Little Kineo Mountain, near Moosehead Lake

Little Kineo, which is just about 3.5 miles from its sister mountain, Mount Kineo (as the crow flies), offers a lot for a little mountain (1,934 feet), especially to hikers who don’t want a huge exertion but do want lovely views. As you make your way up the trail, which is about 1.3 miles one way*, you’ll have three places on the trail, or just off it, to stop and take in superb views of Moosehead Lake and surrounding lands and mountains. The mountain lies within Maine’s public lands.

The trail up is relatively easy — the elevation gained is just about 564 feet. Expect to encounter rocks to step up and over and ledges that require a bit of scrambling, as well as a steady, moderate climb. But overall, this is a manageable hike, including dogs and young kids. The trail is roughly marked with blue blazes and is easy to follow.

The only downside to the charming hike is that you’re likely looking at a long drive, unless you’re staying in this part of Maine’s public lands (there’s a great regional map at this link), perhaps camping at one of the primitive lakeside sites. The trailhead is just about an hour from Greenville—a good chunk of it along dirt logging roads (about 16.5 miles). The good news is that the roads in 2024 were passable for a low-clearance car (we saw speedy evidence of this!), although you’ll want to drive slowly and carefully, especially for the final two or so miles.

The first view, to the west, comes at about the half-mile mark. You’ll reach the summit at about 1 mile — there is a large cairn and a viewpoint just to the left. If you continue another 0.3 miles beyond the summit, you’ll reach a grand view to the east, over to Little and Big Spencer Mountains and as far as Katahdin.

*My GPS indicated 1.3 miles, but the AMC Guide says the distance is closer to 1 mile.

Directions: There are great directions in Christopher Keene’s North Woods Walks, which you can buy in local Greenville shops. (We unfortunately didn’t find any for sale during our trip; we used a friend’s old copy.) Also great for finding the trailhead, and all mountain trailheads, is the 12th edition of the Maine Mountain Guide. Another tip: download a Google map of Maine on your phone when you are connected to WiFi. This allows you to navigate offline, when there is no cellular signal. Then you can use your Google maps app to find “Little Kineo trailhead.” Finally, a Delorme Gazetteer is always handy.

Here are my directions, and good luck! From Greenville, drive north on Lily Bay Road for about 18.8 miles, through the small village of Kokadjo. In about 0.3 miles from Kokadjo, the road will switch to dirt, go left at the fork. When it branches again, at 1.5 miles from the village, take a left onto Spencer Bay Road, which you’ll continue on until the trailhead. At 0.8 from the turnoff, reach a four-way intersection, stay straight. At about 7.4 miles from the turn onto Spencer Bay Road, you’ll reach a four-way intersection, with a sign for Spencer Pond Camps to the right. Go straight. At the next fork, go straight (stay right). Then stay straight until you reach a big T-intersection, turn right here (if you go left, you can also reach the mountain via a slightly longer route, perhaps on easier roads, just turn right and then left). At the next fork, go left. Pass a road to the left. At the next fork, go left. The trailhead will be on your right in about a half mile.