Hikes for Beginners

Bald Mountain is maybe the first hike I did when I moved to Maine from Florida (Obviously, this is DD). It’s a short but semi-brutal hike with a pretty steep incline straight up because it used to be a ski mountain! You can also drive up but only if you have 4-wheel drive. It’s a pretty popular mountain, I don’t think I’ve ever been up there without seeing another person but it has never seemed super populated. And it’s a PERFECT picnic (or wine!) hike.

Getting There

The trailhead is not marked, but it’s relatively easy to find and is right off of Bald Mountain Road in Dedham. If you’re not sure where you’re going, you might think you’ve gone the wrong way. For a while, I would take the right at the light in Holden, but it’s actually the second right after that, Upper Dedham Road – right across the street from G&M Variety. Once you make the turn, follow it to Bald Mountain Road and you’ve got 6.2 miles to go. Go slow, there’s a lot of houses and farms down the road. Great things to see!

The trailhead is right after the “Dead End” sign.. keep driving past, and the parking area for the trail is on the left.  There are multiple trails up there that all sort of lead to the same place, follow the power lines if you get disoriented.

Once you hit the trail, there’s a lot of great nature to view. Since we were in late fall, we had glorious views of new pine cone growths and leaves that appeared to be spray painted gold.

We hit the incline pretty much right off, and we enjoyed a bit of fall that was still peeking through. Our ankles were at 45 degrees pretty much the whole way up, so make sure you have good shoes and be prepared for a bit of ice this time a year.

The views are pretty rewarding almost immediately. You’ll be out of breath, but you’ve got plenty of time to stop and smell the “roses” or in this case… the pines!

We hit the top of the mountain about 25 -30 min. The rock face then opens up to a view. Not pictured below is the cell towers up top that you pass as you hit the summit. However  – I did take a photo of a collapsed roof  – anyone know what that’s from?

We met a few fellow hikers up top that were open to a photo shoot. Thanks fellow hikers! We hope your Instagram photos look as awesome as ours! We then headed over to the right (look for the arrow below) the granite patch was super icy, so we didn’t dare to head out there. I did fall once on my way out. During the summer or early fall, there’s  a great view of Phillips Lake!

We took our time on the descent and stopped to enjoy the views! PS – If you click on any of the photos on the page, they will get bigger and you can view them.

Trail Stats

Total miles round trip: 1.4 miles

Difficulty: Easy, but you’ll definitely lose your breath!

Kids: yes

Dogs: yes

Picnics: Yes

References and more info on Hiking Bald Mountain in Dedham

Act out with Aislinn

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Have you done this trail? Add your tips and experience below!

Want to learn more about hiking for beginners? Check out this post!

Sending Love and Light from Maine –

DD

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