Directions to Moxie Mountain
Moxie Mountain is on Map 30 B4
in the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer
Hiking distance: Approx. 2 miles to the summit.
From the South, go to Bingham on RT#201. Continue north on RT#201 for 9 miles from the intersection of RT#201 and Rt#16 which is just beyond the village of Bingham. Then take a right onto a dirt road. The dirt road is just before the picnic area on Rt#201. In fact you can see the picnic/rest area sign while making the right turn. From the north the turnoff is about 14.5 miles from the bridge in The Forks. The dirt road takes you immediately into a large open area. Go straight across the open area into the woods. I believe the left goes to a private camp. In a ways you get some fine views of Moxie Mountain. There are a few turns off this road but it mostly stays on the most traveled road. It would help to have the Maine Atlas to follow the turns in there as I didn't get the distances between them. You'll be looking to get to Deer Bog. Approximately 6.5 miles in look for a narrow bridge from which you can see a small pond/bog on your right. This is Deer Bog. This is where the original trail up Moxie Mountain began. However recent logging operations have changed this. You need to go a few yards further and take a right and go up hill on a newly constructed logging road roughly a half mile which is almost to the end of the road. The trail starts a few yards from the logging yard on the right. We talked to the skidder operator and the truck driver up there and they had no problems with us parking up there as long as we got off the road enough to make way for the logging trucks. I'm sure the condition of this road varies greatly depending on the weather and truck traffic.
We were there the week before and found where the trail went into the woods when it started raining. Joyce piled up a bunch of rocks where the trail entered and when we went back the next week there was a new skidder road there which wiped out the rock pile and what few pieces of flagging tape that were there. But we eventually found the trail again. I brought a roll of bright orange flagging tape with me and tried to flag as much as possible. I could have used another roll.
The trail is 2 miles to the top and most of it is not very steep. It would be an easy moderate hike if the trail was in good condition. It does get a little steeper near the top. A ways up the logging operation crossed the trail and a lot of slash covered the trail. Again making it difficult to follow. Eventually the trail became fairly well marked and more worn. Hopefully the new flagging will help and hopefully it will stay there a while.
Despite the negative sound of all this, we had a great hike/adventure. It is well worth the effort. The unusual open spaces on Moxie were great to explore and the views were fantastic. The views from the top great but the views and open areas on the cliffs on the way up were even more interesting. It is on the top of our return list. We need more time to explore. I highly recommend this hike.
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