Click to view a downloadable pdf brochure about LaVerna Preserve, with directions and trail map.
PWA accepted the formal transfer from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of the 120-acre LaVerna Preserve in the village of Chamberlain in Bristol, Maine, in 2009. This expansive preserve features some 3,600 feet of shoreline, 2.5 miles of trails, and a diverse array of wildlife habitat, including mixed hardwoods, coniferous forests, forested wetlands, freshwater marsh, and gently sloping overgrown farmland.
The preserve was acquired in three parcels from 1965 through 1973. Dr. Elizabeth Hoyt and her sister, Mrs. Anna Mavor, donated a 30-acre parcel; their family trust, the La Verna Foundation, donated a 55-acre parcel; and The Nature Conservancy purchased the remaining 34-acre parcel at the southwest end of the preserve.
The most conspicuous rock types along LaVerna Preserve’s shore are thinly layered medium grey metamorphic rocks. Photo by Janet McMahon.
Directions to LaVerna Preserve
Take Route 32 south from Round Pond. Go 3.5 miles south of the Round Pond Post Office (which is the same as 3 miles north of New Harbor Center). Notice Ocean Hill cemetery on your right. Soon after the cemetery, there is a parking area for the prerserve on the right (west side of road). Preserve access is gained by following a trail located directly across Route 32 from the parking lot.
View LaVerna Preserve in a larger map
Adopt-a-Trail Program Sponsor
Since 2009, Masters Machine Company has sponsored the LaVerna Preserve as part of PWA’s Adopt-A-Trail Program.
Photo Gallery
Click on any image for a larger view.
Preserve photography by Hannah McGhee and Laurie Herron (#10).
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By Leslie Connors-Zisk May 18, 2016 - 9:56 am
Just FYI……last month my husband and I walked the preserve and it was beautiful. We did happen to see a HUGE fisher in the woods (was there an “Ellis” trail?)……and heard more than one having a conversation about something …probably us! The one I saw was so big that I first thought “bear.” I watched it for a good distance….so it was more than a “glimpse.” There should be a BIG warning for people walking dogs in there. We ran into someone with a dog off leash…and at the time I still hadn’t decided what I had seen…..I warned her that we had seen something…..but she did not put the leash on her dog. I had never seen a fisher….we have them where we live but I had only seen tracks before. I didn’t know that they could get so big! That animal could do a lot of damage to a dog. It was beautiful! It was the most exciting experience. Thankyou!
By David Phillips June 23, 2019 - 10:08 pm
I think the geology is the outstanding feature of this preserve.
By Josh Dieterich March 11, 2020 - 6:15 pm
Wonderful place for a picnic on the rocks. Be careful to keep an eye out for poison ivy, which grows along the edge of the treeline.