Description
Mount Tom Preserve protects a silver and red maple floodplain along the Saco River and includes the rocky summit of Mount Tom at 1,073 feet in elevation. The 995-acre preserve spans the Saco River and boasts over 3,500 feet of river frontage. Several day-use hiking trails provide recreational opportunities, as does a 1.14-mile snowmobile trail that is part of a larger network maintained by the Interstate Sno-goers. Visitors can summit Mount Tom, canoe along the Saco River, or just walk through the beautiful forests!
Geologically, Mount Tom is a Roche Moutonnée—an asymmetrical hill or mountain with a gently sloping up-ice north side that has been smoothed and polished by a glacier. The down-ice side where the rocks were sheared off is abrupt and steep, leaving the exposed rocky southern cliffs.
Today’s river terrace forests support clean water for resident native fish, invertebrates, and a unique heath natural community found on river beaches. The floodplains provide excellent habitat for spotted salamanders and several species of turtles, with a lush understory of sensitive fern and royal fern. Two regionally rare birds–the golden eagle and peregrine falcon–have been regularly sighted near the rocky cliffs of Mount Tom during the breeding season. Old eastern red cedars dot the hillside and two rare plants–the fern-leaved false foxglove and smooth sandwort–have been found within the dry oak-hickory forest on the south-facing slope of the mountain.
