Trails
Properties
At LAWPC, we believe that connection to place and access to the land is an integral piece of stewardship, and we are proud to maintain free public access on approximately 85% of LAWPC-owned land. We maintain trails for the public on a number of our properties and are excited to continue to expand our trail offerings as we grow. Use the links below to explore our trails and publicly accessible conservation easements.
Members of the public utilizing our properties for recreation or any other pursuits are expected to comply with LAWPC’s land use rules. Please see the Land Use Rules page for more information.
Whitman Spring Road Trail
- Town: Auburn
- Length: 2.10 miles one-way
- Activity: walking, biking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing
- Surface: gravel/crushed stone; snow – groomed
- Trail entrance(s):
• South entrance
• North entrance - View on Maine Trail Finder
Parking: At the south entrance, parking is available in a small lot located at the end of Whitman Spring Road, and along the right side of the road when approaching the trail entrance. Vehicles may not park in front of, or otherwise block the gate.
At the north entrance, parking is available on the side of Holbrook Road, which is directly across from the trail entrance (crossing North Auburn Road). Parking is not currently allowed in the small lot at the trail entrance, nor on the side of North Auburn Road to the west of the trail, due to erosion issues.
Whitman Spring Road Trail is a wide gravel road trail that runs along the west side of Lake Auburn. Formerly a city road, it is now owned and maintained by Auburn Water and Sewerage District. The south section of the trail is groomed for skiing in the winter months. The trail is mostly flat with some gentle hills, and a number of short side trails lead to viewpoints along the lakeshore. A notable longer side trail is the Hotel Loop, circling a small peninsula near the north end of the lake which was the site of a former hotel.
The Spring Road Trail runs along the edge of Lake Auburn, the sole unfiltered drinking water source for Auburn and Lewiston. While public access to land is important to LAWPC, our primary concern is protecting the drinking water source, and we ask trail users to follow all rules both to help protect our drinking water source and to ensure that public use of the trails can continue. While dogs are allowed on the trail, they must be leashed and all waste must be bagged and disposed of in a waste receptacle. Contact with the water is not allowed, by either humans or pets, and may incur a $2500 fine. Additionally, visitors must follow all land-use rules while on LAWPC land (see “Land Use Rules” for a full list).
The trail can be accessed from the north or south entrances (see “Parking” above). It can also be reached via a connecting trail from the Lake Auburn Community Center on North Auburn Road. (Lake Auburn Community Center is owned and maintained by the City of Auburn – see their website for more information.)
Townsend Brook Trail
- Town: Auburn
- Length: 0.6 miles total, lollipop loop
- Activity: walking, snowshoeing
- Surface: dirt/forest floor
- Trail entrance
- Parking: Parking is available along the side of Fish Hatchery Road, across from the Tot Lot Municipal Park.
Townsend Brook Trail winds its way through woodland along the edge of Townsend Brook – one of the major tributaries of Lake Auburn – before looping back along an old skid road. This parcel of land was previously farmed and logged, and there are signs of both along the trail if you know what to look for. Barbed wire stretched between trees shows old farm boundaries, and new pines grow in an open expanse that was heavily logged in the past. Because of the abundance of rusted farming and logging trash in this parcel, please take extra precautions when walking this trail and keep pets on a leash. LAWPC has a cleanup of the site scheduled for fall 2026, but we cannot guarantee that all pieces of rusted metal on the site have been found.
Townsend Brook Trail runs along a tributary of Lake Auburn, the sole unfiltered drinking water source for Auburn and Lewiston. While public access to land is important to LAWPC, our primary concern is protecting the drinking water source, and we ask trail users to follow all rules both to help protect our drinking water source and to ensure that public use of the trails can continue. While dogs are allowed on the trail, they must be leashed and all waste musted be bagged and disposed of in a waste receptable. Additionally, visitors must follow all land-use rules while on LAWPC land (see “Land Use Rules” for a full list).
This trail is accessed via the Tot Lot Municipal Park (see “Parking” below), which is owned and maintained by the City of Auburn (see their website for more information).
There are two ways to access the trail from the Tot Lot Municipal Park:
• Via access trail: From the Tot Lot parking area, walk across the small bridge, through the grassy lawn, and look for a trail entrance on the left. Walk along the short access trail through a wooded area, then climb up onto the gravel road. Townsend Brook Trail is directly on the other side of the gravel road.
• Via gravel road: From the Tot Lot parking area, walk back along the gravel entrance road until you reach a junction with another gravel road leading to the right. Turn onto this gravel road, pass through the entrance gate, and proceed approximately 800 feet where you will see the entrance to Townsend Brook Trail on the left.
Peninsula Trail
Scheduled to open in spring 2027!
Salmon Point Trail
- Town: Auburn
- Length: 0.3 miles one-way
- Activity: walking, snowshoeing, fishing
- Surface: dirt/forest floor; grass
- Trail entrance
- Parking: Parking is available in a small dirt lot at the intersection of Lake Shore Drive and Maple Hill Road. The trail entrance is directly across Lake Shore Drive from the parking area.
Salmon Point Trail is a short out-and-back trail that runs along the edge of the largest peninsula in Lake Auburn. Located along the north end of the lake, this trail affords beautiful and expansive views of the water from the exposed rock ledges along the shore.
Salmon Point Trail runs along the edge of Lake Auburn, the sole unfiltered drinking water source for Auburn and Lewiston. While public access to land is important to LAWPC, our primary concern is protecting the drinking water source, and we ask trail users to follow all rules both to help protect our drinking water source and to ensure that public use of the trails can continue. While dogs are allowed on the trail, they must be leashed and all waste must be bagged and disposed of in a waste receptacle.
Contact with the water is not allowed, by either humans or pets, and may incur a $2500 fine. Additionally, visitors must follow all land-use rules while on LAWPC land (see “Land Use Rules” for a full list).
Properties
Keene Whitman Forest
- Town: Hebron,Turner
- Size: 120 acres
- Activity: walking, snowshoeing
This conservation easement is co-held by LAWPC and Androscoggin Land Trust. It was donated to the New England Forestry Foundation in 1996 by George G. Martin, and protected by a conservation easement in 1998. This is a beautiful, wooded property that contains sections of one of Lake Auburn’s tributary streams. There are no trails, so take proper precautions to ensure you don’t get lost.
Directions to Property: Travel north on Route 4 from Auburn to Turner, turn left at the light at the intersection of Route 117 and Route 4 (Turner Post Office). Travel on Route 117 until the intersection of Route 117 and East Hebron Road. Turn left onto East Hebron Road. Follow to East Hebron and Turner/Hebron town line. The Protected Property is on both sides of East Hebron Road. If you come to the intersection with Townsend Road, you have gone too far.
View Androscoggin Land Trust’s property description (link coming soon)