The Maine Conservation Corps is completing a trail-blazing project this week in South Portland that carves a path through woods by Long Creek that have been undisturbed for more than 150 years.

The one-mile hiking trail contains old-growth oaks and pines that tower five and six stories high. Yet the site is located in Maine’s busiest shopping hub.

“It is a surprising and delightful place, right in the middle of the city,” said Richard Rottkov, president of the nonprofit South Portland Land Trust.

Hidden in plain sight, the swath of woodland runs parallel to Long Creek and can be seen from a distance by motorists traveling on Interstate 295, near Exit 3 and the Maine Mall.

Thanks to the efforts of the land trust, city of South Portland and developer Richard Berman, the woodland is being opened up for the first time for recreational use.

Despite the rapid commercial growth of South Portland’s west end, City Councilor Tom Blake said the woods largely have been untouched since the state acquired the property in the 1800s.

The land was part of the former Maine Youth Center and is now leased by Berman for the Brick Hill development of apartments and businesses. The trust gained an easement from Berman to use the property for public recreation.

Blake noted that there was a barn for livestock, vegetable gardens and brick-making on the grounds of the Youth Center. Broken pieces of crockery, old bricks and other remnants of South Portland’s rural history are easily spotted along the trail.

Most impressive to Blake are the stands of old-growth trees, some of which he estimates to be 150-200 years old.

“There are tremendous trees here,” Blake said. “I have not seen a collection of trees like this before in South Portland.”

This week, a crew of five from the Maine Conservation Corps worked clearing brush, moving rocks, reinforcing slopes and building steps and bog bridges for the new trail.

“It’s incredible to find forest with beautiful, huge old-growth trees in a dense city like this,” said Morgan Ross of Hawaii, a member of the Maine Conservation Corps that is digging and constructing the trail.

The crew’s work is being funded through TIF money – a tax increment financing fund to which neighboring businesses contribute for improvements that benefit the entire area.

A $2,000 federal grant paid for the trail’s design, which was completed in the spring.

The first phase of the Long Creek Trail follows the north side of Long Creek. The trail starts behind Youth Alternatives in the Brick Hill development and traverses an old growth stand of oaks and pines. It ends near the Olde English Village parking complex on Westbrook Street.

The trail is at least 100 feet back from Long Creek. There is a steep slope from the trail to Long Creek, its wetlands and the tidal basin below. Along parts of the trail, hikers have panoramic views of Portland’s cityscape.

On a recent fall day, a canopy of trees – their bright autumn leaves carpeting the ground – seemed to create a time tunnel that transported hikers back in time, when the west end had more trees than pavement and parking lots.

It was easy to forget at least for the moment that I-295 and the Maine Mall were less than a mile away. Except for the noise of highway traffic, the forest seemed remote and desolate.

The long-range plan is to extend the trail to the city’s sewerage pumping station, which is behind Wild Willy’s Burgers. The city is scheduled to undertake a $2 million upgrade of the pumping station by 2010.

Parking will be added at the site for hikers who want to use Long Creek Trail. A dock will be built for people with kayaks and canoes to access Long Creek.

Blake said the trust hopes to extend the trail behind the Portland Jetport to the Stroudwater neighborhood – thus connecting the South Portland and Portland trails.

“It makes for a much more extensive recreational trail that truly connects communities. When completed, Portland residents can use it to access the Maine Mall area for recreation, shopping and work,” Blake said.

The West End Trails Committee – formed by the land trust – is leading a broader effort to create a network of urban hiking trails on the city’s west end. The opening of the Long Creek Trail is just one part of it.

In 2007, the committee developed a hiking trail around historic Clark’s Pond, which is across Westbrook Street from Pape Chevrolet. The trail head is behind Home Depot. The pond once was used for ice-making and fishing.

The committee also has worked to gain easements on a second path that connects to the Clark’s Pond Trail. Called the Red Brook Trail, the path runs for two-thirds of a mile just south of John Roberts Road. The goal is to extend the trail to the Maine Mall.

Although the Red Brook Trail is not officially opened, Blake said early use of Clark’s Pond Trail shows the need and demand for open space in the west end.

“I’m seeing buses of schoolchildren from neighboring communities visit,” Blake said. “One teacher I talked to said it shows the kids how we can use our urban areas for recreation.”

Karla Bergman, 23, of Cape Elizabeth, works with the Maine Conservation Corps Saturday morning to build a trail near Long Creek in South Portland.Michael Hague, 22, of Lilburn, Ga., and the Maine Conservation Corps are finishing work on a trail near Long Creek and the Maine Mall. Scuppers, a 3-year-old English Springer Spaniel, enjoys a run in the woods near Long Creek in South Portland Saturday morning. Scuppers visited the woods with his owner, Ellen Clancy, of South Portland, to check out the new trail being built by the Maine Conservation Corps.