View from Barren Ledges on Barren Mountain, 100 Mile Wilderness.Overview With the right preparation, the 100 Mile Wilderness (100MW) can be a challenging but enjoyable eight-day hike (and for thru-hikers and experienced “speedhikers,” who can rip off 20-mile days, substantially less).  Dad (then 41) and daughter (then 12) completed this in two segments in 2017 and 2018.  We definitely allowed ourselves extra time to enjoy places we liked, or to recover from wet gear or injuries, so plan on ten days.  Our 100 Mile Wilderness journey finally complete, we took a look back and came ..read more

Map kiosk and trailhead for Crooked River Forest, Harrison, Maine The Crooked River Forest in Harrison is comprised of two forest parcels protected and maintained by the Loon Echo Land Trust (LELT). On a mild December day, I explored the 334 acre Intervale Preserve section, which is open year-round, with the parking area off Scribners Mills Road plowed in the winter. As of November 2023, it is only accessible from the Harrison side of the river (Maple Ridge Road), as the state of Maine permanently closed the Scribners Mill bridge over the Crooked River in Otisfield (“structurally unsound and u ..read more

Winter chill at Seawall Beach, Phippsburg, Maine (The Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area can be crowded, particularly in the summer and on weekends. They advise to plan your trip accordingly, and note that they “turn cars away once the parking lot is full.” You can check the status of the lot online at https://www.bmmparking.com/) Your five-year old could do this, but everyone in the family will love it. It’s the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area near Phippsburg, Maine, a 3.8 mile out-and-back hike over Morse Mountain (433 feet) to Seawall Beach.  Wife here again to report that I ..read more

Viewpoint in summer, Bri-Mar Trail, Rattlesnake Mountain Rattlesnake Mountain (1,035 ft) is an approximately 2.6 mile moderately difficult (but family-friendly) out-and-back hike in Raymond, Maine, with two good viewpoints overlooking the Lakes Region on the way to the summit. Allow about an hour or two for this adventure, depending upon the abilities of those in your group. The small, well-marked parking area for the Bri-Mar trailhead is off Webbs Mills Road (ME-85), and open from sunrise to sunset. No dogs are allowed on this trail. The trail is also closed during the month of April. Wildflo ..read more

Viewpoint in summer, Bri-Mar Trail, Rattlesnake Mountain Rattlesnake Mountain (1,035 ft) is an approximately 2.6 mile moderately difficult (but family-friendly) out-and-back hike in Raymond, Maine, with two good viewpoints overlooking the Lakes Region on the way to the summit. Allow about an hour or two for this adventure, depending upon the abilities of those in your group. The small, well-marked parking area for the Bri-Mar trailhead is off Webbs Mills Road (ME-85), and open from sunrise to sunset. No dogs are allowed on this trail. The trail is also closed during the month of April. Wildflo ..read more

Head Beach from Hermit Island Campground, Phippsburg, Maine From mid-May to mid-October, Hermit Island is accessible only to registered campers using Hermit Island Campground, and pets are not allowed. In the winter months, however, the trails and beaches on this beautiful island are open for day-use to respectful visitors who clean up after themselves and their dogs (no winter facilities are available). An added winter bonus appears to be the absence of mosquitoes and flies, which appear to be fairly aggressive in the summertime, based upon comments. We explored this quiet space on a chilly b ..read more

Shore Trail, Dodge Point Public Land, Newcastle, Maine Dodge Point Public Land in Newcastle is a 548 acre preserve on the western shore of the Damariscotta River. A map and description is available at Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, which co-manages the preserve with the state of Maine and maintains the public dock. An additional Dodge Point Natural Heritage Hike brochure, illuminating the history, flora and fauna of this special place, is available on the Dodge Point page at the Maine Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry website. I found this hike by reading Dog-Friendly Hikes in Maine ..read more

Wooden bridge on east side of Mill Cove, Bonyun Preserve, Westport Island, ME Bonyun Preserve in Westport Island, Maine, is owned and maintained by the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT), which has a printable map and description of Bonyun Preserve on its website, as well as in a container at the trailhead kiosk. The Preserve, free to the public, and open daily from dawn to dusk, is named for the landowners who donated the 74 acres of land to KELT in 2002. Dogs are not allowed (eight other KELT properties allow leashed dogs). In mid-September, we used the Thomas Point, Mill Cove, Junction, and ..read more

Doubletop Mountain Trail enroute to Slaughter Pond, Baxter State Park, Maine Slaughter Pond is a sufficiently remote one-way hike that when I mentioned to a Baxter State Park ranger that I was thinking of hiking there, he looked at me curiously, and then asked if I was going to get some fishing in, as that seemed to be the primary reason people make the trek. The pond itself lies slightly outside the borders of Baxter State Park, and is managed by The Nature Conservancy as part of its Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area (see map). I hiked there and back, a trip of just over 6 miles, that took me ..read more

Morning view of Kidney Pond, Baxter State Park, Maine Sentinel Mountain (1,842 ft) is not a towering monolith like Katahdin or a sinister double-horned mass lurking like Doubletop but its proximity and line of sight to those two peaks and the rest of Baxter and the North Maine Woods make it an important bucket list hike in Baxter State Park. In mid-September, I had planned for loftier heights and longer distances, but weather changed my plans, and facing impending thunderstorms, I opted out of the all-day hikes above treeline, and chose this smaller mountain. I used information from Hiking Mai ..read more