Little height, big view. Burnt Meadow
Updated: Apr 15, 2021
Located south of Brownfield, ME are the Burnt Meadow Mountains. North Peak (1,575 ft), Stone Mountain (1,624 ft) and Burnt Meadow Mountain (1,592 ft). The north side of North Peak had a small ski area (1971-1982) Zodiac Skiway. The ski area was an attempt to revitalize the area after a significant fire destroyed many homes and the area's vibrant logging industry. The trails are still visible on satellite photos today and the t-bar is still installed (as of 2008).
The hike is not a long one nor is it very strenuous (3.6 miles from trail head). It is very accessible to all skill levels and presents some wonderful views from the open top of North Peak. The above purple track doesn't go over to the higher Stone Mountain which reportedly has similar views (we ran out of time to make the 1.4 miles round trip).
The parking at the trail head during the winter months is limited (5-6 cars is tight) so I ended up at the Brownfield Boat Launch and walked along a path (maybe logging road...) across the street from the boat launch to reach the trail. I would recommend micro spikes for this time of year and snow shoes just in case depending on recent snow fall.
By parking at the boat launch the hike ended up at 4.2 miles instead of the 3.6 from the trail head. It was an easy walk so don't let lack of parking stop you from this great hike. The logging road/path takes you right to the trail head and you begin following the blue blazes. At about 0.5 miles from the trail head you hit the fork and stay right to stay on the blue blazed trail to North Peak. This is a slightly steeper trail than the Twin Brook trail and even has some rock scrambles (nothing too bad and good experience for beginners).
There are a couple points on the hike up that show you the surrounding area and really show off this little mountain. You can see the surrounding area and the back of Pleasant mountain. Once you reach the top you will be at about 1,575 feet. The top has plenty of area to spread out and enjoy the views and snacks. Once finished you will find Twin Brooke Trail (yellow blazes) off the western side of the top.
As you descend along the yellow blazes make sure you take a moment to look off to the North North West. You will see Mount Washington. The snow covered mountain in the center of the below picture.
The first bit of this trail was pretty icy and definitely benefited from micro spikes. There are some minor rock scrambles down from the top before you reach a relatively flat part of the trail to the intersection with the Stone Mountain spur (1.4 Mile round trip).
The trail follows the brook as it descends the mountains into what becomes Durgin Brook which runs parallel to Spring Road St (Route 160). You will also have a couple of water crossings which as the snow melts further will grow in size and likely be a bit more tricky than when I went over them. There appeared to be a number of places to cross upstream or downstream if the specific trail crossing appears too wide to cross. After 1.75 miles you will reach the intersection with North Peak trail and you will be shortly back to the trail head.
From the trail head the entire loop is 3.6 miles with another 0.3 miles each way from the boat launch parking lot. You gain between 1,100 - 1,300 feet depending upon which GPS, topo map or random guessing you do. The whole thing took about 3.5 hours and I certainly wasn't breaking any speed records. Overall, it was an enjoyable hike with great views of the surrounding area and a must do for anyone looking for an easy hike with great views.
