Walrath Woods and the Sandy River Extension
Visit Walrath Woods
Conserved by High Peaks Alliance, Walrath Woods is a 120-acre property along the Sandy River in Strong, just northwest of Farmington. Created to honor Doug and Sherry Walrath’s 40 years of land stewardship, this riverside landscape offers free public access for hiking, fishing, hunting, and foraging. Walrath Woods is Strong’s first public trail and protects the longest continuous stretch of the Sandy River with guaranteed public access to 1.7 miles of riverfront.
The project reopens a one-mile trail, named the Sherry Walrath Memorial Trail, in honor of Sherry Walrath (1937–2025), whose spirit and love for this landscape touched all who knew her.
We are still raising funds to conserve the next 100 acres to the south, protecting an additional mile of Sandy River frontage and expanding this connected river corridor for wildlife and public enjoyment. Learn more about the Walrath Woods Extension project below.
Plan Your Visit
- Trailhead & Parking:
- Walrath Woods Trailhead – North: 168 S. Strong Rd, Strong
- Walrath Woods Trailhead – South: 489 S Strong Rd, Strong
- Trail Length: One mile, one way
- Trail Description: The Sherry Walrath Memorial Trail is an out-and-back walk through red pine trees and ferns, meandering along the Sandy River.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Family Friendly: Yes, but supervise children closely around the river.
Download the Walrath Woods Brochure
Planning a visit to Walrath Woods? Download the trail brochure to find parking locations, access points, and helpful information for enjoying the Sherry Walrath Memorial Trail.
Whether you come to walk beside the Sandy River, cast a line, watch for wildlife, or enjoy a quiet winter outing, the brochure will help you make the most of your visit.
Trail maps are also available at the North and South trailheads.
Download the Walrath Woods Brochure
Protecting the next chapter of the Sandy River
Your conservation at Walrath Woods didn’t just protect a place. It started something.
The 100 acres directly to the south are in reach. Together, we have the chance to finish what you helped begin: a 224-acre conservation block along the Sandy River, with 2.7 miles of uninterrupted riverfront kept wild, connected, and open for people and wildlife. Permanently.
This is your next chapter with this land.
When you helped conserve Walrath Woods, you honored something real: forty years of care that Doug and Sherry Walrath gave to this stretch of the Sandy River. That stewardship lives on today in the Sherry Walrath Memorial Trail, Strong’s first public trail and the longest continuously protected reach of the Sandy River with guaranteed public access for hiking, fishing, hunting, and foraging.
The land to the south is the natural completion of that story. Protecting it means the river corridor stays whole. It means the legacy you helped create keeps growing.
Will you help us protect the next 100 acres?
Why It Matters
The Sandy River is one of Maine’s last remaining wild Atlantic salmon rivers, and your gift will help protect the riverfront land that keeps it healthy. Forested riverbanks keep water cold and clean, reduce erosion, and protect the spawning gravels salmon need to survive.
By conserving the 100-acre extension, you will help preserve a shaded, connected corridor for fish and wildlife while keeping this landscape open for future generations.
Watch this flyover of Walrath Woods along the Sandy River courtesy of Eisenhaur Photography.
Doug's Story
More than forty years ago, Doug and Sherry Walrath drove up a farm driveway for the first time. Sherry looked out the windshield and said, “This is it. I want it.” They hadn’t even been inside the house.
That’s how Walrath Woods began. Four decades of children wading in the Sandy River, neighbors hunting the back fields, wild animals coming and going, and a trail Sherry loved to walk from the farm all the way into town.
Walrath Woods is now conserved, and the Sherry Walrath Memorial Trail is open. But the vision doesn’t stop there. The Alliance is now working to protect the 100 acres to the south, extending the buffer along the Sandy River, and ensuring that what Doug started continues to grow.
“I think that wherever we go through life, we leave a trail. And I would like to leave an open trail. I would like to have somebody say, when he got to the point where he couldn’t walk that land anymore like he used to, he wanted to leave a trail so that other people could be able to walk that land.”
Maps & Landscape
This project includes two parcels: the already conserved Walrath Woods and the proposed extension to the south. Together, they form a connected conservation landscape that protects riverfront, habitat, and access along the Sandy River.
📸 Jonathan Milne | LightHawk
Take Action
Help Protect the Next 100 Acres
We need to raise $309,500 to conserve this 100-acre parcel and its Sandy River frontage. Your gift will help secure this land, expand public access, and preserve habitat that keeps the Sandy River healthy for wildlife and people alike.
Walrath Woods opened the door. The Sandy River Extension helps finish the work. Every contribution brings us closer to protecting this remarkable place for generations to come.