| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Coe, South Brother, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Marston Trail, Mt. Coe Trail, South Brother Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, August 19, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room at the Marston trailhead at Slide Dam. There's no sign for it, but if you're looking for it, you can't miss it. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All rock-hoppable, though a couple of the crossings on the lower Mt. Coe Trail required using large rocks at odd angles that were somewhat slippery. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Marston Trail was in good condition. Mt. Coe Trail was quite brushy in some areas, and had running water flowing down some of the slabs on the slide. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Not allowed in BSP. |
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 | Bugs: |
Not an issue. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
This was quite a strenuous hike. The lower Marston Trail, from the trailhead to the lower junction with Mt. Coe Trail, has some steeper sections but isn't too bad. The lower Mt. Coe Trail is mostly gradual but with a few rough sections, goes through a few open areas with views, has a few brook crossings that are doable but require some thought, but overall isn't too bad until it reaches the base of the slide. The lower section of the slide has a lot of slabs with water running down them, so they were very slippery and had to be taken carefully. We had to grab onto the vegetation on the side for some of them. As the slide opens up and you can see all the way to the top, the upper section looks so steep that you think, "the trail couldn't possibly go straight up that!" However, it does. Neither the trail description in the Maine Mountain Guide nor the map that came with it really gave a good impression of how steep and difficult that slide really is. My hiking partner and I agreed that it is definitely tougher than Flume Slide Trail, and of a similar toughness to the North Slide of Tripyramid. We had to use extreme care in many spots and bypass around some wet areas. The route of the trail going up the slide also isn't always marked well. Don't even think about descending the Coe slide under any circumstances, and it should be completely avoided in wet weather, since those steep and open slabs would be extremely dangerous when wet. Sections of Mt. Coe Trail both below and above the slide were also very brushy with evergreen boughs.
Once we finally reached the top of the slide and re-entered the woods, we were greeted with some more very steep trail, including some rock scrambles, just in the woods this time. When we finally reached the open summit, views were superb in all directions. The descent into the col between Coe and South Brother was steep and rough in places, but not terrible, and some spots were better. The section of trail contouring around South Brother was quite rough - parts of it reminded me of The Link between Castle Trail and Caps Ridge (though the bad section didn't go on for quite that long). The spur up South Brother is slow, with some more steep scrambling and plenty of rock jumbles, some with holes between them (it reminded me of the section of Caps Ridge Trail just below treeline). But the reward at the summit is excellent, and South Brother's broad summit provided plenty of room to enjoy it and have lunch.
We were originally planning to summit North Brother as well, but when we reached the junction with the spur that led there, we decided that the timing just wasn't right for it. Marston Trail was a straightforward descent - steep in sections descending to Teardrop Pond, but much more gradual above and below that section, and nothing especially difficult. Overall, Marston Trail is definitely easier than Mt. Coe Trail. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-08-22 |
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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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