Visitors to AMC's Maine Wilderness Lodges this winter will find that you can get there from here—and then some—thanks to several trail projects completed this summer. Those efforts provide additional hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, and camping opportunities on AMC's 66,000-acre Maine Woods property.

New trails connect the lodges for cross-country skiing in winter and hiking in summer, and other new routes lead explorers to look-out points, campsites, and such famed hiking venues as scenic Gulf Hagas in Maine's 100-Mile Wilderness region. In all, cross-country ski routes, hiking, and snowshoeing trails on AMC's KIW and Roach Ponds Tract properties total more than 73 miles.

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View a complete activity guide for the AMC's Maine Woods property.

Hiking Trails
As part of the Maine Woods Initiative, trail work on AMC's Katahdin Iron Works property this past season included the extension of the Third Mountain Trail to Indian and Dam ponds, which provides a new hiking route for guests at Gorman Chairback Lodge and Cabins, and an opportunity to take in some of the more southern views on the property. A campsite on Indian Pond is envisioned for the future, according to AMC's Director of Trails and Recreation Management Andrew Norkin.

Also available to hikers this year is the Henderson Brook Trail, which now connects to the Appalachian Trail and provides a new approach to Gulf Hagas for day hikes from Gorman Chairback. It also serves as a pleasant lodge-to-lodge hiking route from Gorman Chairback to Little Lyford Lodge and Cabins via Gulf Hagas, known as the "Grand Canyon of Maine."

Norkin says the Henderson Brook Trail is "just a beautiful trail that parallels a slot canyon and runs along the brook where there are several gorgeous pools."

Winter Trails
New trails designed for winter use include an alternate ski route to Gorman Chairback and a new route from Gorman Chairback to Little Lyford Lodge and Cabins, which provide additional lodge-to-lodge cross-country skiing options. Additional loop trails near both Gorman Chairback and Little Lyford will provide winter visitors with even more skiing options.

Mountain Biking Trails
Mountain biking trails may also be added soon. AMC staff, Board of Directors member Elizabeth Ehrenfeld, Greenville-area cycling enthusiasts, and colleagues from the New England Mountain Bike Association scouted the Roach Ponds Tract this past summer for potential mountain biking routes and a small section of single-track has since been flagged and brushed out. Opening dates for new mountain biking trails have yet to be set, but related trail work is expected to continue next year.

"We're looking at places where mountain biking can be a good fit on our property, where trails can be appropriately sited, and where scenic views are a draw," says AMC Senior Vice President Walter Graff. "We see it as another way AMC can help attract new, nature-based tourism to the region and provide visitors yet another opportunity to get out and enjoy the Maine Woods."

Campsites
AMC staff and volunteers also created five new campsites on the Roach Ponds Tract and cut portage trails connecting Trout Pond with Third and Fourth Roach ponds, projects that provide new canoe camping opportunities. That work included blazing and installment of trail signs.

The Maine Chapter organized several work trips this summer, and trail adopters on AMC land include the Worcester Chapter and the local Greenville Boy Scout troop.

Looking ahead, Norkin says AMC is pursuing grant funding for mountain bike trail work and also plans to add a Maine component to its popular Teen Volunteer Trail Crew program next summer.