Owl’s Head

By Sam Shirley

The trail to the 930-foot Owl’s Head, via the Connector Trail, starts at the campground and boat launch on the west side of the lake. It passes along the shore of the lake and through some beautiful cedar forest, joining the older Owl’s Head Trail at the outlet of the lake, where there is another parking area.

The hike to and up Owl’s Head is very enjoyable! The trail passes through beautiful mossy older growth forest, and there are multiple viewpoints across the lake. While much of the path is flat, the final, tiny scramble up Owl’s Head and to its lookouts is steep, but over quickly! Once you’re there, you’ll find two viewpoints providing good views north, west, and south. Although there were a few people in the campground and out on the lake, we were the only ones on the trail.

From the campground, the hike is about 2 miles one-way to the little lollipop loop on Owl’s Head. The loop is roughly 0.7 miles. From the parking area near the lake’s southern outlet, the hike is roughly 3.5 miles round-trip.

The trail is part of the almost 10,000-acre Scraggly Lake Public Reserve Land, in Township 7 Range 8 (T7 R8), northeast of Patten, in Penobscot County.

Directions: (From the Portland Press Herald): “Travel west from Shin Pond on Grand Lake Road for 6.7 miles to the Scraggly Lake Road (just beyond the Seboeis River). Follow this gravel-surfaced road for 9.3 miles to a small parking area for the Owl’s Head Trail.” Scraggly Lake is remote and accessible via gravel logging roads; it’s best to have a high-clearance car.