Hiking Pondicherry Park Trails in Bridgton

We did some geocaching last week with friends new to the game and ended up in Bridgton at some well-marked and very family-friendly hiking trails. There were quite a few geocaches on that trail system and the kids had no trouble finding a couple of the hidden treasures.

The kids especially enjoyed the wooden cut-out shaped trail markers in place of the usual colored blazes. The trail developers did a great job with these details and made this easy-to-navigate looping trail system really appeal to children.

Trail: Pondicherry Park Trails
Nearest Town: Bridgton
Trail head: We parked at Bridgton hospital (N 44° 02.795 W 070° 42.788) and crossed the street to the trails. Parking in this lot to hike trails is permitted.
Elevation Gain: less than 100 feet (a few very small hills)
Mileage: approx. 2.8 miles with another trail in progress
Difficulty: Easy, manageable for young children because of looping trail options
Note-able: The trail blazes/markers are wooden cutouts with different shapes and colors to identify trails. All the kids commented on how much they liked these markers, especially the "yellow birdie" on the Pondicherry Loop. The Stonewall Loop trail was identified with a reddish leaf cut-out and the Willett Brook Trail was a green turtle. Also, the stone fireplace on the Willett Brook Trail was a special treat for the kids to explore.
Other: The Loon Echo Trust has been responsible for coordinating this trail project, which was opened about a year ago.

The map below is not a complete trail map but we managed to find two geocaches with our crew of five kids (the youngest was 4 years old) and leave the trail system with even the youngest kids begging to do more hiking to find geocaches.

Pondicherry Park Trails

The boardwalks (aka "bridges) on this trail system were a hit with the kids.

The signs corresponded with the trail blazes (wooden cut-out shapes) along the trees on this trail system.

The kids enjoyed exploring the old fireplace on the Willett Brook Trail.

The highlight on our adventure was, of course, the discovery of a couple of geocaches.

And if you're looking for a nice picnic spot in Bridgton, you should check out Moose Pond (It's off Route 302 shortly before the turn-off to Shawnee Peak. GPS coordinates - N 44° 03.949 W 070° 48.349). We had a lovely late-fall outdoor lunch at the picnic tables there (with roof overhead that keep the benches relatively dry).