If you pulled into the lot at 189 Falmouth Road this week and saw a sign you didn't recognize, would you still know where you were? Since September, the land many of us have called East Windham Conservation Area and Lowell Preserve has one name, Windham Community Forest. The two parking areas have new names too. The renaming came right before the busiest stretch of the year for a different group of users. Maine's firearms deer season opened Monday, Nov. 2, and the forest's own rules allow hunting across the whole property.
Put those together and November looks like this. You get a bigger, better-connected forest, and for the next few weeks Sunday is the one day without hunting.
One name, one map, one long walk
The Presumpscot Regional Land Trust announced the change on Oct. 2. The Windham Town Council chose the name at its September meeting after a FlashVote survey in mid-August, and Windham Community Forest was the top result. The town created the steering committee behind it in January. It has 11 members drawn from town committees, recreation groups, nearby residential associations and the general public, and PRLT's executive director and the Windham Parks & Recreation director staff it.
The new name matters for practical reasons. The two preserves border each other east of Little Duck Pond and their trails connect. PRLT says you can cover more than 16.5 miles of trail from a single trailhead, and farther still if you take the connector into Falmouth. The town owns the 1,104 acres, and PRLT holds a conservation easement on them. The forest is also part of a conservation corridor of more than 2,000 acres. PRLT calls that corridor larger than any state park in Southern Maine, with a 30-mile trail network that reaches North Falmouth Community Forest and Blackstrap Hill Preserve.
The Windham Eagle reported in September that this corridor is the largest wildlife habitat, clean water and recreational trail corridor in Greater Portland. That size works for walkers and for wildlife, and November is the month when the two uses overlap most.
The two Falmouth Road lots, renamed
Both entrances are on Falmouth Road, both have off-street parking, and both now have new names.
| New name | Formerly | Address | What starts there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atherton Hill Trailhead | East Windham Conservation Area | 189 Falmouth Road | Purple Trail loop, Blue Trail to the White Mountains overlook, Universal Access Trail |
| Lowell Farm Trailhead | Lowell Preserve | 45 Falmouth Road | Red and Blue loops, McIntosh Brook, connector toward North Falmouth |
The Lowell Farm lot is shared with the baseball field and fire station next door.
From Atherton Hill, the Purple Trail is a 3-mile perimeter loop. It is the only trail that reaches Little Duck Pond, and PRLT warns about steep pitches, roots and rocks, especially near the pond. The Blue Trail is all gravel and runs straight to a wide overlook of the White Mountains. From Lowell Farm, the Red and Blue loops are each about 1.5 miles. They are wider, with moderate grades, glacial erratic boulders, granite formations and exposed ledges along McIntosh Brook. The Red Trail links north to the Purple Trail and west to North Falmouth Community Forest by a short connector.
Expect some of the posts and maps you're used to to change. PRLT said in October that the technical trails were being renumbered and that maps and signs would be updated this fall. If you navigate by tech trail numbers you memorized last year, check the current map on PRLT's forest page before you go.
The same openness that makes it big includes hunting
The forest's trail facts list a long range of uses: hiking, running, mountain biking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, fishing, and snowmobiles and ATVs on certain trails. Hunting is on the list too. PRLT's page says hunting is permitted throughout the preserve under state and local laws, and it asks visitors to wear blaze orange during hunting season.
The calendar comes from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's season dates page. The firearms deer season runs Nov. 2 through Nov. 28, 2026, and the statewide muzzleloader season follows from Nov. 30 through Dec. 5. The same page says hunting is prohibited on Sunday.
The neighboring land works the same way. Falmouth Land Trust's Blackstrap Hill Preserve page describes it as a popular hunting area and asks visitors to use caution during the season. A long walk that crosses the connector into Falmouth stays in land open to hunting the whole way.
Sundays on the calendar
Here is how the rest of the fall lines up for the forest, based on the state's dates.
- Nov. 2 to Nov. 28: firearms deer season, Monday through Saturday.
- Sundays, Nov. 8, 15, 22 and 29: no hunting under state law.
- Sunday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m.: Orienteering and Scavenger Hunt at the Lowell Farm Trailhead. Walkers and runners look for bright orange flags among the trees, rocks and streams of the former Lowell Preserve.
- Nov. 30 to Dec. 5: statewide muzzleloader season, Monday through Saturday.
The orienteering event falls on the first full Sunday of firearms season, so the first organized event under the new trailhead name lands on a day with no hunting.
Daylight is the other limit this month. The forest is open sunrise to sunset. Late-November afternoons are short, and that 3-mile Purple Trail loop with its roots and rocks by the pond takes longer than the distance suggests. For a short window, the Blue Trail's gravel route to the overlook and the Lowell Farm loops at about 1.5 miles each fit the time better.
The trail that was built for everyone
The newest piece of the forest suits a short November day well. The Universal Access Trail runs 1.13 miles each way on compacted stone dust with gradual elevation changes, and PRLT says it was designed for a range of ages and mobility levels. Back in January, the Windham Eagle reported that Parks and Recreation Director Linda Brooks told the council the trail was still under construction. PRLT and the town scheduled a ribbon-cutting for its completion, together with the naming ceremony, for Oct. 17 at the Atherton Hill Trailhead.
PRLT says the Universal Access Trail will eventually connect to the Blue Trail and the White Mountains overlook. For now it is the forest's easiest walk. It's a good Sunday-afternoon choice for grandparents, a stroller or a quick loop before dark.
What the name sets up next
The renaming was the steering committee's first assignment. The second is bigger. The committee is to write a request for proposals, choose a firm to help draft a master plan for how the property is developed and managed, and present that plan to the Town Council for adoption. PRLT describes this as a key moment to balance the many kinds of recreation with what wildlife needs, after a period of building new trails and closing some old ones.
That plan will decide who uses the land and when. Hunting, biking, horses, snowmobiles and people walking with kids all share the same 1,104 acres. If you want a say, the East Windham Steering Committee page on the town website posts updates. Windham residents can also sign up for FlashVote, the survey tool the town used for the naming poll.
Hunting season dates and rules are set by the state and can change. This post is general information, so check the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and posted trailhead signs before you head out.
I'm based in Windham, and I'm always glad to talk about how this town is changing, whether it's the trails off Falmouth Road or anything else on your mind. If you have questions about the area or want a local opinion on where to spend a Sunday this month, reach out to Shivam Kumar. Let's Connect.
