DAILY BULLDOG • February 16, 2025
One of the newer hiking tracts in the foothills of Western Maine, open to the public, is the Vienna Woods Conservation Area in the town of Vienna. The 71-acre property is owned and managed for public use by the Kennebec Land Trust (KLT). The Vienna Woods tract contains a 1.6 mile loop trail that includes a look-out point from atop the 700’ elevation “Pinnacle.” The winding hiking trail descends through woods populated by hemlock, red oak, popple, balsam fir, rock maple, beech, and ash, to a vernal pool at the lowest elevation on the property – 500’ elevation. Along the way the route passes by, and through, a series of intriguing, rugged rock outcrops that led to this angled rocky ridge being dubbed the “Devils Backbone” – a term still in use by local residents. With at least two run-off brooks, the pool, and the look-out point, the area is understood to have been in use by Native American people for thousands of years.