MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 28, 2024
Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson encompasses 1,000 acres of forests, ponds, wetlands, streams and rocky ridges. It’s one of the most ecologically diverse tracts of undeveloped and roadless land in the Midcoast. A 25-mile multiuse trail system of old woods roads and footpaths crisscrosses the property. Five remote, off-the-grid overnight facilities offer rustic accommodations, including bunks, wood stove and firewood, table and chairs, and a privy. Everything else – sleeping bags, insulating pads, cooking gear, food and clothing, and the like – you tote in by backpack or sled. HVNC was established by Tracy Moscovitz and Bambi Jones, who assembled the preserve through a series of land purchases over two decades. It was opened to the public in 2007. In 2016, HVNC joined thre e other area conservation organizations to form the Midcoast Conservancy, now one of Maine’s largest, with 14,000 acres and 56 public lands under their care.~ Carey Kish