Colby Preserve is a 12-acre wooded parcel that stretches from River Road down to Salt Marsh Cove on the Damariscotta River in East Edgecomb.  An old road now serves as an easy, 0.3-mile trail to the shore where it intersects with a .6-mile loop trail. The cove was once a bustling commercial site and at various times was home to salt works, iceworks, a brickyard, ferry landing, sawmills, and gristmills. Salt Marsh Cove has been designated as a protected basin and as such, is environmentally important to the health of the Damariscotta River. Visitors to the preserve can snowshoe in winter, fish from the shore, and let their dogs gambol in the Damariscotta River.

From the roundabout in Boothbay Center, travel north on ME-27 for 3.2 miles; turn right on River Road and proceed for 3.27 miles. The Colby Wildlife Preserve is on the right.

The Maine TrailFinder website and the AllTrails website have descriptions and maps of hikes at Colby Wildlife Preserve,