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For Immediate Release: June 27, 2023
Media Contact: Victoria Bonney, 202-577-8541

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today welcomed $4 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to expand the Eastern Trail in Southern Maine. The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant, funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, builds on the Congressionally directed funding Pingree secured for the Eastern Trail’s “Blaze the Trail South” project in the Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations bill.

“The Eastern Trail supports local economies and fosters a safe, sustainable route through some of southern Maine’s most populated areas,” said Pingree. “I was proud to secure the funding Maine DOT needed to get this project started with sound engineering, planning, and design. With this additional federal grant, we’ll be hitting the trail in no time!”

The RAISE grant will go towards the construction of approximately 2.7 miles of off-road trail that continues the expansion of the Eastern Trail from Kennebunk to North Berwick, supporting the development of an active transportation corridor and recreational trail that offers significant social, economic, and environmental benefits.

The Eastern Trail is the Southern Maine portion of the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway that traverses the East Coast between Calais, Maine and Key West, Fla. Based on a 2021 economic impact analysis, there are 250,000 people using the trail annually, and each user spends an average of $118 per day. The trail also supports 364 jobs across the state, $12.5 million in earnings and $32.1 million in sales, with most sales coming from overnight lodging, food and drink, and retail items.

When complete, Blaze the Trail South will add 25 miles of off-road trail connecting 7 communities from Kennebunk to Kittery in one of the most densely populated regions in the state (York County). This will provide a safe and convenient facility for bicycle commuters, recreational riders, walkers, runners, and wheelchair users for transportation, health, and outdoor enjoyment.

Pingree is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

We are pleased to announce the Eastern Trail Beer from Banded Brewing Company.

“Among the Trees” is a new draft-only Amber Ale with Toasted Birch Bark! Refreshing yet complex with warming spices and earthy herbs.

$1 from each draft sold in Banded Brewing Co.’s two tasting rooms will support the Eastern Trail Alliance. These are:

• Flagship location in Biddeford’s Pepperell Mill
• 82 Hanover Street in Portland

The new beer was unveiled on Saturday, June 24 after our first 2023 Bike and Brew ride

Enjoy this new beverage and provide support to the Eastern Trail while you do!

The Eastern Trail has a tremendous amount of trail expansion work underway. This is all possible due to our amazing donors and staff at the Eastern Trail. We now have every mile between Bug Light and the Kittery border under some form of feasibility study, engineering design, or construction work. See  below for a list of this exciting work.

More detail on all of these campaigns can be viewed here.

Close the Gap – Scarborough to South Portland, 1.6 miles

• Ready for construction
• Construction bid Aug 30, 2023

Over the River – Biddeford/Saco, 3 miles

• Feasibility complete, pending engineering design
• Seeking engineering design funds

Blaze the Trail South – Kennebunk, Wells, N. Berwick, 11 miles

• Feasibility complete, engineering funded
• Engineering design bid Fall 2023

Berwicks to the Border – South Berwick, Eliot, York, and Kittery, 16 miles

• Feasibility begins summer 2023
• Feasibility completed 2025

A new bench was recently installed in Scarborough near the Old Blue Point kiosk in honor of Jim Munroe, a dedicated trail advocate who passed away in April 2020. Jim was a long time member of the Eastern Trail Alliance board and left part of his estate to the Eastern Trail. The City of Saco, the Eastern Trail Alliance, and the trustees of Jim’s estate collaborated to place a bench at this location.

A small gathering was held June 5 to celebrate Jim Munroe’s generous donation to the Eastern Trail.

In addition to supporting the trail, Jim supported local musicians and donated his immense vintage rock and roll vinyl and posters to a young, aspiring DJ in the Saco/Bidd area.

You can read his obituary here.

Think of Jim and his generous support for the Eastern Trail when you pass or take a brief rest on his bench!

Great news!!

We have completed the final trail easement for the Close the Gap segment, which allows up to move forward with construction.

We anticipate that the Close the Gap project connecting Scarborough and South Portland will be ready to go out to construction bidding by January 30, 2023.

Please remember this project will take 18-24 months to complete, but we plan to get started soon!

(image shows the future crossing of the Nonesuch River in Scarborough headed towards Wainwright Fields in South Portland)

Here are some local news reports of this exciting news:

The Eastern Trail to “Close the Gap” between South Portland and Scarborough with connecting expansion (Portland Press Herald)

Eastern Trail completes final trail easement between Scarborough and South Portland (News Center Maine)

Special thanks to Boy Scout Ben Shields of Troop 47 in Scarborough for his work in updating five benches along the trail in the Scarborough Marsh area. Ben led the effort and worked alongside his father, Scout Master James Shields, Eastern Trail’s Patrick Conlon, and other scouts.

The work involved five benches on the trail in the Scarborough Marsh and just north of the marsh. Three of the benches received some new boards and a coat of water proofing wood treatment. The other two benches were in bad shape and were completely replaced with new ones hand made by Ben.

Great effort all – THANKS!

