NORWAY — The Libby, Gates and Howe trails at the Roberts Farm Preserve will be completed this summer along with the construction of a trail head from the Lake Pennesseewassee rest area.

The Maine Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands recently awarded the Western Foothills Land Trust a $35,000 Recreational Trails Program grant to support the completion of the three trails at the preserve off Route 118, Western Foothills Land Trust program coordinator Lee Dassler announced this week.

“The Libby trail will be a strong asset for beginner skiers, after-school ski programs, and will provide all skiers with additional options and views,” Dassler said in a statement.

This is the second Recreational Trails Grant the trust has secured for the preserve. Matching funds will be provided by proceeds from the 2011 Norway Triathlon and additional grants, she said.

In 2009, the Western Foothills Land Trust received a $3,000 grant from the Maine Community Foundation to support the construction of a universally accessible trail. The preserve is located about two-tenths of a mile south of Lake Penneseewassee on Roberts Road. The barrier-free trail system, which varies from nine to 14 feet wide, is open year round for cross country skiing and snowshoeing, hiking and other passive recreational activity.

Each trail is named after a local historical figure. The Libby trail is for famed Norway photographer Minnie Libby.

The project will include the construction of approximately 2.1 kilometers of the nine-foot-wide grassed Minnie Libby trail, which is designed as a beginner-level trail with fewer turns and gradual slopes.

In addition to the Libby trail, the Howe and Gates universally accessible trails, will be completed. An additional .7 kilometers will be added to the system with some loops through the farm’s old apple orchard.

Dassler said as part of a strategy to provide pedestrian access to Norway’s assets, a  trail head at the Pennesseewassee Lake rest area will be installed,  leading to a series of stone steps and the Preserve’s Mellie Dunham hiking trail. The town took over the rest area from the state several years ago.

Norway Downtown President Andrea Burns said recently that efforts are being made to continue the sidewalk from downtown Main Street to connect to the rest area.

“It helps both the Roberts Preserve and downtown,” Burns said. The proposal is in the discussion stage. She said the extension of the sidewalk would make the downtown area more walkable and increase its economic impact.

The 165-acre Roberts Farm Preserve is on Pike’s Hill at the site of a former dairy farm that began in 1823, after Henry Pike built a farmhouse there. John Roberts began managing the farm after marrying Pike’s daughter in 1881, and the land remained in the family until 2000.

The land trust bought the parcel in July 2007. The 1823 farmhouse was also p

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