A plea from winter road walkers
Feb. 23, 2026
By Steele Hays
Share the road with a little respect, writes a Blue Hill resident. Photo by Steele Hays.
The Blue Hill Peninsula is a great place for walking and hiking–for pleasure, for health and exercise, to enjoy nature and the outdoors–and many of us take advantage of that. During the winter months, finding places to walk can be tricky.
We are lucky to have our local YMCA and its indoor walking track, where 14 and a half laps is a mile, which gets heavy use from people of all ages in the winter. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the weather or the wind or the footing.
As great as the indoor track is, many of us still like to walk outside if we can. Some people strap on their ice cleats and hit the same hiking trails they use in the summer, even with the snow and ice, but for many others, that’s not the best option. Walking outside in the winter means walking secondary roads like, for example, Parker Point Road in Blue Hill or Old County Road or Naskeag Road in Brooklin. And there are lots of other choices across the peninsula and on Deer Isle, from Brooksville to Sedgwick to Castine.
This is a plea from all of us winter road walkers: When you’re driving and you see people like us walking along the road, please show some courtesy and respect.
It’s surprising how many drivers don’t do this. In the winter, walkers can’t easily walk along the shoulders of the road where there is snow and ice. So we have to be more in the road. And there’s often icy slush and snow on the road surface.
When you see pedestrians walking along the road, please slow down and steer away from them as far as you can. Be careful not to let your tires spray them with water or slush. Make eye contact if you can. Give ‘em a wave.
You see lots of bumper stickers on cars that say “Share the Road” with an image of a bike or motorcycle. I haven’t seen any like that with an image of someone walking, but the same idea applies. Please share the road with us walkers, too, with courtesy and consideration.
–Hays lives in Blue Hill. He is also a freelance contributor to The Rising Tide.
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