Looking to go for a stroll? You’ll not the only one.

Walking trails are getting more popular in Maine. 

“People are asking for it,” said Stephen Engle, who helps run MaineTrailFinder.com, one of the leading sites for locating recreational trails in Maine. “You’re seeing many groups, from municipalities to larger nonprofits and state agencies, are answering the call.”

Experts say there are a number of reasons why walking trails are in demand. Towns, employers and public health organizations are more often encouraging basic health and fitness activities, like walking. Maine residents skew older, which means they’re looking for exercise that is more accessible than, say, mountain climbing or ice skating. And as technology makes it easier to stay inside and isolated, more Mainers are looking for ways to get out and about.

“It is becoming less common for people to interact with nature as part of their daily routine, so it is important for people to have options, like walking trails, locally available,” said Shelley Kruszewski, conservation director for the Androscoggin Land Trust, which manages trails in and around the Twin Cities.

And then there are the Fitbits and other fitness trackers that have people counting how many steps they take each day — and realizing they aren’t taking enough.

“With technology and Fitbits and the desire to get steps, you see more and more experiences — and I’ll call them trails — being designed and laid out in more urban areas,” Engle said.

Maine Trail Finder was created in 2010 by the Center for Community GIS in Farmington. The vast majority of the trails on its list — 684 out of 718 — allow walking or hiking. Just under 440 of those trails are categorized as “easy,” with a relatively flat, smooth trail that anyone can do. 

So many people want recreational trail information that Maine Trail Finder gets over 60,000 visitors a month, half from Maine residents and half from people coming from out of state. Requests for information have increased 40 percent a year, each year.

Engle has noticed that people don’t just use the trails; they care for them.

He tells the story of the Kennebec River Rail Trail, a 6.5-mile paved path that touches Augusta, Gardiner and Hallowell. Someone started snowplowing the trail so it could be used during the winter, but it was done anonymously and no one could figure out who it was — until a lone man raised his hand during an annual meeting of the Friends of the Kennebec River Rail Trail and said he’d been doing the job on his own.

“That was built, people come,” Engle said. “(People are) embracing these trails. It’s really impressive.”

Experts say walking trails help more than just those people who use them for the occasional stroll.

“This is not only an issue of human health and wellness, but also a driver for economic development,” Kruszewski said. “People want to live in places that have easy access to trail networks.”

Experts say Maine still has room for growth. More cities are building trails on the edge of town or are outlining suggested walking routes through the heart of the city. More rural towns and nature organizations are creating new trails or expanding the ones they already have in order to meet demand.

The Androscoggin Land Trust is working on both improving the trails it manages and promoting them.

“ALT has plans to expand its current trail network and also to add to and enhance abandoned trails on properties that do not currently have active trails,” Kruszewski said. “A stronger trail network will provide new and improved settings for recreational and educational opportunities for people to access and connect with nature.”

For instance, ALT has been working with a Bates College student  and the city of Auburn to plan an expansion and enhancement of the trail network at Sherwood Forest in Auburn. And the town of Jay and ALT continue to partner to make substantial trail improvements at French Falls in Jay.

ALT also has a TravelStorys app that provides a self-guided smartphone or tablet tour of the historic riverfronts of downtown Lewiston and Auburn (available in a walking version and a paddling version), and ALT leaders are hoping to increase access to the app along the Riverwalk trail.

Meanwhile, Maine Trail Finder is adding to its database all the time.

“I think that we’re still on an upward curve,” Engle said.

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