Sometimes the simplest things are right under our noses. Think about the last time you decided to take a hike, to see some territory and get some exercise.

Likely, it turned into an expedition of monumental proportions involving more preparation and logistical maneuvering than you care to admit. And the hike turned into a physical challenge that tuckered you out for days.

Trips like this are fun, but it’s not necessary to turn every hike into an expedition. Why not look a little closer to home?

Every community has something of interest, and you’re bound to discover something new if you just get out of your car and take a walk.

Where to go? Chances are you already know, you just haven’t thought about it. On your next commute to work, look anew at those side roads or landmarks near your home. There’s bound to be someplace you haven’t been lately. Take a mental note and and plan to walk there some night this week. Take an hour and enjoy the scenery, catch a glimpse of wildlife or watch the sunset. Too often we get tied into a routine and don’t take time out for some mental rest and relaxation.

Even in a city like Bangor there are places to go for a hike and, with a little imagination, you’ll feel as if you were miles away.

Kenduskeag Stream Park, for example, will take you from the Penobscot River up Kenduskeag Stream above I-95. From Chamberlain Bridge to the end of the park it’s 2.3 miles. Do it round-trip and you’ve gone close to 5 miles, or do pieces of it for less of a walk.

If you park near Chamberlain Bridge, walk toward the parking garage on the stone dust walkway. It will take you to Kenduskeag Stream and to Washington Street. Cross the street and follow the sidewalk along the stream behind the parking garage and up to State Street. Cross over to Norumbega Mall and check out the statue of Hannibal Hamlin (Aug. 27, 1809-July 4, 1891), our own speaker of the Maine House, member of Congress, U.S. Senator, vice president to Abraham Lincoln and minister to Spain. Or the cannon belonging to Commodore Richard Saltonstall’s sloop of war that was blown up in Bangor Harbor in August, 1779.

Cross Central Street and check out the victory statue “dedicated to all who have made the supreme sacrifice for their country” erected in 1939 by the Norman N. Dow Post, Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Across Franklin Street the stone dust walkway picks up again. You’ll be on the left bank facing upriver and the path takes you behind the jail and police station to the site where the covered bridge stood, now a steel pedestrian structure. Cross the bridge and up little farther you’ll cross the stream again.

Continue past a covered picnic table (1.2 miles) and then on to an observation deck across from Lover’s Leap (1.5 miles). You’ll cross the stream again and pass under I-95. Just up from the I-95 bridge is an observation platform overlooking the Flower Mill dam site. There are several more picnic tables, a couple with shelters, before the park ends at a sign at the 2.3-mile point. Spaced throughout the elongated park are benches to sit and rest on if you like.

Even though you’re in the city, you can still see some wildlife such as squirrels, crows, cormorants, ducks and songbirds. And at this time of year with the river level really low, you can get a good look at the riverbed’s structure and some of those rocks you hit during the canoe race this spring.

You’re following a sewer line, by the way, so expect an odoriferous whiff once in a while from access hatches along the way.

Other walks in Bangor you might check out include Prentiss Woods off Grandview Avenue near Bangor High School, or Brown Woods off Ohio Street.

Should you want something a bit more removed, yet within easy reach of the city limits, take a short drive out to Bald Mountain in Dedham. From Chamberlain Bridge drive through Brewer on Route 1A about eight miles to the Upper Dedham Road just past the Route 46 intersection. Two miles out you’ll come to the Bald Mountain Road and four miles farther will bring you to the intersection of Johnson Road (Fire Road 2). Go about 100 yards on this road and you’ll see a wide open flat ledge area where you can park and begin your hike.

The hike up is fairly steep, but the trail is wide-open and free of obstructions. About 200 yards up, the trail intersects with a gravel road. Keep left and proceed upward. The gravel road turns to solid rock and steepens. There are utility poles and lines along the left side of the trail all the way to the top. As you climb, don’t forget to turn around occasionally and look south and westward. The views are spectacular. To the west are the Dixmont Hills, to the south is Toddy Pond, Branch Pond and farther out you’ll see Blue Hill and Penobscot Bay.

As you crest this open ledge face, there are trees which restrict the view. But you are nearly at the top and the trail begins to level out. Radio towers sprout like porcupine quills at the summit, and there is an old fire tower. The view from the tower is wonderful. I’ll bet you could see Mount Katahdin on a clear day. I hiked the hill near sunset, and distant haze restricted the visibility somewhat. Nevertheless, the views are wonderful and at that time of evening the lights of Ellsworth, Brewer and Bangor were beginning to twinkle in the distance.

The time to the top was about 25 minutes. I took in some of the scenery, walked around the top to take in views to the north (Phillips Lake in the foreground) and east (Green Lake is real close, Caribou and Schoodic mountains in the distance) and south (I think I picked out the hills on Mount Desert Island in the haze) then headed back.

I was back at my truck within an hour of beginning the walk. Had I more time, I’d have spent it enjoying the scenery, but the evening shadows were getting long, and I did not have a flashlight.

There are miles of trails at the University of Maine in Orono (get a map at Memorial Union), and as one reader suggested, local cemeteries are sometimes a place to go for a walk and enjoy some solitude. Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor is beautiful. Check the gate closing hours so you don’t get locked in.

Even a walk around your neighborhood can be enlightening if you haven’t gotten out recently and done it. If you get strapped for ideas on where to go, drag out your copy of DeLorme’s Maine Atlas and Gazetteer.

There’s bound to be a little red figure with a walking stick in an area near you. Or check out the front of the book where you’ll find a list of nature preserves with foot trails as well as a page or more of hiking trails and another section on unique natural areas, many of which can be hiked. Many of the scenic waterfalls listed are destination hikes. There’s bound to be something near you you haven’t visited lately. Happy trails!

Jeff Strout’s column is published Tuesday and Thursday. He can be reached at 990-8202.