Education & Recreation
at HIdden Valley
Midcoast Conservancy offers educational experiences for people of all ages. With 15 miles of trails spread over 1000 acres, our Hidden Valley presents an ideal location for hiking, biking, skiing, and camping. We offer school field trips, outing club experiences and guided naturalist hikes for groups. Our fleet of canoes offers the possibility for groups led by Educational Trip Leader certificate holders or Registered Maine Guides to paddle on Little Dyer Pond. Groups looking for a longer wilderness experience may be interested in the cabins and campsites we have available for overnights.
Hidden Valley Nature Center offers environmental programming and recreational experiences for everyone.
See our detailed offerings below. Looking for a class on something specific? Just ask.
Monthly 4th Grade Ecology Program
Length: 4 hrs monthly
Grade: 4
Cost: $200 per class per month, min 12 students, max 25 students
In support of Maine Studies and science standards, this program is designed to give 4th grade students an in-depth understanding of Maine’s ecology. Led by a naturalist educator, each class comes one day a month September/October - May/June to participate in a series of seasonal ecology lessons.
At the start of each visit groups meet their naturalist at the parking lot and walk ⅓ mile to the Bezon Barn, our classroom space, participating in activities along the way. Students choose a tree to follow through its seasonal changes and engage in monthly nature journaling. Each month’s focus changes with the seasons, but includes interactive presentations, exploration on the trails, ecology games and hands-on science activities. Focus topics include, but are not limited to:understanding trees, animal tracks and signs, lichens and fungi, life in a pond, beavers, decomposition, vernal pools, coyotes, wildflowers, skulls, ferns, and winter ecology.
Ecology Day at Hidden Valley
Length: 4 hrs, 9:00am or 9:30am - 1:00pm or 1:30pm (flexible)
Grades: 1 - 5
Cost: $200 per class, min of 12 students, max 25
Classes meet one of our naturalist educators at the parking lot and walk the ⅓ mile into the Bezon Barn, our classroom space. Each program focuses on one or two seasonally relevant ecology topics of your choosing.
Understanding Trees (year round)
Animal Tracks and Signs (best in winter)
Lichens and Fungi (best in Fall)
Life in a Pond (May, June, September)
Vernal Pools (late April and May)
Beavers (all year)
Coyotes (all year)
Four Hours on the Trails (April - November)
Guided Ecology Hike
Length: 2 hours
Distance: 2-3 miles
All ages 5+
Cost: $10 per student, minimum 8, max 20
Join a naturalist educator to explore the trails at Hidden Valley Nature Center. Stop often along the hike to learn about unique plants, glacial erratics, beaver habitat, woodpecker trees, animal tracks, and tree identification. Ecology Hikes can be combined with nature journaling and sketching along the way.
Guided Canoe (group must come with a Maine Guide or certified Educational Trip Leader)
Length: 3 hours
All ages 8+
Cost: $100, minimum 8 people, max 14
Hike 1.5 miles to our waterfront on Little Dyer Pond. Visit the boat shed for life jackets and paddles. Take a mini paddling lesson before heading out on the water in one of our canoes. Paddle to an island, explore the marshes, visit Carl the beaver’s lodge, and watch the loons from a distance.