Ledges Trail

Pleasant Mountain (Bridgton, ME)

September 6, 2025October 24, 2025Undercover Hiker1 Comment

Dad and daughter atop Pleasant Mountain summit in 2017

Pleasant Mountain (2,006 ft) is a mountain in Bridgton right next to the former Shawnee Peak, now (since 2022) Pleasant Mountain ski area, with trails mostly on land owned by the Loon Echo Land Trust (see here for info and detailed maps). Dad and daughter hiked this first with our cousin in April 2017 as part of our preparation for our 100 Mile Wilderness trek via the (moderate) Southwest Ridge Trail (also known as the MacKay Pasture Trail), 5.8 miles up/back, but have done it since in February, August, and other months. Map and description are also available in the stellar Maine Mountain Guide. The preserve is open dawn to dusk, and dogs on-leash are allowed. Blaze orange is suggested during hunting season.

Morning light on Southwest Ridge Trail, Pleasant Mountain, Maine

This hike can be busy in summer, particular up the Ledges Trail, but an early start or a winter morning can provide solitude. There are always a few hikers, especially close to the summit, but I have also seen woodpeckers, crows, turkeys, and a winter herd of deer. The deer were using the same path, and bounded away from me, big white tails flashing, every time they heard my footsteps crunching in the snow, coming no closer than about fifty yards. In the summer, the call of loons carries up the mountain from Moose Pond.

Winter morning view of Moose Pond from near Southwest Summit, Pleasant Mountain

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Barrell Ridge

October 27, 2022June 25, 2023Undercover HikerLeave a comment

On the last day of a mid-September weekend hiking trip to Baxter State Park, I snuck in a morning hike before I packed up my South Branch Pond campsite, heading to Barrell Ridge (2085 ft) via Middle Fowler Pond Trail. I got the route for this moderate six mile out-and-back hike from Hiking Maine’s Baxter State Park and the suggestion of the South Branch Pond ranger. You can navigate using the South Branch Pond printable map from Baxter State Park. The trailhead is shared with the Ledges Trail and South Branch Nature Trail, a short walk north from South Branch Pond Campground, and branches off toward Middle Fowler Pond after about a third of a mile.

View northwest from ledges on Middle Fowler Pond Trail, Baxter State Park, ME

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December 16, 2021December 16, 2021Undercover Hiker2 Comments

The Ledges Trail is accessed from the Middle Fowler Trail/Nature Trail trailhead kiosk a short walk north from the parking area of the South Branch Pond campground at Baxter State Park. This hike in the lesser-traveled northern part of the Park is fully described in the Maine Mountain Guide., and BSP’s downloadable South Branch Pond map covers the area. A left (north) turn at the Ledges Trail intersection after a third of a mile will take you up a wooded blue-blazed trail to the ledges facing west.

On the way up, I disturbed a pair of large, colorful pileated woodpeckers, who voiced their collective displeasure, and flew off to other trees. The ledges provided a series of views over South Branch Ponds and South Branch Mountain and Black Cat Mountain, with changing September leaves.

The Ledges Trail exits the woods about a half mile north of the campground, with a walk along the dirt and gravel road leading back to parking or the campground. This was a short lollipop loop from South Branch Pond campground, maybe a mile and a quarter total. I was moving quickly due to impending thunderstorms on my trip, but this hike will not take more than thirty to forty-five minutes.

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Mt. Pisgah

October 21, 2021November 18, 2021Undercover Hiker1 Comment

The Mt. Pisgah Community Conservation Area in Winthrop, Maine, is part of over 1,000 acres managed by the Kennebec Land Trust (KLT) and the Town of Winthrop. A trail map is available on the KLT website. The structure of the trails, all marked with blue blazes, makes a full loop impossible without re-tracing steps, but on a mid-October day, we chose to use the Tower Trail, Ledges Trail, and an easy .3 mile up and back on the Blueberry Trail to complete a satisfying 4-mile clockwise exploration of Mt. Pisgah in a little under two hours.

Twisted sugar maple on Tower Trail, Mt. Pisgah Conservation Area, Winthrop, Maine

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