Bald Mountain and Speckled Mountain

View of Little Shagg Pond from Bald Mountain Summit

This hike is ideal for summer, offering two swimming holes: one at the start of the trail and a small beach just down the road from the trailhead. The southwest face of this mountain is a popular rock climbing area called Shagg Crag. Stop to watch climbers scale the vertical granite wall, an easy and worthwhile detour from the main trail.

Located in Woodstock, Maine, this hike is just 30 minutes from Bethel and about an hour from North Conway. The out-and-back climb reaches two summits, Bald Mountain followed by Speckled Mountain, for a total of 4.8 miles round-trip. To shorten the hike, skip Speckled Mountain, turning back after the gorgeous views from Bald, for a total of 2.4 miles round-trip. Due to lack of time (I squeezed this hike in before a 10:00 meeting at Camp Gustin an hour away), I took the latter option and it was enough to fill my mountain summit cup.

This hike is rated as "hard" on AllTrails, but I'd give it a moderate rating. Aside from a few steep sections and some rock ledge, my personal opinion is that it's dog and kid-friendly. The swimming and entertainment (rock climbers) make it even more so. The elevation gain is 800 ft for the hike to Bald, and 1,610 ft for the full hike to Speckled Mountain.

The small parking area is located on Redding Road at Little Concord Pond State Park. Cross the road to find the trailhead kiosk, which includes a sign for nesting peregrine falcons.

The wide, dirt trail climbs gradually for 0.6 miles before reaching Little Concord Pond. Here the trail forks left towards a 1.1-mile loop trail circling the pond with swimming areas and a boulder from which to launch yourself into the water, or right to continue climbing towards Bald Mountain. Since I explored this mountain on a cold, spring day, I took a right here, following the blue blazes.

Little Concord Pond

Soon after taking a right, you'll arrive at a rock outcropping, leading up a steep path to the left and over it. From here the trail is mostly moderate, with just a few sections of rock ledge to climb. In 1.2 miles, you'll reach a junction with signs for Speckled Mountain to the left and Bald Mountain Loop to the right. Take a right here to follow the short loop trail leading to the Bald Mountain ledges with views of Shagg Pond below, then into the woods before returning you to the start of the junction. If you want to explore Shagg Cragg, look for a climber's path leading off to the right near the cliffs shortly before reaching the sign for the Bald Mountain Loop. It may be tricky to find, but they say it's marked by a cairn and flagging tape (p.s. I never found it).

Once you've completed the Bald Mountain Loop, take a right to continue on to the summit of Speckled Mountain, or head straight to return in the way you came, back to the trailhead.

If you didn't get a chance to swim somewhere along this hike, there is a small beach on the left side of Redding Road about 1/2 mile from the trailhead as you head east. Enjoy!