McLellan-Poor Preserve

Discover

McLellan-Poor Preserve in Northport offers woodland walking shaped by streams and the ravines they have formed. The route has a changing sense of level, with paths crossing small watercourses and reaching places where the Little River Reservoir becomes part of the wider setting. Its appeal is the variety within the forest, making a modest circuit feel more substantial than a simple walk on level ground.

Coastal Mountains Land Trust identifies two trailheads, one on Route 1 and another on Herrick Road. Choose the current mapped loop from the entrance that suits the day. Peggity's Path and the Route 1 circuit provide different ways to organize the visit, so the starting point helps determine its character. There is enough interest within either planned route to enjoy the preserve without adding a longer connection elsewhere.

The operator describes a mix of hemlock, conifer woodland, old-field pine, and red maple swamp. Those forest settings reflect differences in ground and earlier land use. Compare the closer spacing and shade of one stretch with a wetter or more open part of the route. The woodland becomes easier to read when each change is treated as a feature rather than simply a passage between stops.

Streams supply a more visible explanation for the terrain. They have cut ravines through the preserve, creating short descents and climbs around their channels. Notice how a modest flow can occupy a sharply defined place in the ground. A crossing can provide a useful viewpoint on the relationship between water and slope, with the trail making that form accessible without leaving the established route.

Rebecca Goldfine's original Maine by Foot account describes the approach from Herrick Road toward Ramsey Brook and the alternative beginning through a small meadow from Route 1. She especially appreciates a higher viewpoint near the reservoir on the latter circuit. Her observations give the two entrances a useful distinction: one introduces a woodland-and-brook sequence, while the other begins more openly before approaching the water setting.

The reservoir remains a view to enjoy from the maintained route. Higher banks form part of its edge, so let the landscape determine where to pause rather than looking for an improvised descent to the shore. The pleasure can lie in seeing the water through the trees, then returning attention to the smaller streams that help define the surrounding woods.

The preserve grew through several land gifts, with Maine Coast Heritage Trust assisting the original protection. That shared effort kept a varied forest setting available close to the Belfast-Northport boundary. The operator names Hugh McLellan Russell, Elizabeth Wolfe, and Michael Cunning among the donors, making the preserve’s creation a story of several people contributing connected ground. Finish the chosen circuit with time to notice one ravine or grove again on the return. McLellan-Poor rewards visitors who enjoy detail distributed throughout a walk: a meadow start, changes in forest, stream crossings, and a glimpse toward broader water. Together these elements make a Northport outing whose most memorable subject may be the shape of the ground as much as the scenery above it.

Fun facts

1. The preserve’s streams have formed distinct ravines.
2. Two trailheads serve different mapped circuits.

Read the official sources →

Visitor perspectives

1. Rebecca Goldfine enjoys the loop choices, stream crossings and ravines, especially a higher reservoir viewpoint reached from the Route 1 side.

Capture

1. Show a stream within its ravine from the established crossing approach.
2. Use woodland framing for a reservoir glimpse without descending off trail.

Social

McLellan-Poor Preserve offers a woodland walk shaped by streams.

Ravines add variety to the route’s levels.

Choose a mapped circuit from either designated entrance.

Hemlock and red maple swamp give the forest different textures.

A meadow approach changes the character of the Route 1 start.

Reservoir glimpses provide a wider water setting.

Land gifts kept this Northport woodland available to explore.

Look at the ground’s shape as closely as the trees above it.

Hashtags

1. #Cre8Travel
2. #Maine

Sources & visitor information

• www.coastalmountains.org
• mainebyfoot.com