Maine carries a rep for being the wildest state in the east. See why on Mt. Abraham, a 4,050-foot local peakbagger’s favorite with an expansive, treeless, 350-acre alpine zone that crowns the 4.5-mile summit ridge.

The blue-blazed Fire Warden Trail begins in thick forest before climbing steeply at the 2.5-mile mark. Hikers break treeline at mile 3.3, where 4,000-footers Spaulding and Sugarloaf Mountains loom in the distance. But don’t forget to look down, too: Sun-ripened blueberries carpet the hillside in late summer. Cairns mark a fun boulder scramble over the final half mile to the rusting steel legs of an old fire tower and the ruins of a ranger shelter at the summit. Enjoy the airy views, but don’t dawdle on the return: Beers and burgers await at Longfellow’s in nearby Kingfield.

Distance 8 miles (out and back) Trailhead 44.968107, -70.260326 Drive time 1:22 from Augusta Season May to October Contact