Dover Rovers ATV Club presents ‘Hunter’s Trail’
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Friday Sept. 29 was a very emotional day as a sweet dedication ceremony was held at the trailhead of the Dover Rovers ATV Club’s newest trail on the Foxcroft Center Road. “Hunter’s Trail” was officially named in honor of Hunter Jake Stephens, Feb. 26, 1994 to Oct. 9, 2022.
After almost a year since Stephens’ passing, the much anticipated trail dedication was presented in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new trail and dedicated it in his memory. This was a very emotional time for all as his friends and family gathered to share a few heartfelt words and watch as his parents Beth and Nelson Stephens and his beautiful 1-year-old baby girl Violet cut the purple ribbon symbolizing the official opening and dedication of the new trail.
HUNTER’S TRAIL — Beth and Nelson Stephens help 1-year-old Violet Stephens cut the ceremonial ribbon for “Hunter’s Trail”, honoring their late respective son and father on Sept. 29 at the Foxcroft Center Road in Dover-Foxcroft.
Purple was Stephens’ favorite color, hence his daughter’s name, and also happens to be one of the two colors associated with suicide prevention so it was only fitting to have all things purple. Close friends and family donned purple ribbons with flowers on their chest, and a very beautiful sign post with a purple metal plaque was presented to the crowd recognizing the new trail’s name for all to see. A sign is now posted at each end of “Hunter’s Trail”, one at the Foxcroft Center Road on the property of Club President Shawn Racila and the other at the end of the railroad bed on Piscataquis Valley Fair Association property.
The Dover Rovers ATV Club has worked tirelessly all summer long with many hardworking participants and a substantial grant from the State of Maine to reroute the trail from the Milo Road on outer Summer Street to the Foxcroft Center Road. Shane Mailloux of S.A. Mailloux Earthworks did a phenomenal job of taking the hand cut, rocky, stump covered, uneven trail that many club members got together with chainsaws, clippers and man power to cut, and transformed it into a real, beautiful ATV trail.
ATV ACCESS — Members of the Dover Rovers ATV Club worked tirelessly all summer with many participants and a substantial grant from the state to reroute a trail from the Milo Road on outer Summer Street to the Foxcroft Center Road. “Hunter’s Trail” takes a sharp left turn from the previous route deeper into the forest and gains the club about an extra mile of beautiful woodland trail for ATV enthusiasts to enjoy, also cutting down on ATV access and noise near homes and gives access closer to the road’s end.
The trail that used to continue straight behind Foxcroft Golf Course and pop out onto the Foxcroft Center Road, only to have to cut back into the woods for a few hundred yards and enter back onto Foxcroft Center again, now instead takes a sharp left turn deeper into the forest and gains the club about an extra mile of beautiful woodland trail for ATV enthusiasts to enjoy. This is a welcome achievement for many as it cuts down on ATV access and noise near homes and road access on the Foxcroft Center road until much further up, closer to the road’s end.
Members of the public are also thoroughly enjoying it! “I just want to say thank you! We traveled the trails up there yesterday and they were fantastic. The trail going through the woods was excellent and my favorite trail to date,” writes Facebook user Dana Guilmette. A picnic table with another remembrance plaque in Stephens’ name, and a couple of trash receptacles have been put in place at a nice spot along the trail as well which the club refers to as “Beth’s Corner”, named after Stephens’ mother. The club is hoping people will respect the spot and use it as a rest area.
IN MEMORY OF — The newly opened “Hunter’s Trail” was dedicated in memory of the late Hunter Stephens.
“Hunter’s Trail” now spans over many landowners properties and the club is very grateful to those willing to allow ATV’s access to their precious land. The club would like to recognize all of its gracious landowners and plans to have a landowner appreciation dinner later this month to thank them. A very special thank you goes out to those who adopted the name “Hunter’s Trail” including, the Piscataquis Valley Fair, Katahdin Valley Health Center, Bruce McLaughlin, Bruce and Shelley Weston, Club Vice President and close personal friend of Hunter Stephens, Alex Robinson and Club Secretary and close personal friend to Stephens, Ashley Robinson, the Merrill Family Trust, including Stephens’ partner Jillian Annis and his daughter, Violet Stephens, and Club President Racila and wife Tabitha.
“We are very pleased to have this trail and hope that it will be treated with respect as it is the only trail that connects Dover to Sebec, Milo, Brownville and beyond,” says Shawn Racila. ATV access is a privilege, not a right, and without landowners willingness to work with their local clubs, there wouldn’t be trails for the public to enjoy. Please keep this in mind as you are out enjoying one of Maine’s greatest outdoor activities, and don’t forget how much work goes into maintaining trails everywhere. Considering joining the local ATV club in your area, or giving donations to local clubs is a great way to help in the efforts of giving the gift of adventure to Maine residents and visitors alike.