Hiking the Appalachian Trail in Maine
“The summit ridge of Bigelow’s West Peak is narrow, dropping off steeply over cliffs to the south, and sloping away only slightly more gradually to the north, towards the deep blue waters of Flagstaff Lake. To the east and west, other summits of the Bigelow massif poke up above treeline—Avery, the Horns, and Cranberry.
The sun is low in the western sky, just north of another jumble of high rocky summits jutting above the generally domed and forested hills of northern New England, Maine’s High Peaks region—Saddleback, Sugarloaf, Abraham, Spaulding, Reddington, and the Crockers. Turning around, to the northeast, there’s one more tall mountain, just barely visible through the atmospheric haze: Katahdin, some 85 miles away as the crow flies, roughly double that by foot.
A lone hiker works her way quickly up the ridgeline, her pack minimal, trail running shoes looking like they’ve seen better days. Like most thru-hikers, her lean pack is a giveaway—it’s weekend backpackers like us with overloaded packs who can afford to carry the extra amenities—a fancy camp coffee-maker, a packable folding chair, an electric toothbrush—those heavy accessories are quickly jettisoned when covering 2,000 miles on foot. She’s almost 4 months into this trail, and the sight of Katahdin, her finish line, brings her to tears.
We all sit on the rocky ridge, waiting for the sun to set. As the day’s last orange rays kiss the mountain goodnight, and the clouds turn deep purple, we make our way down to the Bigelow Col and find our respective tent sites for the evening. In the morning, we’ll be headed back down past the Horns Pond, and out to our car, then eventually to a hearty burrito and our comfy mattress back home. Our new friend will set out for another day of doggedly hiking north; Katahdin beckons.”
— Cam Held, co-editor of Maine the Way, whose work documents the people, places and details that define life in Maine.
Overview: The Appalachian Trail in Maine
That kind of encounter is common on this stretch of trail. The Appalachian Trail runs 2,197.9 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to its northern terminus atop Katahdin, and Maine holds the last and hardest of it—nearly 281 miles, threading through the Mahoosucs, the High Peaks, the Bigelows, and finally the Appalachian Mountain Club’s 100-Mile Wilderness, a stretch from Monson to Abol Bridge with no roads, no resupply, and no way out but forward. The final 15 miles of the trail is tucked within the spectacular Baxter State Park.
Deep in the Mahoosuc Range, hikers wedge themselves through Mahoosuc Notch, a mile-long jumble of car-sized boulders widely called the hardest mile on the trail. By the time a northbound thru-hiker reaches the Bigelows, they’ve been walking since spring, and Katahdin—the whole reason for the trip—is, on very clear days, close enough to see.
Most of us aren’t going to walk from Georgia. But the AT’s Maine miles don’t require a four-month commitment to experience—plenty of it is reachable as a day hike or a weekend trip. The volunteer-run Maine Appalachian Trail Club maintains 267 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, making it easier than ever to explore iconic peaks, quiet forests and unforgettable stretches of the trail at your own pace.
Find Your Appalachian Hike in Maine
● Easy
Grafton Notch Waterfalls (Screw Auger Falls, Mother Walker Falls, Moose Cave) — Short, mostly flat walks off Route 26, each under half a mile. Screw Auger Falls drops through a slot canyon worn smooth by glacial meltwater, with a plunge pool locals swim in all summer; Mother Walker Falls runs through a narrower, quieter gorge a mile up the road; Moose Cave is a jumble of collapsed boulders that holds ice well into July, a genuine cold pocket in the middle of a hot afternoon. The AT runs right through Grafton Notch, so you’re close to the same ground thru-hikers cross, minus the actual trail.
Debsconeag Ice Caves — 2 miles round trip, about 380 feet of gain. Off the Golden Road via Hurd Pond Road, just past Abol Bridge, in the Nature Conservancy’s Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area—one of the largest blocks of unfragmented forest left in the eastern U.S. Rebar ladders drop you into a boulder cave where ice lingers into summer, and the temperature swing from trailhead to cave floor is startling enough that people show up in July with headlamps and jackets.
Big & Little Niagara Falls — 2.2 miles round trip, minimal elevation change. On the AT itself near Daicey Pond in Baxter State Park, a flat streamside walk to twin falls on Nesowadnehunk Stream, with Katahdin visible over the trees for much of the way. It’s an easy add-on if you’re already staged near Abol Bridge for a bigger trip, and a good way to introduce a kid or a reluctant hiker to the AT without asking much of their legs.
