Northeast Penjajawoc Preserve takes in the northeastern tip of Penjajawoc Marsh. Its trails connect to the old Veazie railroad bed, Walden-Parke Preserve, and the Bangor City Forest. On foot it reads as one stretch of woods. On paper it belongs to at least two landowners, and in November their hunting rules differ.
The City Forest bans hunting, while Northeast Penjajawoc allows it. That makes a loop many people treat as a single place into a walk that can cross from closed ground onto open ground and back without a turnaround point. Once you know where those lines run, a November week in the Bangor woods looks quite different.
Who owns which trail
The Bangor Land Trust's own dog policy uses the City Forest as its reference point for off-leash dogs, which shows how closely the two properties are tied in daily use. Their hunting rules are not tied together at all. Here is how the main properties in the Bangor and Orono trail network compare, based on what each manager publishes:
| Property | Manager | Hunting | Dogs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rolland F. Perry City Forest | City of Bangor | Prohibited, except nuisance animal control | Leash required on named trails; off-leash allowed on some others |
| Kenduskeag Stream Park | City of Bangor | Prohibited under the parks ordinance | City leash and waste rules apply |
| Orono Bog Boardwalk | UMaine, City of Bangor, Orono Land Trust | Not a hunting property | No dogs or other animals |
| Dwight B. Demeritt Forest | University of Maine | No hunting at any time | Leash requested |
| Northeast Penjajawoc Preserve | Bangor Land Trust | Allowed, with registration and written permission for firearms | Leashed dogs, all trails |
| Central Penjajawoc Preserve | Bangor Land Trust | Allowed, with parcel-specific firearm limits | No dogs |
| North Penjajawoc Forest, Walden-Parke, West Penjajawoc | Bangor Land Trust | Not permitted | Leashed dogs on listed trails |
The City Forest's ban comes from its 2021 forest management plan, which covers 2021 through 2031. It states that "all methods of hunting and all types of trapping, other than for nuisance animal control, is prohibited on the Forest." Bangor's parks ordinance backs that up on its own: it lists the City Forest Preserve and Kenduskeag Stream Park among covered city properties and bars hunting, trapping, and pursuing wildlife in city parks.
The edge that matters is Penjajawoc
On its hunting policy page, the Bangor Land Trust calls hunting "a traditional use of open space lands in Bangor" and allows it on two of its preserves, Northeast Penjajawoc and Central Penjajawoc. The trust asks hunters to register first, avoid heavily used hiking areas, and be courteous to the non-hunters they meet. Every BLT property except Levant sits inside Bangor, so firearm hunting on those preserves also requires a written permission letter from the trust under the city's firearms ordinance. Hunters are expected to carry that letter.
Northeast Penjajawoc is the preserve that matters most for a dog walker. It is the BLT hunting preserve that allows dogs, on leash, on all its trails, and it connects directly to the City Forest. Central Penjajawoc allows hunting but no dogs, so someone walking a dog has no reason to be there.
For this season, the trust's guidance is specific. Hikers should wear blaze orange "front and back," just as hunters do. Dogs at Northeast Penjajawoc should stay leashed and wear "some visible article of blaze orange." And "during the month-long deer hunting season with firearms, Sundays are the best days to hike."
Some details are still unsettled. The trust's hunting page names only the two Penjajawoc preserves. Its downloadable preserve chart, dated May 2024 in its file name, also marks the Levant property "Allowed." If you walk in Levant, the trust is the place to confirm current rules.
UMaine's rules changed after 2024
Anyone who walks the university forest may remember a November 2024 headline. The Bangor Daily News reported that the University of Maine System would not allow hunting on most of its nearly 15,000 acres across the state. That no longer describes UMaine's land.
UMaine now publishes a hunting and trapping policy for UMaine and UMaine Machias properties. It says the university welcomes hunting and trapping "on many of its properties," and it labels each property unrestricted, by permission only, or no hunting. Separately, a 2025 bill to require hunting on University of Maine System land, LD 988, received a final "Ought Not to Pass" on May 20, 2025.
