If you’re looking for an easy walk through the woods, there are plenty of nice hiking trails in Bangor and surrounding towns like Orono and Old Town.
While not a comprehensive list, here are my favorite hiking trails in the Bangor / Orono region of Maine.
Bangor Region Hiking Trails
Bangor City Forest
Length: Varies. Difficulty: Easy. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: Yes.
First on the list is the excellent network of trails in Roland Perry Bangor City Forest, located off of Stillwater Ave near the Bangor Mall. Most of the trails are on crushed gravel, wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and there are numbered trail map signs to keep you from getting lost.
The largest parking area is at the end of Tripp Drive, off Stillwater Ave. From here there are a number of loops you can do with varying lengths.
If you only have half an hour, take East-West Loop Trail for about a half mile to the Bog Trail cut-off trail, which cuts through the forest on a narrow path and re-connects to the East-West trail to return to the parking area (1 mile round trip).
For a longer 2 mile loop (but still very easy) continue past Bog Trail on the East-West Trail until you reach Deer Trail and take that to the opposite end of the East-West Trail to return to the parking area.
For a nice 4 mile loop, take the East-West Loop Trail in its entirety.
These are just a few of the many hikes you can do at Bangor City Forest, and it’s also a popular spot for biking, snow shoeing and cross country skiing.
Orono Bog Walk
Length: 1.5 mi. Difficulty: Very easy. Dogs allowed: No. Toilet: Yes.
Orono Bog Walk is accessed from Bangor City Forest’s primary parking area on Tripp Drive. It is open May 1st through Labor Day from 7:00am to 6:30pm, and has shorter hours as the days get shorter in September through November.
Begin on the eastern end of the East-West Loop Trail from the parking lot and walk for about 1/3 mile to the entrance to the Orono Bog Walk.
The boardwalk begins in the forest and then forms a large loop through the wide open bog. The loop takes under an hour to complete at 1.5 miles round trip, but can be combined with a longer loop in Bangor City Forest.
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge in Old Town
Length: Varies. Difficulty: Easy. Dogs allowed: No. Toilet: Yes.
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge is my personal favorite place to hike, paddle or snow shoe in the Bangor area. There are three entrances to Hirundo, gates 1, 2 and 3, all on West Old Town Road (Route 43).
I suggest entering through gate 1 and driving on the 1/2 mile dirt road to the pine parking area, where you access a number of trails.
The “Trail of the Senses” is a wonderful ADA-accessible path around the pond (0.3 mi) and through the meadow (0.15 mi) with hard packed surfaces, guard ropes and benches for your comfort, as well as a small screened-in picnic area.
You can do a ≈1.5 mile loop from the parking area by taking the Pond Trail to the Pushaw Trail (0.7 mi) which traverses along beautiful Pushaw Stream and return to the Pond Trail on the Lady Slipper Trail (0.7 mi) as shown on the map below.
The southern end of Pushaw Trail and Lady Slipper Trail can get overgrown and buggy in the summer, so I suggest a slightly shorter loop by using the White Pine Trail to connect from Pushaw to Lady Slipper, or skip Lady Slipper by returning to the Pond Trail from Pushaw on the Conifer Trail.
From the pine parking area, you can also do a nice loop on the Wabanaki Trail (0.4 mi) along Pushaw Stream and return on Field To Forest (0.5 mi).
There are more trails to explore from the parking area at gate 2, across the street from gate 1, like the Needle and Leaf interpretive trail.
UMaine Orono Demeritt Forest
Length: Varies. Difficulty: Varies. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: No.
There are miles of hiking and biking trails in the woods surrounding the University of Maine. You could create a number of different loop hikes, but here’s a popular one: The Dorian Loop. It’s about a 3 mile loop hike, part of which is nicely paved, and it can be accessed by parking in the back of UMaine’s Rec Center or at the end of Penny Road as shown on the AllTrails map below.
The trails at UMaine are excellent for biking and XC skiing as well!
Walden Park Preserve
Length: 2.5 mi. Difficulty: Easy. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: No.
Walden Park Preserve has a 2.5 mile loop hike with several more narrow trails within the loop as well as a connector to Bangor City Forest trails. Trail head and parking is located at the end of Tamarack Trail. From Essex Street, turn onto Walden Park Way, then turn right onto Tamarack Trail.
Central Penjajawoc Preserve
Length: 1.5 mi. Difficulty: Easy. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: No.
Central Penjajawoc Preserve has an easy 1.5 mile lollipop loop hike on a narrow but well established trail through the woods. Trail head parking is located off of Essex Street.
Northeast Penjajawoc Preserve
Length: 2.4 mi. Difficulty: Easy. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: No.
The Penjajawoc Stream Trail is a 2 mile figure-8 loop hike accessed from its trail head on Kittredge Road. Its a nice walk in the woods, with many bog bridges to walk over the muddy areas. The trail is well established, but there are lots of rocks and roots so it is not advised for the mobility challenged. This trail can be very buggy in the summer and muddy after rain.
You could cut the hike in half by only doing the first loop, which is the nicest section. If you do the entire loop, you’ll walk along the wide snowmobile road for a few minutes until you see the trail sign and go back into the woods for your return to the trail head. It should take about an hour to do the hike.
