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Ordway Grove
Ordway Grove: A Short Walk Among Trees Kept Standing
Discover
Ordway Grove offers a short woodland loop close to downtown Norway, with white pines and occasional Pennesseewassee Lake outlooks giving the walk its character. Twin Town Nature Club manages the grove as a public park and nature preserve. Come for the scale of the trees and the opportunity to move slowly among them, rather than a demanding route. A compact distance can leave more of the visit available for looking upward and listening.
Norway Historical Society traces the woods through a long sequence of private owners who helped keep the trees standing. Samuel Ames, an early village settler and miller, acquired and protected the woodland, which later took the Ordway name. The history makes the grove a compelling companion to the town around it. A person associated with the practical work of a growing settlement could also value a piece of woods for something beyond its potential as timber.
Rebecca Goldfine's original Maine by Foot account describes broad, mostly flat paths, cool shade, and a few roots beneath the old trees. She enjoys the places where the route opens toward the lake. Her account suggests an outing based on a change of atmosphere rather than a change of altitude. Give both the nearer forest and the small views of water their own attention; neither needs to be treated as a preliminary to something larger.
Keeping the grove intact required later decisions too. Newspaper figure Don Carlos Seitz purchased it in 1901 when harvesting threatened the trees. Another threat emerged around 1930, prompting action by members of the Twin Town Nature Club and help from an anonymous donor. After the club incorporated, the grove was deeded to it in May 1931. The public walk therefore represents repeated choices across generations. Enjoying a mature tree today is connected with people deciding, more than once, that it should remain standing.
The manager-provided trail guide describes a gently graded loop with short openings along the lakeshore. It identifies the Pleasant Street approach by a small sign, with the entrance about a fifth of a mile from Main Street. Respect the neighboring homes and use only permitted parking. Fires, camping, and ATVs are prohibited, and visitors are asked to carry out what they bring in. The route is an opportunity to enjoy protected woods while keeping its residential setting comfortable for others.
Goldfine notes that the approach can resemble a driveway, with a kiosk farther into the trees and very limited parking space. Know where you are going before arriving and avoid blocking anyone's access while looking for the sign. Once on the walk, the contrast with that ordinary entrance can become part of the appeal. A small opening in the town's everyday streets leads into a different scale of time and space.
For photographs, try a vertical frame that gives a tall form room, then make a closer composition about a pattern or surface. Keep stable footing, remain within permitted visitor space, and leave living material untouched. The pictures can express the grove's particular pleasure: patient attention makes a short walk feel generous, while the care of earlier generations gives that quiet time a deeper setting.
Fun facts
- The grove became nature-club property for public park and preserve use in 1931.
Before you go
- Find the signed Pleasant Street entrance and respect neighboring residential access.
- Plan for very limited parking and some roots underfoot.
- Carry out belongings and trash; fires and camping are prohibited.
Visitor perspectives
- Rebecca Goldfine enjoys broad, cool, shaded paths with lake outlooks, noting roots and a modest entrance with very limited parking.
Capture
- Give a tall form room in a vertical frame from stable visitor space.
- Pair it with a closer pattern study without touching living material.
Social
A gently graded woodland loop offers occasional lake outlooks.
Repeated conservation choices kept the grove’s trees standing.
Rebecca Goldfine enjoys cool shade, broad paths, and glimpses of water.
Nature study and shared knowledge belong to the club’s purpose.
Let a short distance make room for patient looking.
A modest driveway-like approach leads to a different atmosphere.
Compare one tall form with one small pattern.
A quiet walk can carry a long local story.
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