OSI Trails Blog: Rolfe Hill

Steve Kasacek | OSI Director of Trail Development & Education

Turning a well-thought-out plan into reality takes more than shovels. The first step to trail implementation is quality design and layout. This spring, OSI was asked to provide phase 1 design for Loon Echo Land Trust (LELT) on their Rolfe Hill Forest property.

In 2024 OSI worked with LELT to develop a conceptual plan for trails at Rolfe Hill. Acquisition funding was partially provided by the Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program (MNRCP). MNRCP is a grant program that assists conservation projects throughout Maine, these projects must comply with state and federal wetland mitigation regulations.

MNRCP Project Land Use Guidelines helped steer the creation of a sustainable trails plan. This past winter the plan was approved by MNRCP and LELT quickly began the first step of implementation—hiring OSI to lead the design.

To help complete the design phase efficiently OSI partnered with Tulip Trails from North Conway, New Hampshire and Mt. Abram in Greenwood, Maine. Corbett Tulip and Max Southam are well-known trail builders who provided expertise and manpower to help layout over eight miles of singletrack at the Rolfe Hill Forest.

The first phase focused on the beginner trails near the trailhead, including a skills progression loop and adaptive bike-friendly design. The trails are designed as shared-use with pedestrians. Nearly 2.4 miles of easiest (green) bike-optimized trail were laid out on the west side of Quaker Hill Road.

The east side of the property is larger with a significant hill and varied slopes. The design team laid out another 2.4 miles of beginner shared-use trails that will eventually lead to an adaptive-friendly beginner bike-only descent. The trail is intended to provide a fun and easy introduction to purpose-built mountain bike trails.

1.3 miles of more-difficult shared-use trail were designed to climb the namesake Rolfe Hill, capturing views west to Mount Washington and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Runners, hikers, and mountain bikers will enjoy the narrow and rocky singletrack that will weave to the summit, which itself has many interesting sections of ledge.

In the future the premier trails at Rolfe Hill Forest will likely be the bike-only descents off the top. Three top-to-bottom runs were designed in phase 1 and provide almost 250 feet of elevation loss for riders. Two trails will provide more-difficult (blue) experiences, allowing intermediate riders some diversity in their outings. The descents will provide distinct flavors, enticing more laps out of everyone. A third most-difficult (black) descent will provide more challenge for those looking to expand beyond the blue trails.

This project is a great example of partnership and good planning. LELT has thoughtfully approached introducing new recreational amenities missing from the Lakes Region of Maine. Experienced trail designers Corbett and Max, led by yours truly (OSI’s Director of Trail Development) ensured the project has the sustainable alignments and necessary construction details so locals and visitors alike will be able to enjoy a variety of high-quality trail experiences.