Prentiss Woods
Length: 0.7 mi. Difficulty: Very easy. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: No.
While only a short 0.7 mile loop that will take about 15 minutes to complete, Prentiss Woods is a lovely place for a quick dose of nature. Trail head parking is located on Grandview Ave, off Broadway, behind the high school.
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The path is wide and flat and consists of crushed gravel. There are no signs to keep you on the loop and there are a couple of short off-shoots but it’s not a big area of woods so you couldn’t get lost for very far.
Brown Woods
Length: 0.7 mi. Difficulty: Very easy. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: No.
Brown Woods is another nice place in Bangor to escape into the woods for a quick 15 minute walk. Trail head parking is on Ohio Street.
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A very flat, wide path path of crushed gravel and pine needles whisks you into the woods, where there are several places to sit and relax. The path is nicely shaded, so its an especially nice escape on a hot summer day.
Essex Woods
Length: Varies. Difficulty: Easy. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: No.
You’ve probably seen this trail around the pond in Essex Woods if you’ve driven on I-95 in Bangor. Despite being located so close to the highway, it’s still a nice walk; but not nearly as quiet as the other hikes on this list.
There is a large parking area at the end of Watchmaker St off of Essex Street (by the dog park) . Alternatively, there is also limited on-street parking at the end of Garden Way, near the MaineSpace storage facility on Stillwater Ave.
The out-and-back path along the bog is nice, despite the highway noise. The trail near the dog park, shown above on the AllTrails map, is not as interesting, and has big hill to go up and down. This area is better for mountain bikers, as there are several fun mountain bike trails.
Stillwater River Trail in Orono
Length: 3.8 mi. Difficulty: Easy. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: Nearby.
The Stillwater River Trail is a 3.8 mile out and back path through the woods along the river near downtown Orono. You can of course shorten the walk by going as far as you would like and turning around. Parts of the trail pass through private property where owners have kindly allowed public use of the trail.
It’s a wide, mostly flat and well maintained path through the woods with some sections offering nice views of the river.
Trail head parking is available in the public section of the University Credit Union parking lot, in a small dirt lot behind a house on Main Street across from Marsh Island Brewery, or in a small dirt lot on Bennoch Rd across from Noyes Dr.
Caribou Bog in Orono
Length: Varies. Difficulty: Varies. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: Yes.
Caribou Bog in Orono is excellent for XC skiing in the winter but its trails are also good for hiking and mountain biking in the summer and fall.
Go prepared with a map – there’s a labyrinth of trails here, but fortunately there are numbered markers throughout the trails so that you can figure out where you are and which way to go at the numerous trail intersections.
I suggest doing a 3 mile out and back hike to Newman Hill and Bangor Hill or you can extend the hike by taking a different way back. Below is a hike that I recorded and you can view others’ on AllTrails as well.
There is a parking area by the building on Taylor Rd, just past the pond, and you can access the Newman Hill Trail from that parking area.
Colburn Natural Area in Orono
There’s are some nice trails at Jeremiah Colburn Natural Area, located off of Forest Ave in Orono. Parking for the trail head is located at the end of Forest Hill Terrace. It feels a bit funny because you’re parking across from somebody’s house, but once you enter the woods it feels very peaceful.
A mostly evergreen forest of tall trees provides nice shade and with several trails you can make your walk as short or as long as you would like.
The Cota Trail crosses Forest Ave and connects the Colburn trails to even more trails managed by Orono Land Trust, in the Rampe Easement and Sklar Park.
Bonus: Route 9 Hikes
While a bit farther away, I wanted to include a few more great hikes about a half hour from Bangor along Route 9 in Clifton that offer more elevation and reward you for your effort with scenic views from the top.
Peaked Mountain (Chick Hill)
Length: 2.6 mi. Difficulty: Moderate. Dogs allowed: Yes. Toilet: No.
Peaked Mountain, better known by locals as Chick Hill, provides wide open eastern views from its top, and is especially scenic in fall.
I think that most people do this as an out-and-back hike to Big Chick Hill on a steep, rough access road but I think that’s boring. Instead, make it a loop hike by doing Big AND Little Chick Hill!
From the parking lot, start on the unmarked trail into the woods near the access road. The well established trail will traverse steeply through the woods up to the less-traveled Little Chick Hill, an open cliff area with great views. Then, you’ll descend and ascend again up to Big Chick Hill where there’s a cell phone tower, and take the service road back to the parking lot.
I recommend doing this loop hike counter-clockwise (starting with Little Chick Hill and going down on the service road). With about 1,000 feet of elevation gain, this is the most challenging hike on this list, but it should only take 2 hours to complete.
Parks Pond Bluff and Eagle Bluff
There’s two other short but steep hikes near Chick Hill: Parks Pond Bluff (0.6 mi, 255′ elevation) and Eagle Bluff (0.6 mi, 272′ elevation.
The trail head for Parks Pond Bluff is located right on Route 9 in Clifton and the trail head for Eagle Bluff is located on Rebel Hill Road, off Route 9 and not very far from Parks Pond Bluff.