About

This 18-acre preserve in Thomaston is nestled amid mixed softwoods, luscious ferns, and an expansive wetland that covers most of the property. Along this single-track hike, you’ll cross a 400-foot boardwalk and pass Split Rock, a glacier erratic that was deposited from retreating glaciers over 10,000 years ago. 

 

While Jack Baker Woods offers an out-and-back 1-mile trail from the parking lot, this trail also connects to two other large trail systems. At its western edge, the trail links up with 4 miles of the Thomaston Town Forest trails, which are maintained by Georges River Land Trust, Midcoast Trail Stewardship, and the Town of Thomaston. Just across Beechwood Street, users can now also access the Georges Highland Path trail from a new parking lot that leads to our Rockland Bog Preserve. From here, users can walk along 7+ miles of old logging roads that traverse the Bog and end at our northern parking lot on Route 90.  

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Conservation History

Jack Baker Woods Preserve was named for an avid supporter of the Georges Highland Path, which was created in the 1990s with a vision to connect the upper and lower sections of the watershed from Montville to Thomaston. This property was purchased by the land trust in 2000.

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Trails

Main Trail This section of trail brings users through a lush, wet forest and is built for both foot and bike traffic. Users will travel over seasonal streams and wet areas via boardwalks and bridges. This is a “lollipop style” trail with a half-mile section leading away from the parking lot and a quarter mile loop on the end of it. JBW is the center of a larger trail system, connecting the Thomaston Town Forest to the Rockland Bog Trails.

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Length: 0.75 miles

Width: 3 feet

Surface: Packed earth, 400 ft boardwalk

Obstacles: Roots, rocks, bog bridging on back loop