Jeremiah Colburn Natural Area

Discover

Jeremiah Colburn Natural Area in Orono makes a forest walk memorable through individual trees and the community history behind protecting them. Orono Land Trust manages the town-owned land, where a stream, evergreen woodland, and a small maintained field form a connected trail setting. The best-known landmark is the Big Old Tree, a white pine important enough to appear on the land trust's logo. Reaching it can provide a focus without requiring every branch of the network to be explored.

This land helped bring Orono Land Trust into existence. When a parcel used by local walkers came onto the market, residents organized, raised money, and worked to conserve it. The new organization acquired the land and gave it to the town. Later support expanded the protected access, including the Cota Trail gift from Virginia and Ron Mallett in 1996. The walking routes therefore carry a local story of people protecting a place they already valued.

Choose an entrance and a mapped route before beginning. The land trust identifies approaches including Forest Hills Terrace, Winterhaven Drive, and the Cota connection, while the surrounding network has further links. A route focused on the natural area's trees and stream can make a satisfying outing of its own. Several junctions and colored blazes mean that navigation deserves attention even though the forest sits close to residential streets.

The Big Old Tree offers a dramatic example of how one living feature can become a place's emblem. Its white-pine form and large branching structure invite looking upward, but the surrounding woodland is also part of the experience. Hemlocks, other conifers, and streamside vegetation create the context in which a single tree stands out. Let the landmark draw attention back to the forest rather than becoming only a point to locate and leave.

Other named trees encourage different kinds of observation. The land trust describes a pine and apple growing together, a tree associated with a porcupine den, and a pine known for surviving lightning strikes. These names make the walk approachable while directing attention toward relationships and change: trees can share space, shelter animals, and retain evidence of damage. Observe any occupied habitat from a distance and leave the trees and their surroundings intact.

Sally's Field adds an opening in the woods. It is mowed annually to maintain field habitat, providing a contrast with the shaded forest and stream. Aislinn Sarnacki's firsthand account describes returning in different seasons, finding summer ferns where earlier visits had involved melting snow. She particularly enjoys the named tree landmarks but also notes that an unfamiliar visitor can find the intersecting trails tricky to navigate. Her story was republished in 2026 from a March 2022 article, so its personal observations should be read in that historical context.

Bring the current land trust map and choose a manageable circuit from the intended entrance. Photograph the form of a landmark tree from the path, or connect the field opening with the surrounding canopy. Jeremiah Colburn rewards a visit that treats recognition as the beginning of discovery: one distinctive pine can lead to noticing a stream, an animal's shelter, a changing season, and the local conservation effort that kept this woodland available.

Fun facts

1. The Big Old Tree is a white pine featured on the Orono Land Trust logo.
2. Protecting this land helped establish Orono Land Trust.
3. Sally’s Field is maintained as open field habitat within the woodland setting.

Read the official sources →

Visitor perspectives

1. Aislinn Sarnacki enjoys the named trees and seasonal changes but finds the intersecting network can be tricky to navigate. This is a 2026 republication of a March 2022 story with historical personal visits.

Capture

1. Show a landmark tree’s branching form from the trail, retaining nearby trees for context.
2. Frame Sally’s Field as an opening within the surrounding woodland.

Social

Jeremiah Colburn Natural Area in Orono is known for named trees, a stream, and a community conservation story.

The white pine called Big Old Tree appears on the Orono Land Trust logo.

Local residents organized to protect land they already used for walking, helping establish the land trust.

The 1996 Cota Trail gift expanded protected access to the woodland setting.

Named trees invite looking for growth, shelter, and surviving storm damage without disturbing the features themselves.

Sally’s Field provides maintained open habitat amid the surrounding woods.

Aislinn Sarnacki enjoys the tree landmarks but finds the intersecting network can be tricky for unfamiliar visitors. Her republished account is historical.

Take the current map and choose a route from the intended entrance. One landmark can anchor a complete woodland outing.

Hashtags

1. #Cre8Travel
2. #Maine
3. #JeremiahColburn
4. #OronoMaine
5. #BigOldTree

Sources & visitor information

• oronolandtrust.org
• www.bangordailynews.com