DIRECTIONS to HEART OF POLAND TRAILHEADS:
Directions to Ricker Library trailhead:
The Ricker Memorial Library is located at 1211 Maine street in Poland, Maine. The trailhead is behind and to the right of the library.
Directions to Tripp Lake Road trailhead:
From Route 26 turn left onto Tripp Lake Road and drive .75 miles to trailhead on left. From Route 11 turn right onto Tripp Lake Road and drive 1.8 miles to trailhead on right.
HISTORY & FOCAL POINTS:
Trail History:
The Poland Trail Committee was formed in 2012 as an activity group of the Poland Parks & Recreation Department. The committee’s goal was to construct a hiking trail from the Walker property to Tripp Lake Road, which is now known as the Hunt-ress trail and is marked by red blazes. Work on this was completed when the town purchased the 32 acre Furman lot in 2014. The town had recently ac-quired the four Hilt Hollow lots . These lots enabled us to complete the trail system with the White Oak Trail and Cave trail converging on the Hilt Hollow lots.
Focal Points:
There are several unique features which make these trails educational and interesting.
Cave trail-an usual geological occurrence of a small cave and a dike formation caused by molten rock millions of years ago.
White Oak Trail-A small stand of white oak trees which are common in parts of Poland but not found north of here. Poland has the only White Oak Hill in Maine. White oaks were very valuable for ship timber in Colo-nial days. They are very long lived and beautiful trees. The acorns are a valuable food source for many birds and animals.
Quarry Trail-A former stone quarry dating back to the early 1900’s or possibly earlier.
Vernal Pool on the red trail. A small seasonal pond formed by a depression in the ledge. Vernal pools are breeding sites for frogs and salamanders.
Brook-A small year round brook runs out of a black ash swamp on the Furman lot and flows northeasterly through the Conserva-tion Area into Garland Swamp.
Note: An inventory of the flora and fauna will be made in the future as volunteers are avail-able.