LAKES REGION – The chance to be outdoors, see flora and fauna in their natural setting and take a break from the constant noise and whirl of everyday life – what could be better?

There’s all that and more available on one of the many miles of walking trails that snake through the Lakes Region.

While people don’t need a special event to get out and enjoy the numerous trails maintained by area organizations, Saturday, June 4, has been set aside as National Trails Day.

The goal of the day, which is sponsored by the American Hiking Society, is to bring awareness to trail systems, acknowledge the hard work done by agencies and individuals to create and maintain trails and to introduce people to the many joys and benefits of trails.

Locally, the towns of Gray, Bridgton, Windham and Standish are holding special events including walks and bike rides along local trails such as the Mountain Division Rail with Trail, Libby Hill Forest in Gray and Bald Pate Mountain in Bridgton.

National Trails Day

This is the 19th year that the American Hiking Society has held National Trails Day, according to Heather Sable, the society’s trail programs manager.

She said the event was created as the result of a report issued in 1987 by the president’s Commission on Americans Outdoors, which recommended that all Americans should be able to go out their front door and within 15 minutes find trail systems to use and enjoy.

“We really see the day as a celebration of trails across the country and a reason for people to get outside and see what their local trails have to offer,” Sable said.

The day has brought greater awareness of trails to thousands of people over the years and events have included, hikes, bike and horse rides, paddle trips, new trail dedications and many other activities, she said.

Sable also said the day is often used by people to give back to their communities. For instance, she said many events on National Trails Day are tied to trail maintenance projects.

She said there are events going in all 50 states on June 4, as well as in Canada, although not every local organization has officially registered its plans with the American Hiking Society.

According to the society, there are 200,000 miles of trails in the United States that allow access to the natural world for the purposes of recreation, education, exploration, solitude, inspiration and much more.

“(Trails help maintain) good physical and mental health by providing (people) with a chance to breathe fresh air, get (their) hearts pumping and escape from (their) stresses,” the American Hiking Society website states.

“With obesity rates skyrocketing, exercise is increasingly important and trails provide a wide variety of opportunities for being physically active,” the website added.

In addition to the American Hiking Society, National Trails Day is also sponsored by organizations like Backpacker magazine, Eastern Mountain Sports, The North Face, the YMCA of the USA, the federal Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.

Standish

Sponsored by the recreation departments of Standish, Gorham and Windham, the Mountain Division Trail Family Fun 5K Walk and Run event kicks off Saturday, June 4, at 9 a.m. It begins at the Otter Ponds YMCA Camp, 89 Chadbourne Road (Route 35) in Sebago Lake Station, Standish and follows the trail into Gorham, ending at Shaw Park. Transportation will be provided back to the Otter Ponds.

The entry fee is $28 per family (four or more immediate family members) or $8 per individual. The first 100 to register will also receive a commemorative T-shirt. Registration forms are available from the Standish Recreation website, and walk-on registrations are accepted the day of the event at Otter Ponds between 8 a.m. and 8:45 a.m.

Windham

Parks and Recreation Director Brian Ross said Windham is filled with maintained trails of varying lengths perfect for celebrating National Trails Day.

“National Trails day is June 4 so we encourage residents to get outside and take a walk or bike ride on one of our trails in Windham,” he said. “Windham has some great trails for all ages, the Mountain Division Trail, the Lowell Preserve and Chaffin Pond Preserve, now known as the Donna Beth Lippman Park, three areas to be active on and enjoy the outdoors.”

If running in the Mountain Division Trail event isn’t your cup of tea, Windham Parks and Recreation is offering a family bike ride starting at 9 a.m. from the Gambo parking area of the Mountain Division trailhead. Access the parking lot near the end of Gambo Road. Register with Parks and Recreation Office at 892-1905 if you plan on attending this family ride, Ross said.

Bridgton

According to the Loon Echo Land Trust’s executive director, Carrie Walia, the conservation group is hosting a trail clean-up day at South Bridgton’s Bald Pate Mountain on Saturday morning. Volunteers will assist Loon Echo’s Jon Evans in removing old pallets and other scrap wood from the Micah trail starting at 8 a.m. The Lake Region ATV Club will donate the use of their ATV and trailer to remove the debris.

Walia said volunteers are also needed to clean streambeds of debris so water can flow freely. This effort will prepare the trail for bog bridging, to be installed with the help of a volunteer teen crew from the Appalachian Mountain Club. The bog-bridging base logs will be provided by volunteer Brian Grady, a local sawyer, Walia added. Work will begin at 8 a.m. at the Micah Trail Head, off Route 107 in South Bridgton, on Camp Micah Road.

Gray

Laurie Bernier, a board member of the Friends of the Libby Hill Forest, said the 8-mile trail system, situated on Libby Hill behind the Gray-New Gloucester Middle School complex, will host two National Trails Day events.

At 9 a.m., there will be an all-levels mountain bike ride that will split participants into two groups so they can explore the several miles of trails for about an hour and 15 minutes. Suggested donation is $5.

At 10:30 a.m., walkers are invited to a Farmstead Tour of the Libby Hill Forest during which they will visit old stonewalls, foundations and granite quarries. The tour is led by Steve McPike, who is in charge of Libby Hill events.

Bernier grew up on the land and said, “I am planning to go on the tour and hope to learn even more about where I grew up.”

New Gloucester

With 18 miles of maintained trails meandering through forest and field and over streams, every day is national trails day at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester. While the nonprofit Libra Foundation that keeps the trail open for the public at no charge isn’t hosting a National Trails Day event per se, the public is nevertheless invited to celebrate the day at the picturesque New Gloucester landmark.

Matt Sabasteanski, director of outdoor recreation at Pineland since 2003, said hikers can pick up a map at the Market at Pineland Farms and Visitors Center, which is located near the entrance to the main campus at 15 Farm View Drive, and then explore at their leisure.

“It’s a great place to have lunch and then go for a walk,” Sabasteanski said of the cornucopia of food choices available at the market.

Or hikers can pack their lunch and enjoy it at the yurt and log cabin located at different spots on the trail system and used primarily as warming huts during the winter cross-country ski season.

Since the trails are primarily used for skiers, they are minimum of 14 feet wide which makes them inviting, especially the trail through the field, which is kept mowed.

While walking and running are free, mountain bikers can purchase $5 passes at the visitor’s center.

Staff Writer Kate Irish Collins contributed to this report.

Easy access from the Windham soccer complex or Gorham’s Shaw Park and a great view means the section of the Mountain Division Trail that passes over the Presumpscot railroad bridge is usually busy with bikers, joggers and dog walkers like Erica Mank of Gorham, exercising with Bailey and Kapali. (Photo by Rich Obrey)