Environment

Abdi Nor Iftin’s favorite Maine place

The author marvels at New Gloucester’s Big Falls Preserve.

|Abdi Nor Iftin, Downeast Magazine|

Nearly every summer morning, before most alarm clocks sound, Abdi Nor Iftin heads out to sneak in a hike along the rolling trails of New Gloucester’s Big Falls Preserve. He finds refuge there, away from traffic noise, amid the 40-acre parcel of beeches, hemlocks, and pines, with its whispering falls on Meadow Brook. 

“Being surrounded by the trees, birds, and water gives me this sense of safety,” he says. Keep reading