The Davis Forest in Cape Elizabeth now has more than twice as many trails.

The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust is hosting a trail opening on Saturday, the first opportunity for the public to explore the 0.7 mile new trail on the 32.5-acre addition to the Davis Forest on Spurwink Avenue, which brought the wooded parcel up to 47.88 acres and 1.3 miles of trails. The land trust also added two trails to connect the new section with abutting conserved lands. 

Volunteers spent four or five work parties – or three hours on weekend days – transforming the parcel into a network of trails which can be used for walking, running, biking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. They mapped out an interesting route and cleared invasive plants, according to CELT Executive Director David Briman. 

The trails will connect directly with other conserved land, including the Cross Hill trails, the Dyer-Hutchinson easement and Winnick Woods, bringing the total trail network to nearly eight miles and more than 250 acres of open space. 

Dick and Betty Davis purchased 60 acres on Spurwink Avenue in 1960, built their home and raised their family. They also created and maintained their own carriage trails. In 1973, they sold about half of the property to the Purpoodock Club. It remained one of the last undeveloped, forested areas in Cape Elizabeth of that size. 

The CELT acquired 15.5 acres from their son Arlen in 2022, dubbed the Davis Parcel, and last year, the organization acquired an abutting 32.5 acres from the Purpoodock Club, the Davis Forest. That whole property has been named the Davis Forest, and the Davis family still lives on the adjacent 15 acres. 

A continuous block of conserved lands is beneficial to ecological biodiversity and resiliency, Briman said. 

The Davis Forest is home to wildlife such as deer, foxes, coyotes, weasels and rabbits. It preserves a portion of the headwaters of the Trout Brook, which flows to Casco Bay. 

“They have big areas to roam,” Briman said. “And it’s all impressive when you can do that much open space within 10 minutes of the largest population center in the state.”