Wolfe Neck Woods or, there's more to Freeport than shopping!

Finally got the chance to take advantage of the snowfall! 23 inches of it, more or less.

Sorry to say, the snow that fell on Sunday last was blanketed by about an inch of sleet. Doesn't make for good x-c skiing or snowshoeing, although it makes for wicked fast sledding!

The 6 or so inches of snow that fell Wednesday night-Thursday morning covered that up rather nicely, giving a really deep base, even in the woods. After we finished picking up this morning, we threw the snowshoes in the back of the car, yelled for the dog and off we went! And believe me, we don't have to yell twice for the dog when she sees the snowshoes.

We decided to go to Wolfe Neck Woods State Park, just about 4 miles from here. I love walking through the snow and then suddenly coming out onto the shore. It's just such a treat!

We took about an hour today to trek through the north and westerly trails. Tomorrow we'll be back out to try the easterly trails.

Although not true at this time of year because only the access road and parking lot are plowed out, Wolfe Neck Woods Park is wheelchair accessible during the spring, summer and fall. The Casco Bay trail (the pic above is taken from just off the trail) is a fairly even and level trail. There are markers warning where the trail becomes too steep for wheelchairs.

If you have never snowshoed, take my word for it, if I can do it, so can you! If you can walk, you can snowshoe. The trails we hit today were easy. No really long or steep hills.

Bre just loves leading the way. Being a smart dog, if we decide to go off and break our own trails, she lets the humans go first and follows along in our tracks.

Right here, though, she's just waiting for us to catch up to her. The park does require leashes and pet cleanup so be sure you have a leash and some scooper bags before you head out. When we arrived today we were the only car in the parking area so we kept the leash at the ready but let her roam around a bit.

There are picnic tables set up along the way on many of the trails, especially the ones along the Casco Bay and Harraseeket River. Pack along a picnic lunch with some cheeses and crackers, apples and nuts and a nice bottle of wine. And if you're the romantic type, it would be a beautiful setting for a marriage proposal!

Other trails we have in mind for this winter are Pinelands, Bradbury Mountain and Winslow Park, all between 10-20 minutes from here. It's the perfect way to spend the afternoon in the winter. We try to get out around noon so we're back before the sun disappears!

We went back to Wolfe Neck on Saturday. Took the Harraseeket Trail, the Old Woods Trail and part of the Casco Bay Trail. The trails in this set of loops are a bit steeper and more in the woods, so a lot of trees to go around if you are on skis. We stuck to the snowshoes, blazed a few trails and got lost a couple of times when we found ourselves dead-ended at private roads. We marked up our trail map pretty well so we won't do that again!