Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Maine / Western Maine Mountains

Appalachian Trail: Bigelow Range

Bigelow Preserve (near Stratton)

The Bigelow Range rises north of Flagstaff Lake, and the Appalachian Trail runs its full length through the state-owned Bigelow Preserve, crossing what Maine Trail Finder describes as “six major peaks and a number of lesser ones.” The two highest, West Peak and Avery Peak, are both above 4,000 feet, and the trail stays above treeline between them.

Maine Trail Finder rates the trip as challenging and warns, “Do not underestimate the difficulty.”

The hike

Heading north, the AT enters the preserve at Route 16/27, at the range’s western end. Maine Trail Finder puts the Cranberry Stream Campsite 1.3 miles from that road crossing. Hikers can also start up the Bigelow Range Trail from Curry Street in Stratton or the Fire Warden’s Trail from Stratton Brook Pond Road.

The first big destination is Horns Pond, a high tarn below the Horns. Maine by Foot describes “a large camping area near the pond” and “a short trail that will take you to the far side of the pond, which is a quieter and lovely place to swim.” On a June 2005 trip posted to Views from the Top, a group climbing from Route 27 via the Bigelow Range Trail stopped there for an hour; one wrote that “the water was ice cold…the swim was really one of the highlights of the trip.” A caretaker pointed them to the water’s edge.

Above the pond, the AT crosses South Horn (3,812 feet) and North Horn (3,792 feet), then climbs to West Peak (4,134 feet), the range’s high point, according to Maine by Foot. Avery Peak (4,082 feet) is next, with what Maine by Foot calls “a nice stone wind block (the base of an old fire tower).” The 2005 group camped in Avery Col between the two peaks, on a platform that fit two tents with trees for a hammock, and drank from a spring there after a hot day.

Maine by Foot’s loop links the Fire Warden’s Trail, the AT, and the Horns Pond Trail for 12.5 miles and about 3,900 feet of gain. It says the steepest part of the Fire Warden’s Trail is the last 1.4 miles, “a seemingly endless and very steep rock staircase.” The state map lists the Moose Falls Campsite about a mile up the Fire Warden’s Trail.

East of Avery Peak, the AT drops to Safford Notch, where the Safford Brook Trail meets the AT, then climbs over Little Bigelow. Maine Trail Finder says Little Bigelow Lean-to is the only place on this section where fires are allowed, in its fireplace ring. Bowdoin College’s outing club runs a four-day trip that camps near Safford Notch and at Little Bigelow Lean-to before walking the last 1.3 miles out to East Flagstaff Road.

Further south on the Maine AT, the Saddleback Range offers a similar mix of lean-tos and long stretches above treeline.

Tips

Camping

Camping is not allowed above treeline in the Bigelow Preserve, and fires are allowed only in designated fireplace rings, according to Maine Trail Finder and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Maine Trail Finder lists Little Bigelow Lean-to as the only fire site on this section, with tent sites at Horns Pond and the Cranberry Stream Campsite. Trip reports also describe camping at Avery Col and Safford Notch. The preserve is managed by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands’ Western Public Lands Office, and the Maine Appalachian Trail Club maintains the AT.

Inside Intel: The 2005 Views from the Top group camped at Avery Col, between the range’s two highest peaks, on a platform big enough for two tents with spring water nearby, and called the Horns Pond swim the highlight of the trip.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Camping in Avery Col between two 4,000-footers:

The col sits high on the range, and nights there can be cold even in summer. See the sleeping bags testers rate best.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.