Bangor City Forest
4.8(846)google
5.0(8)yelp
ForestHikingOutdoorHealingFamilyBird Watching
Overview
The Bangor City Forest, also known as the Rolland F. Perry City Forest, is a large recreation area in Bangor, Maine. The park consists of approximately 650 acres (2.6 km2) and features close to 10 miles (16 km) of hiking, cycling, and cross-country skiing trails. The trail system is well maintained and most trails are packed gravel.
Practical Info
Suggested Duration2-4 hours
Best TimeBeautiful across all four seasons. Visit at 6:30 AM in May or June for prime migratory songbird watching, or early October afternoons for crisp foliage walks. Winter snowfall transforms the canopy into a winter wonderland; head onto the famous Orono Bog Boardwalk trail at 2:00 PM to view snow-draped tamarack and black spruce stands during cross-country skiing season.
Getting ThereMultiple trailheads exist, but the primary park gate sits at the northern dead end of Kittredge Road. Drive north from downtown Bangor along Stillwater Avenue for 3.5 miles, then turn right onto Kittredge Road to reach a large, free gravel parking area. While public transit buses drop off at the nearby Stillwater commercial strip, a taxi ride is needed for the final mile to the forest edge.
Travel Tips
- Accessible exclusively via Kittredge Road or Tripp Drive gates, the preserve enforces an ironclad ban on unauthorized private motorized vehicles, ATVs, and dirt bikes on active logging access routes, backed by steep state forestry fines.
- The centerpiece 4,200-foot Orono Bog Boardwalk enforces an absolute, zero-tolerance ban on dogs and domestic pets, even if leashed; bicycles are physically barred and must be legally secured to external trailhead racks before entering.
- The bog boardwalk seals from December 1 to April 30 due to sub-zero winter frost-heave risks and locks its security gates at 16:30/18:30 depending on the month; leaving the elevated wood structure is forbidden due to hyper-dense tick habitats.
Reviews
Positive
- An excellent pristine nature escape. The walking trails are flat and well-maintained; the boardwalk through the marsh is peaceful and relaxing.
- It is entirely free to enter and offers ample free parking spaces at the trailheads. No hidden fees at all, offering unbeatable value.
- The trail marking system is professional, featuring detailed maps at intersections alongside distances and trail difficulty ratings.
- Abundant wildlife here. You can often spot diverse birds, beavers, or even an occasional moose in the early morning or dusk. Perfect nature value.
Heads up
- During spring and summer mosquito breeding seasons, the woods and bogs are swarming with blackflies. It's miserable without strong bug spray.
- Except for extremely basic pit toilets at the entrances, there are absolutely no restrooms or trash cans along the miles of deep forest trails.
- During consecutive rainy days, dirt and gravel path sections without boardwalks get very muddy and slippery, requiring waterproof hiking boots.
- Due to heavy tree canopy, cellular signal can drop to weak or none on certain paths; downloading offline maps before hiking is advised.