Approximately three miles of shared-use hiking and mountain biking trails are being built on Benner Hill in Rockland. Beginning on Saturday, September 12, as part of the Benner Hill Trail Development Project, the City of Rockland will host three volunteer trail building days throughout the fall.

 

According to the City of Rockland, in a news release, volunteers will help clear trail corridors, construct trail treads, build rock armoring, and naturalize recently built trail sections with support from Midcoast Trails Stewardship and the Midcoast chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association.

 

Three volunteer days are scheduled: Saturdays, September 12, October 17, and November 7, and the public is invited to attend any or all of the volunteer days to learn about the project and help to build the Benner Hill Trails. Each volunteer day will take place from 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.; volunteers will meet at the Benner Hill Trails Tolman Road Trailhead, located at 13 Tolman Road in Rockland. Pre-registration is required. Interested volunteers can sign up for a trail day by visiting www.rocklandmaine.gov/bennerhilltrails.

 

Supported by funding from the Maine Trails Program, the completed Benner Hill Trails will span two City-owned parcels and provide connectivity between Tolman Road on the east side of Benner Hill, and Bog Road on the west side. The project will mark substantial progress towards the City’s Waterfront to Wilderness initiative, a community-driven effort to connect Rockland Harbor to the Rockland Bog by a continuous trail. Learn more about the project by visiting www.rocklandmaine.gov/bennerhilltrails.