I spent half of last Sunday exploring the trail network of Saco Bay Trails in and around the Saco area and discovered some some real hidden jewels that I'll bet not too many people know about, but should.

And all within a few minutes of Portland.

I love that.

Armed with a daypack with water bottle, camera, notebook and granola bars, I started off with the Cascade Falls Trail which led down to a beautiful twin falls in a cool grotto of hemlocks.

I then proceeded to the Sylvan Trail which paralleled the noisy Turnpike for a distance before turning east to quieter forests and fields.

The Log Cabin Trail was a pretty loop past rock walls and through tall pines and dense young hemlocks.

At the Saco Heath I followed a boardwalk for more than a mile out into the semi-open where Atlantic white cedar, white pine, pitch pine and a host of wetland plant life thrived.

Finally, 6 trails and some 8 miles of tramping later, I breezed through the Middle Goosefare and Old Camp Trails, past a pond and old dam.

Tired and satisfied by my wanderings, I capped off the day with a pizza and a draft at the Kerryman Pub, an old Saco standby.

Not a bad day. Not bad at all.