Balancing Rock & Orris Falls

There's a treasure hidden in the woods of South Berwick Maine, and it's one I've lived a town over from my entire life without ever knowing it existed. That treasure is called the Balancing Rock, a marvel of nature you can see for yourself with just a short hike from a parking area off Emerys Bridge Road.

Our first time out in these woods my wife and I learned a valuable lesson - that is, muggy summer afternoons are not the ideal conditions in which to hike these trails. I can only remember a few times in life that mosquitoes chased me out of a place, but this was one of them. We made it to the rock, but after a few quick pictures and a whole lot of swatting we retreated to the car - leaving any other treasures these woods had to reveal for another day.

Deciding that the rock would probably look better in the snow anyways, we planned a return trip with friends this past January. Our group soon reached the rock and, trusting that having balanced for thousands of years it could hold on just a little bit longer, we took turns posing underneath it.

Photo by Barry McKay

In the few years we've been coming here this conservation area has seen steady improvement. Most recently it was the parking lot being extended to hold more than its previous capacity of three cars, and prior to that Eagle Scout Brian Couture put benches at the more picturesque spots of this trail, including one at Balancing Rock that allows you to just sit and marvel.

From here we backtracked a few hundred feet to the main trail, then continued northwest for another half-mile until finding a sign for the next historical spot in these woods, Littlefield Homestead.

This farmhouse and barn were built in 1860 by Daniel Littlefield, but don't go looking for what you see on the sign, that structure is long since destroyed.

Photo by John Egolf

What remains of the homestead are some retaining walls, foundations, and a well, all of which I spent time wandering through and contemplating sticking my head into. You can bet that if there's so much as a cubbyhole anyplace I'm exploring, I'm gonna try and stuff myself into it.

Photo by John Egolf

Just past these ruins is the Littlefield Cemetery, final resting place of Daniel, wife Mercy, and daughters Henrietta and Eunice. Littlefield died in 1891, three years after Mercy, leaving the property to their son Orris.

From the cemetery you are only minutes from Orris Falls, described as a ninety foot gorge cutting through the earth. Coming by this direction you will approach the falls from the top, and although I wouldn't describe them as gushing - at least not on the day we went - they were strong enough to where we could hear them before we could see them.

Once arriving, the challenge then became finding the best vantage point to admire them from. We walked a little ways beyond and bushwhacked our way toward its base, then with some stone-hopping were able to get close enough to see them from below. This was a good spot to watch the water cascading down, but we concluded that the best view was actually from back on top, where if you climb down from the sitting bench area you can peer right over the fall's drop.

That was our last planned stop, but on the return hike we spotted one more family cemetery in the woods, nearby the parking lot.

Our final tally that day was a tick under three miles, and with very few hills this was an enjoyable hike with a couple of great payoffs. For an even easier hike you can go just out to the rock and back - only a one mile round trip - but whatever your ability, a visit to the Orris Falls Conservation Area is a great addition for anyone's to-do list. There's an adventure in these woods for everyone.

Links:
Where to Park

Exploring Burlington's Landlocked Forest

Surrounded on all sides by neighborhoods and highways, Burlington's Landlocked Forest is described as "an oasis of forest, wildlife, and natural beauty" by the organization that maintains this 250 acre patch of woods. But despite what its name says, this property is not entirely landlocked, and in fact is open to hikers, mountain bikers, and runners of both the 2 and 4 legged variety. In addition to those groups it's also a good place for anyone with a taste for the weird, for explore these woods long enough and you'll eventually find yourself wandering through an old vehicle graveyard.

Privately owned until the 1950s, this property initially did become landlocked when Route 3 was extended south through Burlington, cutting off access to the land. The state paid a fee to the owners for this inconvenience, then a series of legal challenges followed as attempts were made to regain access and develop the land. Wetlands and drainage issues caused those attempts to be rejected, and in 1985 the town paid $810,000 to acquire the land by Eminent Domain.

Fast forward to 2009, when after all attempts to develop the land were exhausted, the town gave permission for a group called Friends of the Landlocked Forest to create trails throughout the woods. Subsequent improvements came in the way of boardwalks that were built over muddy parts of the trails, done in two separate phases.

Now jump all the way to 2020 when my wife and I visited this forest. My lackluster research regarding where to park led us first down a dead-end road with no access, then to a small trailhead with only streetside parking, which we made do. Save yourself this trouble and look for a kiosk at the intersection of Grimes and Turning Mill Roads, a spot that everybody but us had figured out was the ideal place to park.

The first curiosity we came across was this hole I'm standing in, which we speculate was an old foundation. But sometimes a hole is just a hole, and given the lack of any rock wall outline we could very well be wrong.

There was a moment when this day almost went from really good to really great, as we saw signs pointing us to what was called a paint mine. We followed them and spent time looking for any tunnels or holes in the ground, but whatever once existed of this mine we believe it's long gone. All we found was an overgrown hill that may or may not have been a scrap pile.

With 13+ miles of trails there are plenty of options to choose from, and my only suggestion would be to stay more to the east whenever possible. To the west gets you right up close to Route 3, and it's tough to believe you're enjoying a peaceful walk through the woods when the rumbling of 18-wheelers is all you hear.

As with most hikes, walk long enough and you're bound to come across something unusual, and on this day it was a bunch of car parts. First there was a steering wheel hanging from a tree, followed by a car seat bolted to a log, then suddenly we were finding tires at almost every turn.

There's a vehicle boneyard in these woods, and by the way parts are strewn all about it's one that teenagers both young and old have been playing in for quite some time. I don't think a single vehicle is in the same condition, or position, it was when first discarded out here. From a previous life I have firsthand knowledge of the effort required to tip a car over, and I can only imagine the muscle it took to flip a hunk of steel such as this one.

I'm sure some people are horrified these cars are rusting away out here, but I'm not one of them. Each one has a story to tell. Someone felt pride as they drove them off the lot for the very first time. They washed and waxed them on a sunny day, changed their own oil, maybe even experienced a first date in a few of them - or maybe a first something else. Even a bumper sticker such as this one had meaning to whoever first slapped it on. I find beauty in that, wondering about all the forgotten memories each of these vehicles hold.

And if I'm to be perfectly honest, we also get a kick out of posing with each of them.

An hour later we were back at our non-rusted car and starting for home. I had told my wife that morning we were probably going to be walking a mile or two at most, but by the end of our day we had chalked up nearly 6.5 miles. Not a grueling hike but a good one nonetheless, and one we hadn't planned on doing. But we had still come prepared with plenty of snacks and water, because we both learned a long time ago that things like this tend to happen, when you're out having fun and you just don't want an afternoon to come to an end.

Links:
Friends of the Landlocked Forest 
Where to Park