What to know about the new trail near Portland’s Deering Oaks Park

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 23, 2026

Over the last several weeks, daily commuters along Interstate 295 in Portland have had a front-row seat to the construction of a new multiuse trail along the former Union Branch rail line between Forest Avenue and Hadlock Field. The new trail, considered the first phase of a plan to connect the Bayside and Parkside neighborhoods to Libbytown and the Portland Transportation Center, will have two parallel sections. One is a 12-foot-wide paved pathway, while the other is a stone dust jogging (or cross-country skiing) path installed within the old rail line. The section underway now begins at Forest Avenue and State Street and follows the rail line between the highway and Deering Oaks, Fitzpatrick Stadium and Hadlock Field.