Work began early this summer on a public trail through 53 acres of recently conserved land called the Gorham Community Forest. The trail will be a three-quarters of mile long and suitable for walking, running, biking, snowshoeing and cross country skiing.

The Robie family donated the forest adjacent to its planned Robie Street housing development to the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust years ago, but officially closed the deal through the developer KV Enterprises this spring, according to Toby Jacobs, the land trust’s director of lands and water. The trail and conservation work is funded by a $237,000 Maine Trails Program grant.

“We definitely hear a lot of people wanting more trails in Gorham,” Jacobs said. “The population’s just increasing so much, and people want open space and nice trails right outside their door.”

Chris Cyr of Sanctuary Trail Works is conducting the bulk of the work on the site, with help from Jacobs, other land trust representatives and a steady stream of volunteers. Cyr, a Gorham resident who has also worked on nearby mountain bike trails, won the bid for the project at $53,000.

On Friday morning, Cyr, Jacobs and a group of volunteers loaded Cyr’s pickup truck with stacks of lumber. They’re building about 1,100 feet of boardwalk that will begin at the trailhead across the street from the Village Elementary School baseball fields on White Birch Lane.

Since early June, Cyr has spent his days in sweltering heat, rain and pleasant conditions alike out on the future trail. He’s driven an excavator to carve out the paths, dug into the ground to bring healthy, organic soil to the surface to create the trail’s tread, and made significant progress on the wooden boardwalk and bridges.

“I tend to fall in love with all the places that I work,” Cyr said. He bent over a containment pool on the side of the trail, pointing out a school of crayfish that had made their way to the shallow water. Recently, he showed up early in the morning and spotted a bobcat.

The six-foot wide trail will form the shape of a lollipop, Cyr and Jacobs explained, with a straight shot out and then a loop at the end. An entrance behind the Robie housing development will give the neighbors direct access.

Two scenic overlooks with fences, benches and woodchipped surfaces made from the dead branches they’re clearing out will be set up along the trail in front of Indian Camp Brook and another smaller, unnamed stream. An open space at the end of the trail will also have a woodchipped surface.

“It’s a peaceful spot,” Jacobs said.

Having met with teachers from Village Elementary, they’re also planning an outdoor classroom space near the trail entrance.

Though the land trust won’t host a grand opening for the trail until next spring, it will be open for use starting in the fall. The winter will give the team a chance to see how it holds up when confronted with freeze thaw and needle ice that can loosen the trails, Jacobs said.

“We fully expect people to be out here late fall and winter,” Cyr said. “Walking the trails, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, it would be a great place for that.”