What do you see on Carousel Horse Farm trails?

Local Wildlife

Besides your horse’s ears and another horse’s bum….you will see everything you can think of in Maine’s natural environment.  Our trails are mostly on Leach Hill with a great view of Mt. Washington at times.  We have seen moose, deer, coyote, pilliated woodpeckers, porcupines, skunks, woodchucks, wild turkey, bobolinks, bald eagles, hawks, killdeer, woodcock, fisher cats and fox right in our backyard, pasture and nearest wooded trails, that’s before you enter the 5000 acre preserve.

Spring, Summer and Fall Flora

On the hill we also have great flora with many varieties of fern, trillium, violets, buttercups, goldenrod, barberry, blackberry, black raspberry, raspberry, wild strawberries and blueberry plants.  Further down as we approach One Mile Brook, in a stand of pines we will find more trillium, a rainbow of mushrooms in the fall, the only cold weather orchid in Maine, lady slippers in spring, berries of all sorts and rare black pitch pines.

What Makes this Place Special?

The area around Crooked River is considered “climate change resistant”.  This area is protected for its value in maintaining its ecosystem even as we approach higher than average temperatures that could cause our entire state and its resources to change in the future.

Make a Game of Track Identification

Looking for tracks along the sandy trails of our longer intermediate rides is also a fun thing to do along your ride.  You’ll see deer, moose, bear, coyote and lynx track as you meander through the old logging roads on your trip through the Jugtown Forest.  Ask your guide for stories of animal related sightings on other trail rides and try to guess what draws the animals to each location that you see their tracks.