Sherwood Forest

Trailhead

Located at the end of Robin Hood Drive, where it meets Little John Lane to form an L-shape. Robin Hood Drive is off Parkway South, just a bit beyond the new Brewer Community School and Pendleton Street. Turn onto Robin Hood Drive and go straight to the end where it meets Little John. The Sherwood Forest loop trail is located on an 11-acre parcel of land is surrounded by the suburban streets of Little John Lane, Friar Tuck Lane, Canterbury Road, Locksley Lane, and Rotherdale Road.

Description

There’s no off-street parking here, so please take care when parking on the street not to park too close to the corners, and not to park on the lawns of homeowners.

The Sherwood Forest Trail is located on an 11-acre parcel of land situated amidst what is known as Sherwood Forest, a housing development with streets named for characters from the story of Robin Hood. The Brewer Land Trust helped construct this trail.

The entrance to the Sherwood loop is obvious, along with a sign indicating it. The trail, which was constructed through a lot of effort to clear the path and to lay down a bed of mulch along the entire route, begins about six feet wide before narrowing to three or four. You’ll walk a little way into this thick forest before the loop begins, diverging left and right. To the left is a wooden bridge built by Ryan Ward as his Eagle Scout project for Boy Scouts Troop 15 in October 2011. The bridge crosses a stream bed, alerting you that you’re heading into wetlands.

The trail isn’t far from populated areas, at times almost bordering them. As you walk, you’ll enjoy plenty of shade from a thick canopy of trees above you that’s just enough to keep you cool. The trail eventually passes through muddy wetlands which can be a lot muddier and wetter during rainy times. The mulch gives you good footing, though.

The path travels deep into this land parcel before circling back and eventually rejoining the main trail by the bridge. The last stretch seems to have an even thicker, sun-blocking canopy above.

This trail is a great example of how you don’t have to go far from populated areas in Maine to find wildlife and a nice woods walk; here, you’re surrounded by houses, but enjoy a walk through what would otherwise seem like a wilderness area.

It’s also a great example of the work that goes into creating and maintaining a trail. Real people worked to clear it and lay down the mulch, which is important to keep people on the designated trail and not clambering around in the woods, damaging new and old growth and disturbing wildlife habitats. Constructed trails also reduce the chance of erosion—ensuring a solid, level trail and not a worn, hollow area where you’re mired in mud.