General description:

Take a walk with Maine Master Naturalist Liz Koucky, and learn how to identify trees in their winter state. Identifying trees from their leaves is a valuable skill, but when leaves drop in the fall, things can get tricky. Our trek will include varied landscape communities within a short walking distance, including ash stands, red maple, oak, birch, pine, scattered balsam and hemlock. Please register for this event using the button above.

The rain/weather date for this event is March 1st at 10:00 AM.

Meeting Location:

UPDATE: AS OF 1/22/25 THE MEETING LOCATION HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE LOWER MT. PHILLIP PARKING LOT.

Meet at the Mt. Phillip lower parking lot in Rome, located on the north side of Route 225, approximately 0.2 miles south west of Starbird Lane, and 1.3 miles east of Rome Corner (the junction of Routes 27 and 225). Overflow parking will be available at the upper parking lot directly across from Starbird Lane. See attached map for details.

Hike Description:

We will start from the Mt. Phillip lower trailhead, and walk up the trail, across a few bridges, towards the upper parking lot. We will then continue counter clockwise up the main trail and explore the variety of forest communities. We will turn around before reaching the summit, and head back towards the parking lots. This trail includes rocks, roots, and bridges and will potentially be snow-covered. The overall distance for this hike is approximately 1.0-1.5 miles, and the event will take approximately 1-1.5 hours depending on the group.

Recommended Gear:

• Warm layers. We will be walking and stopping to investigate different trees, be sure to dress for the weather.
• Hiking/trekking poles can be helpful when walking on snow and uneven surfaces. They are especially useful when the trail is hidden by snow or for off-trail exploring.
• Depending on weather, we may recommend snowshoes or micro-spikes. An email will be sent to registrants before the event with an update on trail conditions.
  • *7 Lakes has 2 adult pairs of snowshoes and 2 child pairs of snowshoes available to borrow. Please email sally.whittington@7lakesalliance.org to reserve snowshoes for this event.

Event Policies

• We ask everyone attending 7 Lakes events to treat people, plants, and animals with respect.
• 7 Lakes staff will be taking pictures during this event. If you would not like to be photographed, please let staff know during the event or contact sally.whittington@7lakesalliance.org ahead of time.