Where does the Mountain Division Trail end? For anyone who has walked, biked or skied it out of Fryeburg, the answer has always been the Route 113 trailhead on Portland Street. That is where the 4 miles of pavement from the Maine State Visitor Information Center stop. That answer is about to change. The Route 113 trailhead is the starting point for 10 new miles of paved trail heading south through Brownfield to Hiram. Bids for that construction came due on Nov. 4.
For the people who already use the Fryeburg stretch, timing matters more than distance. Little changes on the existing trail this winter. Spring is a different story. Two separate pieces of work are lined up for the same corridor: repaving of the existing trail, which was pushed back to spring, and the first major construction on the extension, which is expected in spring 2027.
Ten Miles, Starting From the Trail You Already Use
The project is MaineDOT's WIN 026858.10. The MaineDOT project page describes it as new construction of a 10-foot-wide paved shared-use trail in the Mountain Division Corridor, built in two segments.
| Segment | Starts | Ends | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Existing Fryeburg trail | Maine State Visitor Information Center, near the NH line | Route 113 trailhead | 4.00 miles |
| New Segment 1 | Portland Street, Route 113, Fryeburg | Denmark Road, Route 160, Brownfield | 3.50 miles |
| New Segment 2 | Denmark Road, Route 160, Brownfield | Mountain View Avenue, Hiram | 6.50 miles |
Once both new segments are built, someone leaving the Visitor Center lot on Route 302 can ride 14 paved miles to Hiram. MaineDOT also describes the two new segments as the first of six in a full 31-mile corridor running from Fryeburg to Standish. That puts Fryeburg's 4 miles at the northern end of the planned corridor.
The contract sets a completion date of Oct. 27, 2028. In other words, the extension is a multi-season build, and the Route 113 end of the Fryeburg trail will be next to an active job for some of that time.
How Fryeburg, Brownfield and Hiram Got It to Bid
Before MaineDOT would advertise the project, it needed each of the three towns to sign a Maintenance and Operations Agreement. According to the Friends' Summer 2026 newsletter, each agreement runs 10 years with an option to renew. MaineDOT keeps responsibility for major capital and structural work. Each town takes on the routine work, such as vegetation management and trimming. That means Fryeburg's own crews will help keep the new Route 113-to-Brownfield stretch clear once it opens.
The three approvals came in very different ways, according to the Friends of the Mountain Division Trail Summer 2026 newsletter:
- Fryeburg, July 23, 2026. The Select Board accepted the agreement unanimously.
- Brownfield, Aug. 6, 2026. More than 210 residents attended, and they approved the agreement by about 2 to 1.
- Hiram, Aug. 20, 2026. The first count was 50 in favor and 47 opposed. After the vote was challenged, Hiram voted a second time, and that vote passed 53 to 50.
Hiram approved it by three votes both times. All 10 miles depended on every town agreeing, so Fryeburg's extension came down to a close town meeting vote two segments away.
With all three agreements signed, MaineDOT advertised the project on Sept. 30, 2026. In late summer, the Friends had said construction might start as early as late fall 2026. Their Sept. 30 update moved that expectation: with colder weather coming, significant construction is now expected to begin in spring 2027, after MaineDOT reviews bids, selects a contractor and awards the work.
Fryeburg's town business is already getting ready for the build. The Select Board's Oct. 15 agenda included an action to sign an agreement with MaineDOT to issue overlimit permits for project 026858.10. Those permits let contractors haul non-divisible overlimit loads on town roads. Six bridges are being rebuilt along the way, so moving heavy equipment and materials over town roads is part of the job.
What the New Stretch Will Have That the Old One Doesn't
According to MaineDOT's design document, the extension is more than a continuation of the same pavement. It is built to a specific standard, with crossings designed around the roads it meets.
- A 10-foot-wide, ADA-compliant asphalt surface.
- Reconstruction of six bridges, plus several minor spans.
- Push-button flashing beacons, with advance warning signs, at both places where the trail crosses Route 5/113.
- A solar-powered rapid-flashing beacon at the Denmark Road crossing in Brownfield.
The Route 5/113 crossings are the part Fryeburg will notice first. Segment 1 starts at Portland Street and runs south toward Brownfield, so the trail's two Route 5/113 crossings come early in the new mileage. The beacons are how the design handles bikes and walkers crossing a state highway.
One more detail explains what the corridor is legally. The rails and ties come out before the trail goes in, so this is a trail on the old railbed. It is not a trail built beside working track. MaineDOT's response to public comments says the corridor stays preserved for possible future rail use, and the trail is an interim use until a viable rail proposal comes forward. The pavement is permanent in the practical sense, and "interim" in the formal sense.
This Winter on the Existing Four Miles
On the existing Fryeburg trail, the season looks familiar. Maine Trail Finder lists three access points with parking: the Maine State Visitor Information Center near the New Hampshire line, Porter Road at about the halfway mark, and the Route 113 trailhead at the eastern end.
Trail Finder lists walking and cross-country skiing among the trail's uses. It also says snowmobiles use the Fryeburg trail in winter and asks skiers and snowshoers to watch for them. Once there's snow, a weekday ski from the Porter Road lot may come with sled traffic.
The contract also protects access during the build. The bid package requires the existing Fryeburg trailhead parking lot to stay open to the public throughout the project, with no contractor equipment or materials stored on it. Even while the new stretch south of Portland Street is under construction, the lot where people start their walks stays a parking lot.
Spring Puts Two Jobs on One Corridor
The busy season starts in spring. On Oct. 28, the Friends announced that repaving of the Mountain Division Trail had been postponed "until the spring" so it could be done in the best weather for a good surface. The Friends also expect significant construction on the 10-mile extension to begin in spring 2027.
If both happen on schedule, next spring will bring repaving on the trail Fryeburg already uses and new construction starting from its Route 113 end. Anyone who walks, rides or runs the trail regularly should expect more activity than usual on both sides of Portland Street. MaineDOT's contract completion date for the new 10 miles is Oct. 27, 2028.
The group following all of this closely began as the Mountain Division Alliance and renamed itself Friends of the Mountain Division Trail on Jan. 9, 2025. It works with the corridor towns, MaineDOT and other partners toward a connected trail from Fryeburg to Portland. Its newsletters are where updates on the build appear. The Summer 2026 issue also recapped a season of trail events, including Chalk the Trail in Fryeburg, Brownfield Old Home Day, Steep Falls Village Founders Day and the Standish Spectacular. Chalk the Trail is a Fryeburg event, and next year it will be held on a trail that is on its way to Hiram.
The Mount Washington Valley's trails are part of everyday life for many of the clients we work with, and Pinkham Real Estate follows projects like this one from the bid page to the ribbon cutting. If you want to talk through how the Mountain Division Trail's next 10 miles fit into your plans in Fryeburg or across the Maine line, contact our team to start your Mount Washington Valley search.