A new trail at Woodward Point Preserve in Brunswick aims to make the outdoors more welcoming.

Andy’s Trail — named for Dr. Andrew Cook, who along with his wife contributed the farmland that would become Woodward Point Preserve — is now open to the public. The half-mile, 5-to-7-foot-wide, packed-stone surface was built to comply with U.S. Forest Service and Architectural Barriers Act accessibility guidelines.

That meant constructing the trail with suitable slope for wheelchair users and people with other mobility constraints, and using hard, durable materials, said Andrew Deci, regional stewardship manager for Southern Maine at the Maine Coast Heritage Trust.

MCHT partnered with the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust on the ADA-compliant trail project.

“This is such a special, unique property, not just ecologically, but also because for the last three-plus decades, it hadn’t been open to the public,” said Margaret Gerber, director of conservation at the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust.

In addition to the accessible trail design, the project also added eight van-accessible parking spaces, a wheelchair-friendly trail linking the parking lot to a porta-potty and the trail, and ADA-compliant benches.

“Even before we started construction of the trail, people were hungry to be out there,” Deci said.

Deci said the Andy’s Trail project is part of a growing trend among conservation organizations in Maine, which in recent years have increasingly looked to incorporate accessibility in their projects. MCHT is currently fundraising for a similar accessible trail project at Cousins River Fields and Marsh Preserve in Yarmouth.

“When we talk about serving everyone, are we really meeting that need?” Deci said.

Deci recalled an exercise he did with Outdoor Access Solutions, a Scarborough-based organization that advocates for accessible trails and helps land owners design and improve their trails for all mobility levels. While attempting to navigate an otherwise “gorgeous, perfect, flat trail” in a wheelchair, he noticed small obstacles like dropped acorns can cause a major problem.

“Maintenance is not just clearing off the big stuff; it’s being really particular about the small stuff, too,” he said.

Cook, the trail’s namesake, and his wife, Jaki Ellis, farmed the Woodward Point property for more than 30 years before entrusting it to the Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust.

During the end of his life, Parkinson’s disease limited Cook’s ability to enjoy the outdoors — inspiring the need for an accessible trail among the meadows, forest and water views of Woodward Point.

In addition, “with a significant population in Brunswick and the surrounding communities aging and trying to age in place, [Woodward Point] wasn’t accessible for all,” Gerber said.

Now, after roughly four years of planning, fundraising and construction, the project organizers said they are thrilled that Andy’s Trail is starting to see visitors.

Woodward Point Preserve is a “very wet” property situated along northern Casco Bay, Gerber said, so water management caused some construction delays, as did weather challenges and avoiding the bobolink birds that make their homes on the point.

The project cost between $120,000 and $150,000 and was funded through donations, mostly from local donors, Deci said.

Going forward, the land trusts are planning on inviting visitors to the new trail by connecting with local organizations that serve people with disabilities, like the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center.

“There’s such a need for accessible trails along the coast, especially in the Brunswick area, and we really hope that this serves as a jumping-off point to build more interest and build more support,” Gerber said.