| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Grand Lake Matagamon, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Freezeout Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, June 19, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
No problem getting a day pass at the north gate around 1pm on a Thursday afternoon to Trout Brook Campground. Only one or two other cars in the lot for Freezeout. $20 day pass or $50 season pass for out-of-state residents to access BSP. No day-use fee for Maine residents. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Other than having to negotiate Trout Brook at the start (canoes available as the bridge is out), I think the crossings were bridged. If not, then they were easily rock hopped. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
As expected, there were a plethora of blowdowns on the trails but not so plentiful or undealt with (they’d been trimmed or there were herd paths around them) that they slowed you down that much. I’d say that more than half were small enough to be dealt with by a single person with a handsaw so hopefully they get taken care of soon. I did hear that the trail deteriorated west of here. The trails was not as overgrown as I thought it would be so while it could maybe be brushed back, I’d say this is of less importance as it wasn’t hard to follow at all; just lightly trodden. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
No dogs allowed in BSP. |
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 | Bugs: |
Well I thought I’d packed the bug spray…what an absolutely horrible day and trail to forget it on. Mosquitos were horrendous once in the woods. Luckily (surprisingly?) they weren’t able to keep up if I kept moving at a good pace. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
A little hike on my way up to Portage Lake to begin my summer of Maine redlining! This was an OAB on the easternmost 4mi section of Freezeout Trail. Without doing this, you’d be looking at about a 40mi hike to get all of Freezeout, Frost Pomd, and Wadleigh Brook trails.
**NOTE** the bridge over Trout Brook has been deemed unsafe for foot traffic. They said the water here is too deep to really wade through so they have canoes for you to use. Luckily, the group ahead of me at the gate happened to be backpacking this trail so I tagged along with them which made getting over there easier. On the way back, I canoed on my own and found it very difficult to maneuver and actually had to jump out of it twice to get ‘er going the right direction. If anyone was watching, I’m sure they had a good laugh at my expense. From the canoe launch go right, then imediateky left and look for orange flagging on the far bank. This is VERY short; maybe all of 50yds…what a royal PITA. They have life vests and paddles for you to use on both sides of the brook.
Once on the north side of Trout Brook, a path leads to the trail, where I did a short OAB to the bridge, then continued along the trail. It’s not hard to follow or terribly overgrown and the blowdowns were certainly numerous but really not all that bad though I hear the trail deteriorates further west. The trail was mostly dry and there were just some very wet/muddy areas around a bridged crossing or two in swampy areas. I turned around at the jct with Frost Pond Trail. Some minor/moderate elevation gain on the trail but nothing very steep and good footing. Mosquitos kept me moving very quick and Gaia had me at 8.75mi, 325ft of gain, 3hr11kin and that was including the stupid canoeing on the way back. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-06-22 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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