Thorne Head to Become More Accessible

KELT receives support from L.L. Bean Land Trust Grant Program

BATH- A popular trail at Thorne Head Preserve in Bath will be upgraded next summer to provide recreational opportunities for people with disabilities, thanks to recent funding from the L.L. Bean Land Trust Grant Program.

The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT), owner of the preserve, received $5,000 to make the Overlook Trail accessible to people with mobility issues who want to be outside enjoying nature. The trails at the High Street property are open and free of charge to the public from dawn to dusk.

This trail upgrade involves putting a firm and stable surface on the half-mile long trail, and is just one component of KELT’s Thorne Head Preserve Improvement Project. In July the parking lot was redesigned and expanded to accommodate up to ten cars; including one new space that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Late this fall volunteers and a trail crew from the Maine Conservation Corps (MCC) rehabilitated the Narrows Trail, which runs along the Kennebec River, to control erosion.  This trail project helps protect water quality. The MCC and volunteers also completed a large section of a new technical trail that runs along the face of the headland.  Sixty-nine stone steps link the Mushroom Cap scenic overlook with the riverside Narrows trail.

KELT is the fiscal agent and co-leader of Bath Trails, a partnership comprised of citizens and organizations working to create a high quality trail system in the City of Bath. Upgrading the Overlook Trail to make Thorne Head Preserve more accessible to people with mobility issues helps fulfill one of the Bath Trails’ goals to provide recreational opportunities for people with disabilities in the city of Bath.

“Thorne Head Preserve is a wonderful asset to our community, and now even more of our citizens will be able to enjoy the beauty of this special place with the grant award”, said Kevin Shute, Program Director of the Bath Area Family YMCA and member of Bath Trails.

KELT purchased Thorne Head in 2000 with generous public support and a grant from Land for Maine’s Future, a program created by the Maine legislature which supports conservation of lands that have exceptional recreational or ecological value along with working lands for farms, forests, tourism, and working waterfronts.