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Hiking Mount Abraham, Maine

 
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Mount Abraham Information

Elevation: 4,050 feet (1,234 meters)
Prominence: What is Prominence? 900 feet (274 meters)
Location: Mount Abraham, Maine (Franklin County)
Range: High Peaks
Coordinates: 44°58.38' North     70°19.59' West
Rating: How do the ratings work? Moderate/Difficult
Features: Peak bag What is Peak Bagging?, Spaulding Campsite, summit views, Fire Warden's Trail, Mt Abraham Side Trail, Appalachian Trail
Distance of highlighted hike below: 13.2 miles with Sugarloaf Mountain and Spaulding Mountain. (but you could always just hike Abraham making it just over 8 miles)

Mount Abraham is a 4,050 foot mountain in the High Peaks of Franklin County, Maine. There are really nice views on the summit of this mountain.

On November 14, 1967, a supersonic jet fighter (McDonnell F-101 Voodoo), which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force collided with another F-101B during a cross-country formation flight. The two-man crew was ejected from the aircraft suffering only minor injuries while the other aircraft made an emergency landing at Bangor Air National Guard Base. To learn about other crash sites on New England mountains visit this page: plane crashes.

For peak-baggers:
Mount Spaulding is 3.6 miles from the summit of Mount Abraham
Sugarloaf Mountain is 6.3 miles from the summit of Mount Abraham

Lists Mount Abraham are on: = A patch is available for this list
New England 4,000 footers
New England 4,000 footers in Winter season
New England Hundred highest
New England Hundred highest in Winter season
Northeast 111

 


mount abraham maine 4000 footers new england summit photo
Summit of Mount Abraham on June 9, 2014.


Mount Abraham Trail Maps - Directions from the parking lot to the summit Top

The map below shows how to get to the summit of Mount Abraham, as well as Sugarloaf Mountain and Spaulding Mountain.

This hike is a traverse from the Fire Warden's Trail up Mount Abraham to the Caribou Valley Road Appalachian Trail crossing after Sugarloaf Mountain, so you will need a car spot (car at the beginning and end of the hike). There is a local taxi service phone number below in the driving directions for hikers!

Hike up the Fire Warden's Trail for 4 miles and you will reach the open summit of Mount Abraham. There is a non-climbable tower as well as a hidden rock shelter. After enjoying views on this summit, continue hiking another 1.7 miles (the trail name changes to the Mt Abraham Side Trail.) There was no sign with trail names or which way to go on June 2014, but the only 2 trails coming off the summit of Abraham is the Fire Warden's Trail and the Mt Abraham Side Trail. (Well technically you could say there are 3 trails coming off the summit. The 3rd being the South Side Trail. This trail is not on most maps and is mainly used by locals since you have to drive on many unnamed old logging roads to get to the unmarked traillhead. This website might be of help with directions.)

After the 1.7 miles, you will be at the Appalachian Trail junction where you will turn right onto the Appalachian Trail. Hike for 1.1 miles where you will come to a little junction with the Spaulding Mountain Campsite. Staying on the Appalachian Trail, continue another 0.8 miles to the summit of Spaulding Mountain.

To head over to Sugarloaf Mountain, continue along the Appalachian Trail for 2.1 miles until you come to a junction with the Sugarloaf Trail. Turn onto this trail and hike the last 0.6 miles to Sugarloaf's summit.

From the summit of Sugarloaf, rehike the last 0.6 miles you just did on the Sugarloaf Trail to get back to the Appalachian Trail. From the junction, go right on the Appalachian Trail for 2.3 miles where you will reach Caribou Valley Road.

Another option: From the summit of Sugarloaf: instead of hiking back to the Appalachian Trail, you can hike down the ski trails (if it is not ski season). This is the shorter route, but also rather difficult to hike ski trails. You would need a car spot for this option as well.

Rollover the map below for a closer view
trail map sugarloaf mountain spaulding mount abraham via appalachian trail fire wardens trail from rapid stream or caribou valley traillhead. sugarloaf hiking map, hikers map sugarloaf ski resort carrabassett valley maine 4000 footers new england
Click to download PDF Trail Map of Mount Abraham

 

sugarloaf spaulding abraham hiking altitude graph

 

 
 
Mount Abraham View Photos Top


mount abraham rock shelter summit tower photo
Summit of Mount Abraham on June 9, 2014. Tower and rock shelter.

 

fire wardens trail mount abraham maine 4000 footers new england appalachian trail
Heading up the Fire Warden's Trail to the summit of Mount Abraham on June 9, 2014.

 

mount abraham maine new england 4000 footers fire wardens trail sign
Beginning of the Fire Warden's Trail heading up to Mount Abraham on June 9, 2014.

 

mount abraham fire wardens trail river crosing bridge damaged rapid stream road
The second river crossing on the way to the Fire Warden's Trailhead June 9, 2014.


Mount Abraham Driving Directions Top

NOTE: This hike might require some road walking because a couple bridges have washed out on Rapid Stream Road. Word is that they will not be replaced anytime soon. So you will have to park before the washed out bridges.

To get to the Rapid Stream Trailhead parking area for the Fire Warden's Trail:
From Sugarloaf USA Ski Resort, drive 14.7 miles South on Route 16 / 27. Turn right onto West Kingfield Road. Drive 3.5 miles. (This road will become a dirt road at the 3.3 mile mark). Right after the road turns to a dirt road, you will come to a 4 way intersection. Go straight through this. This is Rapid Stream Road. Drive 2.6 miles on this rough rocky road where you will reach a major fork. Take the left fork, and you will have to park near this area, because as you will see, the bridge over Rapid Stream has been damaged and fallen, so your hike will start before the actual trailhead and you will have to cross the river on foot. (There is a second bridge after the first that was also damaged, so you will have to cross this on foot as well. This 2nd river crossing can be difficult if the water is high, and might require you to take off your shoes.)

To get to the Caribou Valley Road (Caribou Pond Road) Appalachian Trail crossing parking area:
Take Route 27 northwest from the entrance to Sugarloaf ski area. It is roughly 1 mile from the Sugarloaf entrance to Caribou Valley Road (also called Caribou Pond Road) and will be on the left. This road was not signed in June 2014. The trail for this hike is 4.4 miles up the road. There is a small clearing for parking just before this. The trail is not signed from the road and can be easy to miss, but if you track it, is is 4.4 miles from the beginning of the road on the left.

When you are driving on Caribou Valley Road, you will pass several bridges (two that are wood, and in terrible condition, and one that is metal right before a hill), so you will have to use your judgment whether or not your vehicle can drive over this, otherwise some people opt to park before the bridges and walk the rest. It is unclear if these bridges will be replaced, but as of June 2014 they are still damaged.

Need a car spot or taxi?

There is a local small business called All Points Transportation run by a man named Greg in the Carrabassett Valley area who can help! If you need a car spot to a trailhead or for any other reason, give him a call to see if he is available. 207-329-3482.


 

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