If you walk the dog on Brunswick Landing, which woods should you head for between now and the end of November? The answer changed a little on September 28. A new 30-foot bridge now crosses Mere Brook inside Neptune Woods, and that preserve is the one on the Landing where hunting is off the table.
The timing matters because of the calendar. Maine's regular archery deer season opened October 3, and firearms season runs November 2 through 28. Kate Furbish Preserve allows hunting. Neptune Woods does not. So for the next seven weeks, the woods that just got bigger are also the woods with the simpler rules. And they sit a short drive from a bakery, a grocery and a brewery patio that have been pulling more of Brunswick's errands out to the old base.
What opened on September 28
The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust announced the Trident Trail at Neptune Woods on September 28, 2026. Volunteers organized by Six Rivers NEMBA, the local chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, built the connector. They also built the 30-foot bridge that joins two single-track trails across Mere Brook, and the result is one more loop in the system. The Land Trust says the new loop sets the preserve up for "welcoming back youth bike races in the coming summers."
The bridge comes from a partnership that dates back to the preserve's start. The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority transferred the land to BTLT in 2018. Six Rivers designed and built the original trails and still helps maintain them. According to BTLT's Neptune Woods page, the property covers 65 acres with a 3.5-mile trail system. Brunswick Recreation's Youth Mountain Bike Program and volunteers from Mid Coast Hospital's Access Health group helped build its bridges and trails, and the Land Trust describes them as beginner-friendly and open year-round.
In its announcement, the Land Trust calls the Trident Trail a new route for walkers, runners and mountain bikers. Since the old trails were built with young riders in mind, the extra loop also gives a family with mixed ages more room to spread out.
Two preserves, two sets of fall rules
The Landing's two big woods sit close together but run on different rules, and those rules matter most in October and November.
| Neptune Woods | Kate Furbish Preserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Managed by | Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust | Town of Brunswick |
| Size | 65 acres | 591 acres |
| Trails | 3.5-mile system, plus the new Trident loop | Town says seven miles; a 2026 trail guide reports nearly 12 |
| Hours | Dawn to dusk | One hour before dawn to half an hour after dusk |
| Dogs | On leash, waste removal required | On leash |
| Hunting | Not permitted | Permitted with shotgun, black powder or archery |
| Parking | Neptune Drive, at the hard right turn south of Coastal Shores | Ample at Kate Furbish West, limited at Kate Furbish East |
The town's Kate Furbish page describes the preserve running from the south end of the Brunswick Executive Airport runways all the way to Harpswell Sound. It borders Mere Creek Golf Course and Prince's Point Road. It's the town's largest open space property, close to nine times the size of Neptune Woods, and the town lists hunting as one of its primary uses along with hiking and cross-country skiing.
The trail mileage depends on who's counting. The town's page still describes a seven-mile system that was supposed to be finished by spring 2021. The Maine by Foot guide to Kate Furbish, last updated in July 2026, reports nearly 12 miles across the preserve and gives the East perimeter loop as 3.5 miles.
The dates between now and the end of November
These are the 2026 dates from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife season page that matter for planning a walk at Kate Furbish:
- October 3 to 30: regular archery deer season. It's already underway.
- October 23 and 24: youth deer hunt.
- November 2 to 28: firearms deer season.
Kate Furbish limits hunters to shotgun, black powder and archery. Neptune Woods lists "no hunting or trapping" among its posted restrictions. That's why the timing of the Trident bridge stands out. The preserve without hunting added a loop five days before archery season opened next door.
Building a fall Saturday around Neptune Woods
Neptune Woods is about a mile from the Landing's food and grocery cluster, so a morning on the trails pairs easily with a coffee and a grocery stop. Here's one way to string it together, using each business's posted hours.
- Start at Wild Oats Bakery & Café, 166 Admiral Fitch Ave. Wild Oats is open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and runs bakery, café and deli counters.
- Drive to the Neptune Woods trailhead. Coming in from the main Landing entrance at Route 24 and Cooks Corner, BTLT's directions say to follow Admiral Fitch Ave about 0.8 miles and turn left onto Forrestal Drive. Then take an almost immediate right onto Neptune Drive, stay left where it meets Anchor Drive, and park on the left at the hard right turn near the south end of the Coastal Shores property.
- Walk or ride the new Trident loop. The bridge over Mere Brook is the new piece. The trust also posts a mud rule for bikes: don't ride if you're leaving a visible rut. That matters after a wet October week.
- Lunch at Flight Deck Brewing, 11 Atlantic Ave. The brewery is on its October through April schedule now. It's closed Mondays, open 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Last food orders are taken 30 minutes before close.
- Finish at Morning Glory Natural Foods, 17 Seahawk Ave. The second Morning Glory store is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The lunch stop has its own history. Flight Deck brews and fires its wood-fired pizza in the base's former Small Arms Firing Range and has two acres of wooded patio out back. Down East Magazine has named it Best Tasting Room in Maine three times. The brewery opened in early 2017, and it describes its grounds as grass, shade and pine with picnic tables, Adirondack chairs and "room for a dog to sprawl." Friday nights bring music "when the weather holds." A leashed dog that just walked Neptune Woods fits right in.
Morning Glory is the newest stop. The family that opened the original Morning Glory on Maine Street in 1981 opened this second store on Friday, May 1, 2026, in the former REAL School building next to Wild Oats and Flight Deck, as the Press Herald reported. With a grocery, a bakery and a brewery all within a short walk of each other, a weekly shop can now share a trip with a trail walk without heading back downtown.
Where Kate Furbish fits this fall
Kate Furbish isn't closed during hunting season. It runs under different rules, and its size and shoreline still draw walkers. Its posted hours run from an hour before dawn to half an hour after dusk, which is longer than Neptune Woods' dawn-to-dusk window. Dogs must be leashed there too.
According to the Maine by Foot guide, the Kate Furbish East trailheads are at the end of Ordinance Road, with parking and several trail entrances. Kate Furbish West uses the large parking area on Merriconeag Road, across the road from a trail along the edge of the golf course. The town notes that parking is ample at West and limited at East. The guide puts the East perimeter loop at 3.5 miles, the same length as Neptune Woods' whole trail system.
Firearms season ends November 28. After that, the town lists cross-country skiing among the preserve's primary uses, so Kate Furbish turns into the Landing's winter preserve once the snow comes. Neptune Woods stays open in winter too, with snowshoeing on its list of uses. BTLT asks visitors not to walk or snowshoe in ski tracks and not to bike or ski on groomed areas if they're sinking more than an inch.
The courts that are almost ready
Another fall project on the Landing is nearly finished. The Midcoast Athletic and Recreation Complex, known as the MARC, is a community-led regional recreation project on a 10-acre Landing parcel that was conveyed to the town for recreation. Phase 1 is open, with eight pickleball courts, a skatepark, a perimeter walking trail and a toddler playground.
The next phase adds two basketball courts, lights for the basketball courts, pickleball courts and skatepark, a storage shed and electrical work. A town memo dated April 6, 2026 projected a public opening by October 2026 after about five months of construction. Brunswick Parks & Recreation's September 2026 newsletter said the basketball courts "will be ready before you know it!" As of October 10, we haven't seen confirmation that they've opened. Both preserves close around dusk, so the planned lights at the courts and skatepark are the part of the Landing's recreation that is designed for use after dark.
If a dog walk on the new Trident loop turns into a conversation about living closer to the Landing's trails, Hoang Realty is happy to talk through which parts of Brunswick put Neptune Woods, Kate Furbish and the Seahawk Avenue shops within easy reach. Start Your Search whenever you're ready, and we'll bring the local trail maps.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
