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Saco Bay Trails
P.O. Box 720
Saco, ME 04072
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| Ted Wells Memorial Trail Opening |
    
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The opening capped nearly two years of construction in which Saco Bay Trails members,volunteers from other organizations and two landowners came together to build a 300-plus-foot boardwalk and viewing platform and rebuild a soggy trailbed into a dry, easy to follow path.
Saco Bay Trails president Caryl Everett presided over the event, which featured Jonathan Wells, son of former Ocean Park resident Ted Wells who designed the original trail. Jon was accompanied by Kim Smith, a childhood friend who also helped to build the trail. Also present at the event were representatives from the two landowners which granted permission for the trail, Pat Shields from the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge and Bill Krueger, manager of the Oceanwood Campground where the trail begins.
The trail begins behind the Oceanwood office at the end of Royal Street and travels approximately half a mile through a pine forest to the edge of the Goosefare Marsh, crossing over a portion of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. The last 300-plus feet of the trail pass over a wooden boardwalk which ends in a viewing platform that offers spectacular views of the marsh and Goosefare Brook.
Ted Wells was a resident of Ocean Park who spent many of his years hiking and mapping the network of trails that exist in the area. The idea to rebuild this trail, then known as the White Dot trail, was brought to the board by Caryl and Tom Goulding in the winter of 2001. Our plans were greeted with enthusiasm by the owners of Oceanwood and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which controls the refuge. After receiving permission from the two organizations, we began construction in the fall of 2002.
The trail presented us with a number of challenges, including finding a way to build a rot-resistant boardwalk without using pressure treated lumber, which was a requirement set by the Fish and Wildlife Service. We used cedar for the support posts and leveled the ground with woodchips.
We worked with several different volunteer groups during the construction process, including Oceanwood campers, students from the University of New England and Work Opportunities Unlimited. Much of the trail's cost was funded by donations from Ocean Park residents, the Ocean Park Association, the Educational Bureau of Ocean Park, the Conservation Society of Ocean Park as well as grants from the New England Grassroots Environment Fund and the Maine Community Foundation. In addition, we received a state grant to pay for a brochure and educational signs along the trail.