For walkers around Orono, the important part is that the rules did not change where they walk most. The policy states that hunting and trapping "are not allowed on the 660-acre main residential campus located in Orono and the adjacent Demeritt Forest in Orono and Old Town." The university's lands access list also marks Demeritt Forest in Old Town "No Hunting." Demeritt's trail rules say "No Hunting at any time" and ask that pets be kept on a leash with waste removed.
UMaine adds one caution of its own. Some of its trails cross privately owned parcels where hunters may be encountered. The university controls its own forest, but not every piece of ground a long trail passes through.
The Orono Land Trust is the third landowner in the area. Its most recent posted hunting policy is labeled 2025 information. It allows hunting on listed lands, and Piney Knoll Conservation Area is limited to bow hunting for white-tailed deer with a trust permit. Check the trust's page for a 2026 update before relying on those details.
The November calendar
The state sets the dates, and in 2026 they line up like this, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife:
- Saturday, October 31: Resident Only Day for firearms deer hunting
- Monday, November 2 through Saturday, November 28: Statewide firearms deer season
- Sundays, November 8, 15, and 22: No deer hunting, so these are the only full days inside the season when the Penjajawoc preserves that allow hunting are closed to it, along with the properties that ban it all season
- Thanksgiving weekend, November 26 to 29: The Orono Bog Boardwalk typically closes for the year around now, with the exact date depending on weather
Time of day matters as much as the date. The Bangor Land Trust notes that state law allows hunting from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset for most open seasons. By November, a before-work or after-work walk often falls inside those windows.
The boardwalk is worth a visit before it closes, and it starts in the City Forest, so it sits on no-hunting ground. It opened at 7:30 a.m. and closed at 5:30 p.m. through September. The boardwalk's site says hours shift again in October and November as the days get shorter. The one-mile loop runs from the City Forest into Orono Bog. It is managed jointly by the University of Maine, the City of Bangor, and the Orono Land Trust, and dogs and other pets are not allowed. That means planning separate outings for people and dogs.
Where the dog fits in
Once you know who owns which ground, the City Forest is the simplest November option for a dog: no hunting, and off-leash dogs allowed on some trails. Bangor's animal control ordinance requires a leash in specific places:
- The Tripp Drive trailhead parking area
- The entire East Trail
- The entire Shannon Drive Trail
- The entire Tripp Drive Trail
- The Main Road Trail, from Tripp Drive north to the East Trail
The same ordinance requires owners to pick up and properly dispose of dog waste in parks and on city-owned property. The forest's other named trails, including the East-West Loop and the Deer, Rabbit, Bobcat, Fox, Owl, and Bear trails, are not on that leash list.
Bangor Land Trust preserves where hunting is not permitted also take leashed dogs this month. North Penjajawoc Forest allows dogs on all trails, and Walden-Parke allows them on its Blue Trail only. West Penjajawoc Grassland allows dogs on all trails from August 1 to March 31, so it is open to them in November and closed from April 1 to July 31 for bobolink nesting season. For off-leash time away from any trail, the trust points owners to the Bangor Dog Park at Essex Woods Park, at the end of Watchmaker Street.
Put together, a dog walk in the City Forest stays on no-hunting ground from start to finish, and the leash rules depend on which trail you take. The same walk becomes a different situation when it continues onto Northeast Penjajawoc. That preserve is open to registered hunters, with written permission also required for firearms, from November 2 through November 28, except on Sundays, and its manager asks that both people and dogs wear orange.
Stephanie Henry tracks property lines across Penobscot County for a living, whether a parcel backs onto a land trust preserve, sits near a city forest, or borders a camp lot where hunting is allowed. If you're buying or selling land near Bangor's trail network and want to know what the ground around it allows, schedule a consultation with Stephanie.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
