| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Round Pond Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Road walk, Round Pond Mountain Fire Tower Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, June 25, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I believe the MMG's driving directions were accurate but I did not follow them all the way as I did not want to access the trail by canoe but rather by car. Thanks to those online who helped me to figure out how to make this possible! Roughly 6mi before Blanchette Rd crosses the Alligash on Henderson Bridge, a much narrower road leaves Blanchette Rd and heads north. This road actually has two entry points, about 0.2mi apart. The eastern one is 0.5mi west of where Rocky Brook Rd meets Blanchette Rd and the western one is another 0.3mi west. Again, this is about 6mi shy of Henderson Bridge over the Alligash. While Gaia GPS Mtn Trail, most are not actually drivable anymore (totally grown in). Just stick to the main one which is the one that takes you to within about 1/3mi of the summit where there's a gate. Shortly before the gate, there is a small parking area with room for a few cars here. Needless to say, I was the only one at 4:30pm on a Wednesday. While this peak involves WAYYY more driving on dirt roads than I ever did when working on the NH500 Highest up in northern NH, the roads are in MUCH better condition. They are private logging roads that are well taken care of. Expect the main ones to be very wide and, each turn from there generally speaking, the roads will get narrower and narrower. That being said, even by the time we got onto the grassy centerline type of roads, the centerline wasn't really raised and they were in good shape with few exceptions. Low clearance should be okay; just watch out for the potholes. $18/person for non-ME residents ($13 for residents) for day-use fee. $110 for season pass, and $15 on top of day-use fee for camping. Day-use free for those under 18 and over 70 and camping free for those under 18. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Easily rock hopable. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trail is unmarked (no blazing) but signage from where I parked points you in the right direction. Though not heavily trafficked, the trail is easy to follow. Immediately north of where the trail crosses the road I used to access it, there's a mid-sized trivial stepover, then a bunch of leaners/widowmakers shortly thereafter. That's all for the short section of trail north of the road. Small stepovers, followed by a small-mid sized leaner/duck-under about 20-25min south of the road. Very large, mostly delimbed crawl under or maybe awkward straddler if you're really tall about 10min afterwards, quickly followed by a couple small stepovers. A small widow-maker/leaner or two above the trail and a small, trivial stepover as you approach Round Pond. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
They were probably bad. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
I'd originally wanted to get this along with Norway Bluff, Round Mtn, and Horseshoe/Rocky Brook Mtn with Crocamole the week before, but we ran out of time. This worked well as a short little hike after a sleep-in and remote work meeting kind of start to my day. See my driving directions above for how to access this trail without a canoe. I even recorded a track of the last little bit of my drive, lol. Unlike the trails to the aforementioned mountains, this trail was actually well-defined (though certainly not heavily trafficked) and pleasant to hike. From my parking spot, I continued along to the gate, then followed the sign left and downhill a short ways to where the trail crosses this road. I went uphill to the summit first which is the steepest part of the hike (though not too bad). The ladder to the tower is one of those where the ladder is part of the tower and there's large spaces between the rungs. Since I already scare my mother enough with this hiking nonsense, I don't climb these ladders unless maybe someone else is around, haha! But, alas, no views for me. The trail down to Round Pond was quite nice and soft with good footing, though with some deep mud in at least a spot or two. Round Pond was gorgeous and I got to meet a nice group of campers here that had paddled over. Gaia had me at 5.3mi, about 700ft of gain, 2hr18min. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-07-20 |
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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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