■ Moderate
Table Rock Loop Trail, Grafton Notch — 2.4 miles round trip on the blue-blazed trail; the orange loop packs the same 900 feet of climbing into 2.1 miles and edges into black-diamond territory with tough scrambling. Table Rock itself is a huge horizontal slab jutting out over Grafton Notch. The view down the notch, especially with fall color on the hardwoods below, is one of the better payoff-to-effort ratios in the state.
Long Pond & Sabbathday Pond — 7.4 miles round trip from ME-17, about 1,500 feet of gain over Spruce Mountain and Bates Ledge. Long mileage, but gentle grades and two swimmable ponds at the turnaround make it feel easier than the number suggests. The trail passes through classic low spruce-fir AT forest and skirts the shore of Moxie Pond before the climb over Bates Ledge, and Sabbathday Pond’s lean-to makes a nice lunch stop with your feet in the water.
Cranberry Peak, Bigelow Preserve — 9.2 miles. Cranberry sits off the AT, about a mile or so from where the AT climbs the Bigelow ridge, so it draws a fraction of the traffic the AT summits get, but the payoff is the same: open ledges looking north across Flagstaff Lake and west into the Rangeley high country. A good choice if you want the Bigelow view with even fewer people.
♦ Hard
Little Bigelow — 6.2 miles round trip, about 2,100 feet of gain. The quiet end of the massif—it has a longer approach, fewer people, and a summit ridge that stays wooded except for a few outlooks toward Flagstaff Lake and Carrabassett Valley to the south. A good full-day test of your legs before committing to the bigger loop above.
Old Speck via the Eyebrow Loop — 7.6 miles round trip, about 2,500 feet of gain. Ladders and cable-assisted ledges on the Eyebrow, then the AT to Old Speck’s summit and fire tower, Maine’s third-highest peak. The Eyebrow section climbs an exposed cliff face with significant drop-offs, and the fire tower at the top—one of the few left standing in Maine—gives a 360-degree view over the Mahoosucs and into New Hampshire’s Presidential Range. Avoiding the Eyebrow route still gives a difficult hike with similar mileage and vertical gain, but is better suited for those with a fear of heights or preferred on inclement days.
White Cap Mountain, 100-Mile Wilderness — Roughly 7.5 miles round trip, 2,000+ feet of gain, but the drive up Frenchtown Road out of Greenville and the lack of any easy bail-out are the real test. White Cap is the high point of the 100-Mile Wilderness and one of the last big views before Katahdin—on a clear day you can get a great view of the whole Katahdin ridgeline from the summit, which is often the moment thru-hikers realize they’re actually going to make it. A good one to bring a guide for if it’s your first time in truly remote Maine terrain.
▲ Overnights
Bigelow Range Loop, Fire Warden Trail to Horns Pond — About 12.4 miles, roughly 3,900 feet of gain. This is the ridge from our intro—doable as a long day, better as an overnight at Horns Pond or Bigelow Col. You’ll cross West Peak and Avery Peak above treeline, with Flagstaff Lake dropping away to the north and the High Peaks and Katahdin visible on a clear day, before descending past Horns Pond’s twin tarns tucked beneath the Horns’ cliffs.
Speck Pond — About 7.2 miles round trip from the Grafton Notch trailhead via the Old Speck Trail and AT, with roughly 3,000 feet of cumulative gain (crossing Old Speck’s summit en route). Speck Pond is the highest body of water in Maine, cold and startlingly clear, tucked into a bowl below Mahoosuc Arm with AMC tent platforms and a caretaker on-site. Push on the next day if you have a car shuttle, and you can drop into Mahoosuc Notch, the trail’s famous mile of boulder-scrambling, where you’re climbing under and over refrigerator-sized rocks with ice still packed in the cracks in July, or head back down the way you came for an “easier” out-and-back trip.
End of the Appalachian Trail: Baxter State Park Hiking Trails
The northern end of the Appalachian Trail is Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain, which is located in Baxter State Park. With numerous routes—Abol Trail, Cathedral Trail and more—climbing Katahdin is a strenuous, full-day hike with roughly 4,000 feet of elevation gain, making it best suited for physically fit hikers prepared for an 8- to 12-hour trek. Because access is limited to protect the mountain, reserve trailhead parking in advance through Baxter State Park or arrive early to try for a first-come, first-served space.
Permits
All Appalachian Trail thru-hikers and section hikers must obtain a free Long Distance Hiker Permit in person at the Katahdin Stream Campground ranger station up to seven days before summiting Katahdin.
