For our final fall hike this year, we decided to visit Sanders Hill which is located in Rome, Maine. We have hiked other trails in the area before and decided to give this one a try. The Sanders Hill Trail along with the Kennebec Highlands Trail form a 2.9-mile loop that can be hiked in either direction; counterclockwise. Sanders Hill is a somewhat easy, gradual climb, and interesting loop, but personally, I think a lot of the other trails in the area have better hiking opportunities. On the way up to the 854-foot summit, there were several points of interest but the top had limited views of the surrounding area.
Our discovery of Beaver Brook turned out to be quite a surprise. The trail loosely follows parts of this brook and was quite pretty during this time of year. We lucked out because the night before our visit, we received a great deal of heavy rain, resulting in a satisfactory amount of flowing water. This gave us the opportunity for taking long exposure shots of the brook along with the surrounding colorful foliage.
Also, a word of warning for fellow hikers, there are a lot of rocks on this trail and I would recommend a decent pair of hiking boots. There are quite a few areas with tricky footing.
A short video from Beaver Brook.
As I mentioned above, the views from the summit were a bit underwhelming. Nonetheless, it was wonderful to get outdoors and go for a nice hike.
We ended our hike with this lovely view of Watson Pond from the top of this large boulder.
Directions to Sander Hill Trail
The trailhead is located off of Watson Pond Road which leaves from the west side of ME Route 27 about a mile north of the intersection of ME Routes 27 and 225 in Rome. A small parking area is located on the right side of Watson Pond Road, 1.3 miles south of Watson Pond Road’s junction with ME Route 27.
As with so many aspects of life, you never know what awaits you. On the way home, we were met with the most beautiful fall lighting of the setting sun in this field located on a back road. I must say this is quite the quintessential Maine scene.
This location with apple trees has come to be one of our favorite places to take photographs. This west-facing direction is perfect for capturing sunbursts and is quite photogenic during every season.
Well, it is time to bid farewell to the fall and that wraps up our hiking photographs for the season. It is now time to look forward to the winter months ahead. We have had a couple of snowfalls so far this month and I would say winter is here upon us in Maine. I can’t wait to have more time hand-feeding my avian visitors and spending time enjoying the great outdoors. Here are a few photographs of our new snow and black-capped chickadees here on the property.
May the joys and miracles of Winter Solstice inspire you for the coming year!
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