QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: N/A
- Trail Mileage: 1.1 mile one way
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: challenging
- Sights: warden's cabin, cell tower
Back when this lone mountain, which rises from the flatlands of Hancock and Washington Counties, had a fire tower, it was probably a great hike with impressive views. Now that the fire tower is gone (it’s lying in the woods near the summit), the strenuous hike doesn’t offer the satisfaction of views on top. The warden’s cabin is collapsed.
There’s a cell tower at the summit, and the walking trail follows the rough service road to the top. It’s pretty clear where it goes, although there are some other old jeep roads that intersect the path. When it forks noticeably about half way up, veer right, and you’ll soon pass the site of the warden’s cabin on your right.
You reach the 1,477-foot summit in 1.1 miles. The elevation gain is 782 feet.
Directions: From Route 9, turn onto CC Road (or 3000 Road on Google maps).Turn left when you see the sign for the cell tower, and drive 1.7 miles down a dirt road until you reach a clearing and a gate.
Update: On 08/29/2026 I visited Lead Mountain.
Please be wary of the road into the parking area for this hike. I have a Honda CRV and had some trouble, mostly with big rocks in the road and ground clearance. I got into the 1.7 miles to the parking area without incident, but coming back out I hit a rock so hard I had to get out and check to see if my oil pan had been ripped off. All things considered, for those wanting a longer hike anyway, just park across from the forest service building and hike the 1.7 miles to the parking area instead of driving. It will add 3.4 miles to your hike and might save your low-slung car from damage. This will make for a nice 5.6 mile hike in total.
As for the mountain itself. My quest was to find views. They had to be there. It is a 1477 foot mountain surrounded by flat terrain all around its base. There had to be views somewhere from such height!
But no such luck.
Even climbing the short tower bolted to the summit, there was little to see. I even did concentric circles around the summit hoping to find an outcrop of rock that afforded views. Despite circling at further and further distances down from the summit, I never saw any. I even went to the neighboring nubble to look for views and never saw any there.
The hike is not without merit though. The scope of the work being done on long-term acid rain was intriguing by the USGS and US Department of the Interior, and with the chilly microclimate it was nice to see autumn start and the yellow and orange leaves coming off the beeches and yellow birches. It was a beautiful autumn hike already. Granted that was up a service road, but still a nice hike oddly enough because it seemed more trail-like than roadway. In looking at the pictures taken by the Trails by Foot staff, the Wardens cabin is now completely collapsed. Still the mind-blowing thing to me is, and granted I am a man that works in power generation… hiking to such a remote spot in Maine and yet seeing a transformer on the ground and hearing it hum and realizing even way out there, way up there, the umbilical cord that is the Maine Power grid reached even there.
I spent a LOT of time on top of this mountain and yet I never saw anyone the whole time I was there. For introvert hikers, this may be a great hike for you despite the lack of views.
Thank you for the warning about the road. And I respect your determination to find a view! And your ability to find the good in any hike. 🙂