Mt. Chase

A steady ~1.8-mile climb with some steep sections brings you to Mt. Chase’s summit ridge with wonderful views. Because it’s the highest mountain (2,450 feet) around with a panoramic reward at the top — including of Katahdin and other Baxter State Park peaks — you might be sharing the summit with a small crowd on nice weekends. If you follow a narrow herd path past the communications shack situated about halfway along the summit ridge, you’ll find two more tucked-away rocky areas with views.

There are two options up Mt. Chase from the trailhead and parking area: the steeper 0.9-mile Waterfall Trail, which gives you the benefit of hiking beside a small stream and its series of falls (when there’s no drought, that is), and the main trail, which is slightly longer but less steep, with some eroded sections. These trails were roughly blazed or tagged with ribbons when I visited and easy to follow.

After the two trails merge, you’ll pass an old fire warden’s cabin at about 1.1 miles. At 1.5 miles, look for a little side trail to Eagle Rock. I missed it! But I drew in where I think it should be on the map above. The summit is ~0.3 miles beyond the spur to the rock.

From the Waterfall Trail, at a particularly nice cascade, you can head off to to Bald Mountain’s shorter summit for another adventure.

Directions: To reach the Bald Mountain/Mount Chase trailhead from Route 11 in Hersey, take Mountain Road, which heads west from the highway. Mountain Road usually has a road sign and is roughly 6.5 miles north of Patten and 31.5 miles south of Masardis. It is 2.1 miles on Mountain Road from Route 11 to the trailhead. Mountain Road is generally in good condition for most vehicles, but conditions do vary year to year, depending on logging and gravel pit operations. The trailhead can also be accessed from the west via logging roads connecting to Ackley Pond Road and Owlsboro Road, but good clearance is recommended for these approaches.