Salt Bay Farm

Broad, mown trails through rolling hayfields offer relatively smooth footing with gentle changes in elevation. Some areas can be wet, muddy, and slippery at certain times of year. The trail along the shore and the Fox Run Trail are narrower and have some rocks and roots to step over or around. Similarly, you’ll find small roots underfoot in the middle section of the loop around Blackstone Point.

One of few intact saltwater farms in the Midcoast, this 146-acre wildlife preserve has been acquired in several pieces starting in 1994 with the help of generous members, neighbors, and donors, including Betty Noyce.

Trails: Salt Bay Farm’s network of gentle trails are excellent for walking, running, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing.

Picnic spots: There is a cluster of sturdy picnic tables between the Nature Center and the parking area, with views over the fields and beyond to Great Salt Bay.

Sledding: There are two primary sledding areas. From the parking area, to your left behind the Nature Center, is a gentler hill. To your right, adjacent to the treeline, is a higher and faster hill. Take your pick! Sledding is at your own risk.

Other activities at the farm: Coastal Rivers’ Camp Mummichog summer day camp takes place here from June through August, where campers explore the fields and forests and unravel some of nature’s many mysteries. The trails serve as a home course for the GSB cross-country team every fall. Coastal Rivers hosts school groups here throughout the school year, including an annual Wabanaki program in the fall. In winter, when weather allows, we host pop-up sledding events. Mid-Coast Audubon holds regular birding field trips here that are open to the public.

Twin Villages Foodbank Farm: Coastal Rivers partners with Twin Villages Foodbank Farm, an organization growing food for donation to area food pantries and other low-income programs. The farm uses organic growing practices on three acres of prime farmland here at Salt Bay Farm. Learn more about our partnership with the foodbank farm here.

Salt Bay Farm is ranked #2 on eBirds’ Species Leaders list for number of species observed over time. It is a prime location to see waterfowl, wading birds, and grassland birds such as bobolinks and Savannah sparrows, among others. There is a wooden observation platform just above the freshwater marsh (marked on the trail map). Mid-Coast Audubon has also established a feeding station near the Nature Center for additional birdwatching opportunities.

Wildlife such as fox, deer, skunk, groundhog, turkey, and raccoon are regular sightings. Horseshoe crabs spawn in Great Salt Bay and often be found along the shore throughout spring and summer. When fish are running in the warmer months, it’s common to spot a seal or two basking on offshore rocks.

The wigwam and Wabanaki village: In front of the Nature Center is a birch bark wigwam, built in a traditional Wabanaki manner by David Moses Bridges and Steve Cayard, with help from Lincoln Academy students. On Blackstone Point are additional structures in varying state of completion. During the Wabanaki Program in the fall, students from area schools try their hand at thatching the wigwams and digging for wild groundnuts, among other activities.

Salt Bay Farm is located at 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta, less than half a mile off of Route 1. Coming up Route 1 from the South, pass the main Damariscotta exit and continue for slightly more than 2 miles to the blinking light at Belvedere Road. Take a left on Belvedere and Salt Bay Farm will be on your left. From the North on 1, after you cross the Damariscotta town line from Nobleboro continue about a mile to the bottom of the hill and take a right at the blinking light onto Belvedere Road.