Gulf Hagas, AMC Maine Woods Initiative and Appalachian Trail

The legend of Gulf Hagas has spread wide, and while it is located in a remote spot in northern Maine, the trails here tend to attract many hikers.

Part of it must be marketing! Gulf Hagas is described as the Grand Canyon of the East, which I think might be a touch overblown? Regardless, the deep slate gorge and the many waterfalls of the West Branch of the Pleasant River, glimpsed from high clifftop perches, are stunning, even though their beauty is more subtle than the Grand Canyon. The gulf also has a lot of features with intriguing names, like the Jaws, the Hermitage, Buttermilk Falls, Stair Falls, and Screw Auger Falls.

Gulf Hagas is part of the Appalachian Trail corridor, and the Maine Appalachian Trail manages the trails in the area with the cooperation of KI Jo-Mary, a commercial logging company that owns 175,000 acres in the North Woods. You’ll have to register at the KI post on the drive in and pay a small fee, ~$13 in 2024. It’s free for those 70 and over. You should be able to pick up a trail map at these posts. Two check-ins are located along Katahdin Iron Works Road, which is the main access road, one from Greenville and one from the Brownville direction. (If you’re coming from Brownville, my friend who visited recently highly recommends stopping at the Katahdin Iron Works State Historic Site.)

For lots of great information and maps, check out this informative website.

In the AMC-KI trail brochure for Gulf Hagas (which has a great map), visitors are warned that it is easy to underestimate the difficulty of the hike. While there is no significant elevation gained, the three miles along the Rim Trail can be strenuous and tiring, even for experienced hikers. There are a lot of short scrambles up and down, many roots and rocks to navigate, and side trails to explore to look at cliffs and falls.

The distance of the complete loop of Gulf Hagas, starting either from the north or south, is almost nine miles. But you can use two different side trails to make your loop shorter. It’s recommended you return via the relatively flat and easy Pleasant River Tote Trail to complete the loop; this will also ensure you’ll make faster time on the return.

There are two major trailheads to Gulf Hagas: The Gulf Hagas Parking Area and the Upper Gulf Parking Area. It felt to us as if the views were more dramatic and the hiking more rugged at the northern end of Rim Trail. If you start at the Upper Gulf Parking Area, you’re also follow the flow of the West Branch of the Pleasant River, descending roughly from 1,100 feet to 800 feet. So, on one hand, you might want to start low to hike up and get the best views at the end of the Rim Trail. But on the other hand, if you start high, you’ll get some lovely vistas more quickly. Another argument for starting from the upper lot is you skip having to ford the river, as you do if you begin closer to the southern trailhead. In fact, we saw hikers coming from the south side taking their boots off TWICE!, to cross both the river and another stream upriver.

North end details: We hiked in from the upper parking lot. The large parking area is across the street from the trail. Look for the trail close to the signs for the outhouse and the trailhead kiosk. Continue past the toilets and stay left when the path intersects with the lodge-to-lodge trail. In half a mile, you’ll take a right on a dirt road, and soon after, will see a sign on the right for the Rim Trail. This first section of the trail is relatively flat and easy — things only start to get rough when you reach the Rim Trail.

South end details: My friend recently started from this direction; this is her report. There is plenty of parking, an informative kiosk, and an outhouse (you might want to bring toilet paper). The Gulf Hagas trail starts on the Appalachian Trail and then branches off to the left at about 1.2 miles. From the trailhead, you don’t walk 100 yards before hitting your first river crossing over the 150-foot wide West Branch Pleasant River. For this section, you might want water shoes since it can be slippery. Hiking poles also help. The water can also be quite high—especially if you’re hiking in spring or early summer.

After you cross the river, you’ll see the Hermitage, a beautiful grove of old-growth trees more than a century old. This is a highlight of the trail, and one of Maine’s fourteen national natural landmarks (along with Gulf Hagas).

Don’t get too complacent after exiting the water, because there is another water crossing across Gulf Hagas Brook soon after you leave the AT. Thankfully, this crossing is not as difficult as the first.

From here, my friend recommends continuing to The Jaws (number four on the brochure map), where the river pours through arches of rock. Return along the Tote Trail.

Directions: From Greenville, take the KI Road past the gatehouse to a big T-juntion and sign for the AMC lodges and Gulf Hagas trailheads. Go left if you want to start from the upper lot. It’s about 2.5 miles farther on. Go right for about 5.5 miles to the lower lot trailhead. From Brownville, take Route 11 north about 7.5 miles north, almost to Prairie. Take a left onto Katahdin Iron Works Road, which you’ll follow for just under 13 miles to the lower parking area for the Gulf Hagas trail system.