QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: N/A
- Trail Mileage: 1.3 miles one way
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: moderate
- Sights: views
The start of this 1.3-mile trail (one way) on private land might not look promising, but don’t be too put off, the rewards are fantastic! From an open ledge at or close to the 1,799-foot summit, there are beautiful views of Bigelow Mountain behind Flagstaff Lake. The summit takes about 30 to 45 minutes to reach after an easy-to-moderate climb that’s mostly unmarked.
When I visited in 2024, the start of the track was grassy and overgrown, and there was room for just one, maybe two cars to park on the side of the gravel Long Falls Dam Road. Follow the grassy track for about a third of a mile, it’ll bend to the left (west) and enter the woods. Look for intermittent blazes and tags. The trail, though faint, is visible the whole way up, but it’s wise to bring a GPS device just in case. Though I had no trouble finding the trail on the ascent, I lost it on the way down.
The path begins to get a touch steeper as you approach the summit. About 500 feet from the end, the path bears left, bringing you to the overlook.
If you’re angling for a swim after your hike, you can head to a Bigelow Preserve campsite 1.6 miles farther west down Long Falls Dam Road. The path to the walk-in site on Flagstaff Lake is about 0.1 miles — and then just pray it’s unoccupied!
Directions: You can reach the trailhead with a low-clearance car, but you’ll be happier in a high-clearance one. Take Long Falls Dam Road all the way to where the pavement ends at a bridge over the Dead River, then continue on its dirt portion for about 4 miles. Look for a bog area on your right; the woods road where the trail begins is just under half a mile farther along, also on the right. It was marked with a cairn and some ribbon tags when I visited.
