Burnt Mountain, Carrabassett Valley

This is a popular hike up a well-known mountain to skiers because in the winter, some adventurous ones ski its glades. During the rest of the year, the 2.8-mile hiking trail (one-way) makes for a not-too-strenuous climb (for this area, at least, it’s still steep in sections and hard!) along a beautiful mountain stream (with two tricky crossings, more on this below).

The path brings you to a splendid, treeless summit with great views of Sugarloaf and environs. The mountain burned in the early 1900s, and the strong winds here make the rocky alpine summit inhospitable to plant life. Pack a windbreaker! My little dog was almost blown away. Round trip is just under 6 miles, and the elevation gain is 1,859 feet.

The top is marked with a large pile of stones. You might spot more cairns marking another path that brings you down the mountain on an alternative route. As far as I can tell, this is a rough herd path that will take you down the glades and past small warming huts. If you choose to descend this way, expect a steep pitch, tall grass, loose rock, and fewer majestic views.

The first stream crossing comes at 0.3 miles from the trailhead. Take care hopping across the rocks — they can be slippery. Just when you think you’re safe on the other side, the trail swings back across the stream again about 150 feet farther along. If the water is too high for a safe crossing, you can walk along a narrow path on the edge of the bank on the left (east) side of the stream. We plunged into the cold, clear pool at the first river crossing at the end of our hike!

The first 0.6 miles of the trail is fairly gentle as it follows the stream. Once it turns away from mountain stream, the path begins to get a touch steeper, and then gets tougher still around 1.9 miles. The good news is that at this point, you are close to where the trail opens up, with amazingly beautiful views, as you make the final trek to the summit. This last stretch is rocky; look for blazes and cairns to adhere to the path.

Directions: According to all the directions I read, you probably should park at the Sugarloaf Mountain Base Lodge. Then you walk past the Base Lodge and along Adams Mountain Road. Continue past the condos until you reach Mountainside Road. Cross the street onto Bigelow Mountain Road, almost directly across from Adams Mountain Road. The trailhead for Burnt Mountain is at the end of Bigelow Mountain Road. Continue straight, across the bridge, and you’ll see the trail to Burnt Mountain on your right. It’s marked with a small blue sign and has blue blazes.