If ever this incessant wet weather ends and the ground finally dries out, then this would make the perfect time for a walk in the woods.

And for a really superb place to wander, look no further than Pineland Farms in New Gloucester.

I had the fortune recently to discover a few of the trails at Pineland. I’d always heard it was a nice place, but to be there and experience it myself – wow, the hype was all true.

For older Lakes Region residents, Pineland is probably not synonymous with hiking paths. It’s remembered for being a home until 1996 – and not such a nice one at that – for the mentally handicapped. But all those bad memories give way to the rejuvenated spirit of Pineland while traversing the many wonderful acres of Pineland’s undulating forests and fields.

Located in New Gloucester along Route 231 and owned by the Libra Foundation, a nonprofit which has been in the news recently with its sale of the Portland Public Market building in downtown Portland, Pineland Farms is an unlikely business center in the middle of the Maine countryside. Besides the business park, which has drawn many quality companies to the beautiful brickwork campus, Pineland is probably best known for its cheese factory, which produces award-winning fromage (as the French would say). And – this will make the local-food folks proud – it’s all done on site, with hayfields, Holsteins and the milk-to-cheese process all located at Pineland Farms, much of it viewable from the adjacent system of trails.

A few of the paths wind through the campus of Pineland as well, where buildings look like something out of Architectural Digest. The Libra Foundation performed much restoration work when it opened the former hospital buildings to commercial enterprise in 2000. Since then business has blossomed, with much of the office space filled.

The grounds-keeping is flawless, too, with beds and beds of flowers bordering walkways and building fronts, a gazebo that is no doubt a staging area for wedding photographs, and a well-tended and blow-your-socks-off flower and vegetable garden complete with Adirondack chairs and swinging benches. But my message to you this summer season is that the Pineland trail network, totally free to the public, is truly amazing and well worth your visit.

Starting at The Market at Pineland Farms, which is basically an indoor farmers’ market with fresh everything and where you can also pick up a handy trail map, the paths literally branch out in every direction. One can walk for miles on wide, mowed paths that meander around Pineland’s 5,000-acre property. Along the way, hikers will cross wide open farmer’s fields, plunge down and up stream-lined gullies, pass by trickling waterfalls, and get immersed in dense forest.

There’s never a worry of getting lost, not with the ubiquitous trail markers. Since the trails are used in winter for cross-country skiing, easy-to-read signs and trail overview maps secured to posts guide the way. There’s still the sense of adventure, however, because while “you-are-here” markers abound, there’s really nothing informing of distance or time. That’s not a criticism of the trail architects. I’d rather be a little in the dark of how many miles are left in a journey.

There’s also a particularly fun reward for those who hike several miles into the woods. I won’t give “it” away, but many of the paths lead there and it’s a nice place to take a break, or eat lunch. Having hiked the lengthy Appalachian Trail, I have come to appreciate a nice place to stop and rest while hiking. If this had been on the AT, it would’ve been a favorite of all hikers, as I’m sure it is to all those who walk and ski at Pineland. Hopefully that’s got you scratching your head, and you’re already putting on your boots. Have fun, bring the bug dope, and don’t forget to get a trail map at The Market first, since the network is vast and the adventure almost unending at this local outdoor treasure.

John Balentine, of Windham, is a former editor of the Lakes Region Weekly.