It’s been 10 years since southern Maine’s signature off-road trail has expanded. But work in the next decade could connect existing trails and extend the Eastern Trail to North Berwick.

BY DEIRDRE FLEMING, STAFF WRITER | MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM | NOVEMBER 13, 2022

Jon Kachmar is working on the ultimate conservation juggling act: Getting three significant new sections built on the Eastern Trail in southern Maine.

Expansion of the trail – envisioned as a 50-mile, off-road trail upon completion – has stalled in the past decade, but Kachmar believes the Eastern Trail Alliance has a shot at completing another 15.7 miles of the trail in the next 10 years. That would extend it to 37 miles, and connect three different existing sections.

“There will definitely be momentum moving forward,” said Kachmar, executive director of the Eastern Trail Alliance. “There’s no doubt about it. It is a unique time. Right now there is an unprecedented amount of federal money for infrastructure for things that will benefit the public. We fit a lot of those qualifications for that money. I’m pretty optimistic.”

The Eastern Trail is the southern Maine section of the proposed 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway envisioned to link Key West, Florida, to Calais via off-road trails. In the past 20 years, 20.9 miles of the trail have been built in Maine across three sections from South Portland to West Kennebunk.

Read the entire article online here.

The Eastern Trail recently created a Twitter account.

Our official Twitter “Handle” is @EasternTrail.

Include hashtags to link your tweet to a larger conversation. Hashtags related to the Eastern Trail are limitless. Use #easterntrail, and maybe some others such as #trailmoments, #biking, #outside, #southernmaine, #closethegap.

View the Eastern Trail Twitter account.

So go to your Twitter account and follow us, and add to the conversation by sharing your experiences, pictures, thoughts, ideas, appreciation, and love of the Eastern Trail.

PORTLAND (WGME) – Maine’s Eastern Trail system is getting some national recognition.

Friday, Rails to Trails Conservancy, the nation’s largest trail advocacy organization, welcomed Maine’s Eastern Trail into the “Rail Trail Hall of Fame.”

According to an economic impact study, the trail brings more than $44 million into Maine’s economy each year and employs more than 300 people around the state.

“This is something that people can use to commute to work on, to run errands on and to have an option to be mobile without having to rely on a car or to put themselves out on one of our busy streets on a bicycle,” James Tasse of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine said.

The Eastern Trail is more than 65 miles long, running from Kittery to South Portland, and 16 additional miles are under construction.

You can read the story with video online here.

You can view related news coverage of the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony:

• Eastern Trail inducted into Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame (Portland Press Herald)
• Southern Maine trail inducted into hall of fame (WCSH NewsCenter Maine)
• Maine’s Premiere Trail Being Inducted into the United States Rail Trail Hall of Fame (WOKQ 97.5)
• Southern Maine rail trail inducted into national group’s hall of fame (Maine Public Radio)

It’s one of 36 Hall of Fame Trails across the country, and one of only four in New England.

By Diane Bair and Pamela Wright | Globe Correspondent | Updated September 7, 2022, 10:06 a.m.

“The Eastern Trail is one of the premier recreational assets in the region and provides a valuable alternative for those seeking more active recreation,” says Paul Schumacher, executive director of the Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission.

The Eastern Trail, following portions of the rail route built by the Eastern Railroad in the 1840s to connect Boston to Portland, is also part of two multistate trail systems: the developing 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway, connecting trails along the Eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida, and the New England Rail-Trail Network, linking Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

“We call it the great connector,” says Claire Polfus with Maine Trail Finder. “It connects neighborhoods, communities, and trail systems.”

And interest in the trail has skyrocketed. “Since the pandemic began, the Eastern Trail page on Maine Trail Finder has surged into the top 10 most viewed on the site, an indicator of how important close-to-home trails have become,” Polfus says.

“The Eastern Trail is quintessential Maine, and one of the most beautiful sections of the entire 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway,” says Kristine Keeney, Northern New England manager with the East Coast Greenway Alliance. “The combination of the beautiful salt marsh, birds, and the smell of the saltwater is special.”

The 24-mile northern section from Kennebunk to South Portland is the most popular portion of the trail because most of it is off-road; it drew nearly 250,000 bike and pedestrian users in 2021. The 41-mile southern portion is on public roads with trail signs directing the way.

We like to start in Kennebunk, biking the trail south to north. First up is a section through pretty Arundel, passing farms and open fields. “It’s my favorite part of the trail,” says Schumacher. “This rural setting is getting increasingly hard to find along the southern coast of Maine.”

It’s a great beginning, a quiet stretch of woodsy path before heading into Biddeford. In Biddeford, the trail goes on road, with a few off-road sections. Though we’ve only been riding a short while, we’ll often pedal into downtown Biddeford to grab doughnuts or butter cookies from Reilly’s Bakery. Properly fueled, we’ll pedal out to Scarborough Marsh, one of the most scenic spots on the Eastern Trail. This off-road section overlooks the 3,000-acre protected estuary, the largest in Maine. This is a great place to linger, watching for shorebirds, and taking in the views. “The Scarborough Marsh is just one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been on a bike,” says Keeney.

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