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| Panoramic view of Upper Twin Pond |
In a diversion from the usual ski-centric content, we would like to take up a post about a fantastic hike in Baxter that is tough to get to and a future where access is uncertain. That is the hike from the north end of Katahdin Lake to a remote pond set between North and East Turner mountains. This destination is Twin Ponds.
The Twin Ponds trail is an on-map trek that starts at the north end of Katahdin Lake and traverses 3.4 miles to the spectacularly scenic Twin Ponds. One of the unique aspects of this trail is that it travels outside of the boundary of the park. It passes through a small section of the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument and then passes through property owned by the Bureau of Public Lands & Charles Fitzgerald before entering back into Baxter State Park where Twin Ponds is located.
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| Trail Map to Twin Ponds showing its route outside Baxter |
Due to a variety of factors, this trail has not been actively maintained for a number of years. While it is still passable, with each passing year the trail becomes more obscured and the blowdowns become more numerous. See the epilogue of this blog post for more discussion on the future of this trail and the lands that surround it.
Even with the trail in its unmaintained state, the effort to reach Twin Ponds is worth it as it is one of the very special places in all of Baxter State Park. The pond is nestled right up against the vertical pitch of the 3,323 foot North Turner mountain creating a stunning landscape of crystal clear water against a dramatic vertical backdrop. Think of it as a smaller version of Katahdin’s Chimney Pond.
Getting to Twin Ponds
Twin Ponds is 7.5 miles one-way from Avalanche Field parking area so it really requires a multi-day trip to experience fully. The best options are to stay overnight at the North Katahdin Lake or South Katahdin Lake lean-to’s. (Reservations required: click here to go to the Baxter State Park reservation page) The North Katahdin Lake lean-to offers direct access to the Twin Ponds trail, while the South Katahdin Lake lean-to requires a canoe paddle to the north end (approximately 45-60 minutes) to access the trail.
At the beginning of the 3.4 mile hike, the trail is fairly well marked with blue blazes and the existing bog bridging is still in decent shape. About a mile into the hike, the trail starts to become overgrown in places and tough to follow. The key to following the trail? Follow the mini-cairns placed by a good samaritan hiker.
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| Follow the mini-cairns to Twin Ponds! |
If you see sticks intentionally placed on the ground blocking a likely pathway. STOP! Look around to get a fix on the next mini-cairn on the trail.
About 45 minutes into the hike, you will cross a dirt road. Through the grapevine we heard this road was constructed during the Governor LePage administration as a right-of-way through the then proposed National Monument land to ensure the state of Maine could access the BPL property it manages. It’s pretty obvious this road is not used currently as it is getting overgrown. However, look down on the road for directional arrows built out of rocks. You will turn left onto the road, and after a few yards, a rock arrow will turn you right back into the woods.
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| Directional arrow made of stones on dirt road |
From here, it is a moderate uphill trek through the BPL lands. The trail is fairly well marked & worn but there are numerous blowdowns to navigate. We did see some evidence of some recent trail limb cutting by a good samaritan hiker, but there are still many trees to crawl under, climb over or go around. About 45 minutes from the road crossing, you will see a small orange sign indicating you are crossing back into Baxter State Park.
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| Back in Baxter State Park on the trail to Twin Ponds |
From here you have about 30 minutes to go and the trail will get steeper as it climbs towards Twin Ponds. Again, many more blowdowns need to be navigated especially towards the end when you are climbing the steepest parts. After the climb and a small flat section, you will pop out next to a beaver dam adjacent to the lower of the Twin Ponds.
Depending on the time of year, this area may be bone dry (as it was in September of 2025) or full of water as it likely is after the spring snow melt. Your journey is not done yet as the larger of the Twin Ponds is your final destination.
