Mount Katahdin

Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine, reaching 5,267 feet above sea level at Baxter Peak. Its name is commonly understood to mean “great mountain” or “large mountain,” an apt description for the massif that dominates the landscape of north-central Maine.

“It was like sitting in a chimney and waiting for the smoke to blow away. It was, in fact, a cloud-factory—these were the cloud-works, and the wind turned them off and on from the cool, bare rocks.”Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods

A mountain of peaks and basins

Katahdin forms the centerpiece of Baxter State Park in Mount Katahdin Township. Baxter Peak is the highest point, followed by South Peak at 5,240 feet and Pamola Peak at 4,902 feet. Howe Peaks, historically known as North Peak, were named for Burton Howe, who organized a 1920 trip for Percival Baxter.

The mountain’s broad Tableland, steep cirques, exposed ridges, slides, and deep basins create a landscape unlike the surrounding forest. Clouds and fog can build rapidly against the bare upper slopes, transforming visibility and conditions within minutes.

Below the treeline, forests cover much of the massif and surrounding parkland. Considerable portions of this landscape were logged during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, before the area’s preservation within Baxter State Park.

Trails and exposed terrain

Routes to Katahdin’s summit rise through forest before reaching open alpine ground. Above the treeline, cairns—carefully placed piles of stone—help mark trails where vegetation is sparse and weather may obscure the route.

Early visitors often approached by the West Branch of the Penobscot River, continuing toward Abol Stream and the treeless Abol Slide. The modern Abol Trail remains a steep, relatively direct route to the Tableland in the shadow of Baxter Peak. Thoreau Spring lies near the upper end of the route.

Recorded climbs and exploration

In 1764, surveyor Joseph Chadwick recorded an early non-Indigenous sighting of Mount Katahdin in a report of his explorations. Charles Turner Jr. and a party of eleven completed the first recorded climb in 1804.

The Appalachian Mountain Club established its first camp in the Katahdin area in 1877, followed by another at Chimney Pond in 1916 and a third at Kidney Pond in 1925. Among the public figures to make the journey were Percival P. Baxter in 1920 and Ralph O. Brewster in 1925.

The Appalachian Trail

Katahdin holds a singular place in American hiking history as the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The trail’s route across Maine was completed in 1938, with Baxter Peak as its endpoint. The summit links a long-distance footpath stretching through the Appalachian Mountains with the distinct alpine landscape of northern Maine.

For another seasonal view of the massif, explore Katahdin in winter. Related entries also cover Baxter Park campgrounds and the places associated with the mountain.