Bald Bluff Mountain, Amherst

Bald Bluff, a 1,011-foot mountain, is part of the Amherst Mountains Community Forest — a fantastic public resource and very big for Maine, almost 5,000 acres. There are three main trails here — none of them very long — yet when we visited on a gorgeous June weekend, we ran into only three other people the whole day.

Also, I think the major attraction here is Partridge and Ducktail Ponds. You’re likely to have Bald Bluff, another three miles or so down the dirt access road, all to yourself. While there are okay views from the first overlook, there are none from the summit. There was, however, lots of pink sheep laurel growing up through the thick cover of lime-green lichen.

The blazed trail begins fairly steeply, arriving at a junction in 0.3 miles. You’ll see a sign for the overlook to your right. Go right, and in about 0.2 miles you’ll arrive at a nice view. If you continue, you’ll reach the lichen-covered rocky summit at roughly 1.25 miles. There’s a fire pit here. Continue on the 1.7-mile loop trail to return to the intersection.

Directions: From Route 9, turn onto an xx road. It is marked with an Amherst Community Forest sign. Follow the main dirt road six miles. You’ll see a sign for Bald Bluff Mountain on the right. Go another 300 feet or so to a small parking area on your right. You have to walk back to the sign to find the trail, which will be right next to it.