Hiking Tumbledown Mountain
Tumbledown Mountain is a legendary mountain, for many reasons. It provides many different experiences, depending on your approach. Our friend Jon “Mountain Man” Moyer mentioned it would be a great one for my DD’s 35 for 35, so I immediately added it to my list.
How to get to Tumbledown Mountain
Tumbledown Mountain is located close to Blue Hill State Park, in Weld, Maine. It’s important the note that the street sign leading to the trailhead is crooked and it makes you think you’re going the wrong way, but you should go like you’re going into the park. There’s not much around, but the Schoolhouse Variety is owned by some super nice people, and they have a bit of everything, so you should make this your last stop to fuel up!
We parked at the trailhead and did a 2 mile road walk to start at the Loop Trail. We wanted to hit up the Fat Man’s Misery and add a few miles to our hike. We saw a few people heading back towards the parking lot, so it seems like we weren’t alone in our idea. Side note – this trail is definitely not recommended for dogs/kids, as there are some super difficult spots. But there are plenty of other trails you can take, like the popular Brook trail up to Tumbledown Pond.
Trail Stats for Tumbledown Mountain
Length: 5 mile loop
Height: 3,068 feet
Trails – Road walk –> Loop Trail –> Tumbledown Ridge Trail –>Brook Trail –> Parking
Time to Complete: 5 hours
Dogs: Not good for the Loop Trail up Fat Man’s Misery, but fine to head up the other side along the Brook Trail to Tumbledown Pond!
Kids: The older and more experienced, the better.
Here’s the link to the AllTrails! (are you guys on it? Follow me!)
Hiking up Tumbledown Mountain, Loop Trail to Brook Trail Loop including Fat Man's Misery
It was quite a beautiful warm October day! We were way hotter than we expected, and the hike raised our body temps right off the bat, but we were prepared as always. See our Packing for Cold Weather Hikes post here! Tumbledown Mountain is named for its glacial erratics – see them below. Hiker for scale. For more technical information on Tumbledown Mountain – check out the State of Maine’s website.
We did see a lot of kids, and beginning hikers on the trail on this day, but we don’t recommend this trail for them and we hope that they stopped on the granite ridge, before the ascent. The trail is NOT well marked, and it especially challenging at parts. We also found some clothing – if you’re missing anything.
Hiking Fat Man's Misery on Tumbledown Mountain
After making a lot of guesses on the poorly marked trail, we found our way to Fat Man’s Misery. And the legend held up – it was hilarious.
Once we got through the small opening, and we escaped the black fly that was chasing us around, it was pretty much smooth sailing. There are three peaks you can tackle – we went off to the left first, which was less populated to have lunch and enjoy our summit beer. Of Tumbledown’s three peaks, North Peak is the highest at 3,090 feet. East Peak and West Peak are only slightly lower. We hit up the second peak and continued along the ridge to check out more views before descending down to Tumbledown Pond.
The view from the summit of Tumbledown Mountain
The view from the summit of Tumbledown Mountain is incredible. You have 365 degree views all around you. Plan to eat lunch on the top of Tumbledown Mountain! According to the Maine Mountain Guide, Tumbledown Mountain features an extensive alpine area on it’s high ridges. The views from the open summit ridges are exceptional.
Tumbledown Pond
Tumbledown Pond is situated at approximately 2,800 feet and is surrounded on three sides by higher elevations. It’s an alpine pond, and we encountered quite a few campers on this day – there was a meteor shower taking place that night, so it was a popular place. Adding it to the list for places to camp!
It was a quick descent back down to the parking lot after the pond. We did see some inexperienced hikers up at the pond, so we’d say the trail up to the pond is moderate, and is a good picnic hike!
Want to learn more about hiking in Maine?
Check out the Maine Mountain Guide for all you need to know about hiking in Maine!
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