Volunteers help cut new trail on Blue Ridge

Volunteers from Moosehead Trails (MT) recently joined forces with the Maine Conservation Corps (MCC) to add trail to a new recreation area under construction east of Moosehead Lake.

Contributed photos

BEFORE AND AFTER — A site before and after being worked on by Moosehead Trails and Maine Conservation Corps crews.

When completed, the seven-mile Blue Ridge Hike and Bike Trail will be a destination for day-hiking, backpacking, trail running, snowshoeing and intermediate-and-above mountain biking. On Aug. 12 work began on a spur trail to a future campsite (not yet established) near Cranberry Pond. MT volunteers and the MCC crew worked together to remove trees and stumps, clip back branches and rake away leaves and other debris from the trail surface. Many thanks go out to everyone who participated, despite heavy rains in the morning.

The Blue Ridge Trail can currently be accessed from the Rum Pond Road (off the KI Road). If interested in learning more about the trail and the recreation vision for the area, please contact Rex Turner, outdoor recreation planner at the state Bureau of Parks and Lands in the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, at Rex.Turner@Maine.gov.

MT is a group of volunteers who help maintain walking, hiking and biking trails in the greater Moosehead Lake region. They will wrap up the season on Friday, Sept. 9 with a work trip on the trail up Big Moose Mountain. Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are welcome. To RSVP or learn more about, please email MT Coordinator Erica Kaufmann at erica@fsmaine.org or visit Moosehead Trails on Facebook.