Grant’s Meadow at Beaver Dam Heath is a tranquil dog friendly winter hike.  Located along the border of Berwick and North Berwick, Maine, the 145 acres of Grant’s Meadow Preserve offers a 3/4 mile hike that loops through uplands forest skirting the wetlands heath.  Maintained by the Great Works Regional Land Trust, the trail is well marked with blaze orange painted on the trees.  Although motorized vehicles are prohibited, on the day we hiked we were also aided by a path created by someone who visited earlier with a snowmobile.  We stayed on the main trail, and did not explore the heath in the deep snow.  However, according to the trail map the wetlands heath area is best explored when the ground is frozen.  Off the beaten path, Grant’s Meadow is a tranquil winter hike, great for snowshoers, with plenty of opportunity to see a variety of wildlife, especially deer.

Dogs are allowed, and should be on-leash to respect the wildlife who call this area home.  There is a large parking lot for several cars, that is plowed during the winter.   The trailhead is located from ME Route 236 in Berwick, travel east on ME Route 9/School Street for 2.1 miles, then left onto Old Sanford Road for 2.4 miles. Turn right onto Diamond Hill Road. The entrance to Grant’s Meadow Preserve and the parking area are about a third of a mile on the right.

For our recommendations for additional dog hikes, please visit our Maine Winter Hikes for Dogs, or our Dog Friendly Places page.

[Editor’s Note: We plan to return to Grant’s Meadow at Beaver Dam Heath when the snow isn’t as deep, and will post a proper review with better photos and video, as well as our usual directions and temperature graphic at that time.  But to be honest, the snow was really deep even with snowshoes and we kept surprising deer along the trail, not to mention there was also a lost mitten search and rescue mission along the way…thus taking our focus away from our cameras!]