Hatchet Mountain Preserve

This is a quick, moderately steep 0.7-mile trail up switchbacks to a pretty lookout, at roughly ~1,101 feet. A bench at the end of the trail lets you rest in a little meadow with wild blueberries and take in views of Hobbs Pond, Bald Mountain and Ragged Mountain.

If you depart this idyllic spot and explore an unofficial herd path to the summit, you’ll find radio towers at the top. Someone had flagged a rough path (with ribbons) over the eastern side of the mountain when I visited. But if you do this, you have to walk back to the parking lot along Route 105.

From the small parking area and trailhead on Hatchet Mountain Road, the path begins behind a locked gate. It first follows a shady, wide track — an old utilities road perhaps — to the first view, at 0.3 miles. From here, the path slightly narrows, becoming a bit rockier and ledgier and also sunnier and hotter, as the tree cover thins out. The rock on the mountain is an interesting rust color, at times darkening to blood-red black.

The wonderful 27-acre preserve is protected by the Coastal Mountains Land Trust.

Name origins: According to a 1920 account, the mountain’s name derives from a 1617 truce between two warring Native tribes, the Tarrantines and the Wawenocks. To recognize the peaceful resolution to their fighting, the chiefs buried a hatchet on the side of the mountain.

Directions: From Camden, follow Washington Street/Route 105 out of Camden to Hope Center. Take a left onto Hatchet Mountain Road and drive just over 1/2 mile. The small 2-3 car parking lot for the Preserve is located on the right-hand side of the road. The preserve asks that you not back onto Hatchet Mountain Road when you’re leaving the mountain.