Region
Highlights
- Mount Bigelow is a long mountain ridge with several summits; the highest is West Peak at 4,145 ft and is one of Maine's highest summits.
- Subpeaks include Avery Peak at 4,088 ft, The Horns at 3,805 ft, Cranberry Peak at 3,194 ft, and Little Bigelow Mountain at about 3,070 ft.
- The Appalachian Trail traverses Bigelow Mountain.
- Much of the mountain and surrounding area is part of the 10,540-acre Bigelow Preserve, created in 1976 in response to a massive proposed ski resort.
- The Appalachian Mountain Club considers both the West Peak and Avery Peak of Bigelow to be 4000-footers because Avery Peak rises more than 200 ft above the col that adjoins it to the higher West Peak.
- By this same criteria, the South Horn of Bigelow, while under 4,000 ft, qualifies for the New England Hundred Highest list.
Routes
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17 summits • 10.0 mi • 3,153 ft gain • 6 hr 21 min
Latest summits
"Took the Fire Warden's trail up and back for this one (I'd wanted to do the loop - but 2nd day legs and heat told me that a shorter trip would be best). Another beautiful Maine hike - I'd read about the trail being very steep - but it was actually built with a lot of stairs, so it was wonderful! Enjoyed the short AT hike and seeing the campsite in between the summits. Met a nice dog who wanted to be in my summit selfie!" — PJSelmer • Jul 4, 2019
"Drove up to Maine from NH in the morning. Got to trailhead at around 11:45am. Hiked up the fire wardens trail to Col between peaks. Hiked up to Avery peak first and sat to enjoy the views, then headed back to Col. Onward to West peak and more nice views from there and on to South Horn. From the Horn hiked down to Horn pond lean-tos, refilled water and then hiked Horn pond trail back to Fire Wardens trail. Made camp along the pond headed out toward trailhead." — blackwolf_03278 • Jun 15, 2018
"This was a great hike! Porter was a beast on this one. It was definitely a workout once we got to the junction with the AT. The views were spectacular in all directions. Knees hurt for a few days after this one owing to my having left my trekking poles behind. " — ne4kclimber • May 27, 2018
"After the Horn, 4 of us continued on towards West Peak. We had to break trail doing this. I didn't do well on this part and definitely did the least amount of trailbreaking. Doug was trying to prove something for networking purposes, so he did the majority of the ascent up the top. The summit was windy. We couldn't stay long because of the brutal wind chill. Incredible views. " — newenglandwarrior • Dec 30, 2017
"Wild morning on the summit. Cold and insane wind gusts, had to have been around 50 or 60 mph. Quite scary out on the open summit. Snapped a few pics and video and booked it off of the summit to get below tree line. It was a harrowing decent with the wind pounding us from the side." — mikewilliamsjr • Oct 1, 2017
"The Bigelow Range is a really great hike. Cool weather was good as this summit really takes it out of you. Just wished for a little more sun at the top. But the views from both peaks are incredible. Wide sweeping views in all directions, especially north to see the entire Flagstaff Lake. Sugarloaf Ski Area to the south." — Alohabuffy • Aug 9, 2017
"NoBo AT Thru Hike 2016.
Tom met me on top of the West summit where we stopped and had a beer and a snack with "Mountain Goat" who is also a NoBo AT Thru Hiker from Australia. Beautiful views from the summit. " — Kim-Stilson • Sep 19, 2016
"Headed up the fire wardens trail after dropping Kim off for a 17 mile slack pack. Ran in to Mountain Goat from Australia and chatted with her while waiting for Kim to arrive. Beautiful views from the summit." — LGH-Tom • Sep 19, 2016
"Came up to Carrabassett Valley for a couple days to grab some 4k's and enjoy the late fall weather in Maine. Did the Bigelow ridge from off Stratton Brook Pond rd. Windy and chilly above treeline if you weren't dressed proper. with windchill it was in the low teens. socked in with clouds which was a bummer mostly because the Bigelows summits are above treeline. Trail conditions were prime, mainly because the trail I took was the AT. great hike! 12.7 mile loop that passes 3 campground areas some have lean-tos, and no fees. this would be a great over nighter especially in the summer. I'm sure this trail is busy in the summer though due to all the thru-hikers. but no worse than hiking in the Whites" — chrisr00d • Oct 22, 2012
"Great day for a hike. We struck out early this morning hoping to hike the AT up to Sugarloaf, and then on to Spaulding. The Caribou Pond Road was in good condition, but the stream crossing was high and moving fast. So change of plans... let's go hike West Peak and the Horns. So back in the truck and head for the trail head at Stratton Pond. Up the fire warden's trail. The Stratton Pond Outlet was moving right along but was safe compared to where we just were. So we crossed and hiked up the wardens trail. Summited West Peak, the wind was wild crazy and the sky was spitting ice in our faces. Now on to the Horns. What was suppose to be a clear day turned in to overcast and clouds and fog. I guess the 4000' gods are not our friends. Oh well. It was still a great hike." — bwright • Oct 21, 2012
Awards
Challenges
About peakery awards
Log successful summits on peakery to earn awards:
Peak Badges: Earn a special badge for each unique peak you summit. See all of your badges on your Badges page.
First Ascent Award: Only 1 available per peak. Goes to the first peakery member to log a successful summit of a peak. Snag this award and the peak will forever bear your name.
King of the Mountain Award: Only 1 available per peak. Summit a peak more times than any other member. Beware: this award can be lost!
Summit Steward: Summit a peak at least 5 times to become one of its Summit Stewards. As Steward of a peak, you’re encouraged to keep that peak’s info up-to-date on peakery and spread goodwill on your future climbs up the peak.