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| From the beaver dam, head straight across to the rocks in the far distance |
From this point the trail accessing Upper Twin Pond is a bit tricky to find. You need to traverse along the southern edge of the open beaver dam area. This may be a wading event when the water is high. Again, look for the mini-cairn rocks leading the way, but you will eventually see a chain saw cut to the left, and a trail with the occasional blue blaze that after a few hundred yards leads to the upper of the Twin Ponds. Note: The Baxter map shows the trail leading to the North end of the larger pond. This path described in this blog post actually leads you to the south end of the pond.
Once at the pond you can relax, eat your packed lunch and enjoy the incredible scenery. For a special treat, bring in a packable raft and float the crystal clear waters next to the vertical cliffs of North Turner Mountain.
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| Floating Twin Ponds in a pack raft |
The entire hike from the north end of Katahdin Lake to Twin Ponds takes about 2 to 2.5 hours one-way Add another 45-60 minutes if you are paddling from the South Katahdin Lake lean-to. It is a special destination worthy of the effort. But for how long will it be accessible? Read on:
Epilogue: The Future of Access to Twin Ponds
As described earlier the access to Twin Ponds travels outside of Baxter State Park. This creates maintenance challenges as you have three separate entities that owns the land this trail passes through:
Baxter State Park (BSP)
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (KW&W)
Maine Bureau of Public Lands & Mr. Charles Fitzgerald (BPL)
One of the elephants in the room is the creation of KW&W. In reading the tea leaves of various social posts and news articles, BSP does not want to open up direct pathways between KW&W and BSP. BSP would prefer all traffic come into the park through its official entry points at the south and north ends of the park. A proposed extension of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) through the Katahdin Lake area was started before KW&W, but never officially completed once KW&W was formed. IAT users wishing to continue their journey from Baxter Peak must exit BSP and enter KW&W through official road entry and exit points (and vice versa). It is certainly understandable that BSP does not want to open up a potential wave of hikers through its eastern boundary as BSP mission is to protect the forever wild nature of the park as per the wishes described in Percival Baxter's deeds of trust.
Since the Twin Pond trail also crosses through KW&W, we believe this also contributes to its current non-maintained state. BSP spending time to maintain a trail that is not on their land certainly does not make sense from a financial and resource planning perspective. This, along with BSP's desire to protect its eastern boundary does indicate future questions for continued access to Twin Ponds.
A potential solution? Transferring the 2,500+ acre BPL land to BSP. Back in 2022, LD 1756 was passed and signed by Governor Mills authorizing that the BPL Director could convey its 80% ownership to BSP. The other 20% is owned by Charles Fitzgerald, who also owns the buildings of the Katahdin Lake Camps (which have been closed since 2018) and acreage bordering the park around the Nesowdehunk lake region. Mr. Fitzgerald is a long time supporter of the park and a fascinating podcast interview with Mr. Fitzgerald can be heard on the Friends of Baxter State Park website.
If BSP could acquire the BPL lands, then the route from North Katahdin Lake to Twin Ponds could be rerouted slightly to avoid KW&W so that the Twin Pond trail would be on 100% BSP land and potentially be brought back into the trail maintenance schedule. However, the transfer of this land has been bogged down by complications with the Katahdin Lake Camp properties.
In short, Mr. Fitzgerald purchased the Katahdin Lake Camp properties and the sporting camps were open for a number of years on land leased from BSP. However, the sporting camps closed in 2018 and have been dormant since. As of 2025, the camps are in pretty rough shape due to no one being on site to maintain them. Negotiations have been ongoing between Mr. Fitzgerald and BSP on the future of the camps and proposals have been put forward to transfer the camps to the park with Mr. Fitzgerald maintaining ownership over a smaller subset of camps. However, as of the July 2025 BSP authority meetings, the two sides appear to be at an impasse on how best to move forward. More details can be found online in the 2025 BSP authority meeting minutes and correspondence.
So until this is resolved, it is unlikely any movement on the BPL land transfer will take place, as Mr. Fitzgerald owns 20% of those holdings. I do know that the Friends of Baxter group is working with all parties to find a resolution that works for everyone. Until then we will hope for a positive outcome so that the access to Twin Ponds won’t be lost for future Baxter State Park visitors.
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