbage, Ocean Point Preserve
skunk cabbage, Ocean Point Preserve
reindeer moss, Ocean Point Preserve
reindeer moss, Ocean Point Preserve
pond with sunlight, Ocean Point Preserve
pond with sunlight, Ocean Point Preserve
boardwalk pattern, Ocean Point Preserve
boardwalk pattern, Ocean Point Preserve
sign for side trail, Ocean Point Preserve
sign for side trail, Ocean Point Preserve
view of larger pond, Ocean Point Preserve
view of larger pond, Ocean Point Preserve
marsh view, Ocean Point Preserve
marsh view, Ocean Point Preserve
bunchberry in bloom, Ocean Point Preserve
bunchberry in bloom, Ocean Point Preserve
skunk cabbage, Ocean Point Preserve
lots of skunk cabbage, Ocean Point Preserve
blow-downs, Ocean Point Preserve
blow-downs, Ocean Point Preserve
chair made of tree, Ocean Point Preserve
chair made of tree, Ocean Point Preserve
skunk cabbage, Ocean Point Preserve
skunk cabbage, Ocean Point Preserve

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