Weskeag Headlands Preserve

Town: South Thomaston
Acres: 37
Miles of trail: 1
Activities: Hiking, birding, skiing

The Weskeag Headlands Preserve features 37 acres of woodlands, and over 2,000 feet of shoreline with adjacent tidal marsh and mudflats on the Weskeag River providing habitat considered sensitive by the State of Maine.

The unfragmented woodland and diverse wetland communities offers a complex mix of habitats for raptors, songbirds, tidal wading birds and waterfowl, species that depend on healthy wetland complexes as well as the surrounding uplands for breeding, feeding and migration. Adjacent to the headlands, shallow marshes hug the shoreline, providing space and opportunity for the estuarine intertidal communities to migrate inland as sea level rises with climate change.

This property contributes to GRLT’s Bridging Two Rivers Iniative that conserves the significant resources and productive ecosystems associated with the Weskeag River and the estuarine flats of the St. George River, and brings our conserved acreage in this area to 621 acres. Together with the W. Tyler Wildlife Managmeent Area and the Weskeag Preserve of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a total of 1,562 acres has been conserved in this ecosystem. (More details about this property)

Public Access

The Preserve is open to the public for day-use only; no overnight camping is allowed. The 1-mile trail down the spine of the property to the headland overlooking the river loops back along the shore and provides easy access for everyone to explore and learn about the Weskeag River and its ecological values. In the warmer seasons, please take precautions to repel ticks and mosquitoes.

Download a printable map.

Directions to the Property

From the Keag Store in South Thomaston, take Rte. 73 west and turn right on Westbrook Street. Go .5 mile and turn right on Hopkins Drive. There is a small parking spot on Hopkins Drive.