The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Williamsburg Forest
Our Williamsburg Forest, formally Demonstration Forest, is located on 180 acres in Williamsburg Township. The forest offers hiking, bird watching, hunting, snow shoeing and cross-country ski trails for year round enjoyment. There is an outdoor classroom, picnic tables, and a geocache site.
Williamsburg Forest is featured in the Maine Audubon Birding Guide and offers an exceptional hike for viewing birds and other wildlife species. You can find more information about the forest and the birding guide here: https://maineaudubon.org/
Educational tours can be arranged through the PCSWCD by emailing info@piscataquisswcd.org or calling 207-802-4006.
Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District was named the 2026 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year for our work at Williamsburg Forest!
More about the Williamsburg Forest!
The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Williamsburg Forest (formally Demonstration Forest) is located in the small town of Williamsburg, Maine. Williamsburg began in the late 1800s as a small farming community. The land that makes up the Williamsburg Forest once belonged to the Decker and Larson families and these families farmed the 180-acre parcel of land. These properties were abandoned during the Great Depression and then acquired by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1940s. After great effort by the Piscataquis County Soil and Water conservation district Supervisors, the property was deeded to the district in 1980 and became an educational forest.
As you take a walk through the Williamsburg Forest and this historic farm site, you can visit the old Larsen and Decker homestead foundations and get a feeling of how they once lived and worked the land. You will traverse the once-farmed fields, which are now growing timber. Notice the old stone walls that once edged fields of crops. Also, you will see the upland forest areas that have been harvested in the recent past, which are now growing the next generation of forests.
The Williamsburg Forest provides an opportunity to explore an actively managed Maine community forest. We invite you to walk our interpretive trails through 180 acres of historic farmstead. As you wind through the trails, you will come across unique areas of headwater wetlands, which help to feed the Pleasant River, riparian areas, our own canyon, an enriched hardwood site, a Tamarack/Red Pine plantation and remnants of historic homestead sites.
Forest Management is an integral part of our Williamsburg Forest, and you may see evidence of an active harvest operation. Please stay on marked trails and away from the machinery.
Use your senses to discover the numerous songbirds, small mammals and amphibians that inhabit these areas. Sign of the elusive white-tail deer are everywhere, and lucky quests may catch a glimpse as these graceful animals bound out of sight. Our Williamsburg Forest was highlighted in the Maine Birding Guide as a wonderful site for bird watchers and lovers.
Visit our outdoor classroom and take-in the beautiful view. If you dabble in geocaching, be sure to check out our geocache site(s) along the trails.
The Williamsburg Forest is open to the public year-round. The trails offer great snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the winter, and great hiking, exploring and nature-watching in the Spring, Summer and Fall.
We hope you enjoy your visit to our Williamsburg Forest!
There is much to learn at the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD)’s Williamsburg Forest! You can pick up lots of interesting, useful information from our interpretive signs along our trails. Additionally, the PCSWCD is available to host groups – schools, home school groups, clubs, etc. – for day programs designed to further explore our natural resources.
If you are interested in participating in one of these educational programs at the Williamsburg Forest, please contact katherine.weber@piscataquisswcd.org.
Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District has received a Recreational Trails Project grant from the State of Maine to upgrade the River Trail of the Williamsburg Forest Community Forest. This project has restored and improved 0.75 miles of motorized, diverse-use trail, providing a multiple-purpose connection between the well-used existing trails on the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Williamsburg Forest and the Katahdin Iron Works Rail Trail.
The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District has been involved with several projects at the Williamsburg Forest. With help from volunteers, granters, local organizations, business and many more, we have been able to transform the Williamsburg Forest into an open and inviting parcel of public land.
Here are some of those projects:
Forest Managed by Women has Little Known Trail Network near Brownville: Forest managed by women has little known trail network near Brownville – Piscataquis Observer (observer-me.com)
PCSWCD Receives Grants to Further Conservation Education & Enhance the Williamsburg Forest (2022/23): https://www.nacdnet.org/2022/07/25/woman-owned-woodlands-and-developing-the-next-generation-of-forest-landowners/
For more information about these projects or anything pertaining to our Williamsburg Forest, please contact us at the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District!
Directions and Map
The Williamsburg Forest Trails (formally Demonstration Forest) can be found on Maine Trail Finder! Click here to view the Williamsburg Forest profile!
The Williamsburg Forest can also be found on AllTrails here!
Download the Williamsburg Forest Trails as a PDF to upload and use with the Avenza Map mobile app: Williamsburg Trail Map 2026
From Sebec Village: Follow the paved road north to Moses Greenleaf monument or the “T” in the road. Turn left and continue north on the Old Williamsburg Rd. The road turns to dirt passing several homes. Travel down this road until you see the large “Williamsburg Forest” sign on your right. This is the first parking lot. If you keep traveling down the road, the road will turn to the right and you can travel down this multi-use trail to get to the parking area and outdoor classroom.
PLEASE NOTE: The North Trail is UNMAINTAINED until further notice. This trail was significantly impacted by a 2024 microburst and needs focused rehabilitation efforts.
We have a new multi-purpose trail, the River Trail! The River Trail Restoration Project at Williamsburg Forest was developed with assistance provided by the Maine Grants & Community Recreation Program, Bureau of Parks and Lands, through the Federal Highway Administration Recreational Trails Program. Additionally, PCSWCD was awarded a grant from Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A, as part of its Outdoor Access Initiative, and a State of Maine Recreation Trails Program grant. The Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative is a proactive, grassroots program supported by Yamaha motorsports dealers and customers nationwide promoting safe, responsible riding and sustainable, open riding areas.