Parking
If you’re planning to hike from one of Baxter State Park’s Katahdin trailheads—including trails that don’t summit Katahdin, like Owl or South Turner Mountain—you’ll need to reserve a Katahdin Trailhead Pass (unless you’re camping in the park the night before your hike). The pass reserves a parking space at one of the park’s three Katahdin trailheads and costs $10, helping ensure you’ll have access to the trail on the day of your adventure.
Kennebec River Ferry Service
The Kennebec River is the longest unbridged river crossing on the Appalachian Trail. Because the river is too deep and wide to safely ford, the Maine Appalachian Trail Club operates a free, scheduled canoe ferry service near Caratunk during peak hiking season that carries thru-hikers and their gear safely across.
Adventure Tour Operators
New to any of this? A Registered Maine Guide can make the difference between a white-knuckle first trip and one you actually want to repeat—especially in remote country like the Mahoosucs or the 100-Mile Wilderness. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife licenses guides statewide, and you can browse options through the Maine Wilderness Guides Organization.
Appalachian Trail Towns in Maine
Whether you’re thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail or setting out for a day hike, Maine’s trail towns—including Monson, Caratunk, Stratton, Rangeley and Millinocket—offer welcoming places to rest, refuel and resupply. For northbound hikers, Monson is the last full-service trail town before the remote 100-Mile Wilderness, making it a key stop for stocking up on food and gear. While you’re there, the seasonal Monson Appalachian Trail Visitor Center can help both day hikers and long-distance trekkers plan safe adventures throughout the 100-Mile Wilderness and Moosehead Lake region.
Where to Stay Near the Appalachian Trail
Northern Outdoors
Multiple Locations
Take your pick from the year-round Adventure Resort in The Forks, offering rafting, lodging and outdoor recreation, and the seasonal Katahdin Adventure Basecamp just north of Millinocket, a convenient home base for exploring Baxter State Park and the Katahdin region.
Hostel of Maine
Carrabassett Valley
Located at the base of Sugarloaf, this hostel offers a mix of private rooms and thoughtfully designed shared accommodations, with hiker-friendly comforts, including custom privacy bunks with charging outlets, a cozy fireplace, shuttle to Sugarloaf and continental breakfast.
NEOC – New England Outdoors Center
Millinocket
Across their resort campus,NEOC offers traditional campsites, canvas cabins and bunkhouse lodging, as well as upscale cabins, a brewery and a full-service restaurant.
Appalachian Trail Hostel & Outfitters
Millinocket
This Katahdin-region outfitter helps thru-hikers and section hikers tackle the 100-Mile Wilderness with private and hostel-style lodging, shuttles, gear, food drops, trip planning and expert trail support.
Camping at Baxter State Park
Millinocket
A true wilderness experience, prepare for untreated natural water sources, outhouses and no supplies available for purchase. Make reservations for a rustic cabin, bunkhouse, lean-to or tent campsite.
Maine Roadhouse Hostel & Lodge
Stratton
Designed with hikers in mind, Maine Roadhouse Hostel & Lodge offers everything from hostel-style bunks to private rooms and suites. Laundry facilities, shuttle service, gear-friendly amenities and a cozy fireplace create the perfect place to rest tired legs
The Sterling Inn
Caratunk
Housed in a 19th-century inn, The Sterling Inn offers 15 comfortable rooms and a long list of amenities tailored to AT hikers. Stock up on trail essentials at the gear and supply store, take advantage of complimentary shuttles to and from the trail (or the nearby pub), then enjoy free laundry, Wi-Fi and a hearty breakfast.
Shaw’s Hiker Hostel
Monson
This hostel at the gateway to the 100-Mile Wilderness is a legendary Appalachian Trail stop known for its famous breakfasts (think Maine wild blueberry pancakes, thick-cut bacon, eggs and home fries) and Poet’s Gear Emporium, which specializes in ultralight hiking gear.
AMC’s Little Lyford Lodge & Cabins
Greenville
For more than 140 years, this rustic lodge has welcomed adventurers within the rugged 100-Mile Wilderness. Enjoy cozy cabins, a lodge, seasonal dining, trip-planning assistance, a wood-fired sauna and dog-friendly accommodations.
AMC’s Medawisla Lodge & Cabins
Greenville
This lodge offers private cabins and waterfront bunkhouse accommodations with seasonal meal options, a wood-fired sauna, shuttle services, dog-friendly winter stays and easy access to hiking, paddling, fly fishing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing right outside your door.