gulf hagas

I decided to hike Gulf Hagas this past September after hearing about its waterfalls and swimming holes. Now mind you, I didn't end up swimming since it was the middle of September, and it was 60 degrees out, but it was still a really awesome hike. Going to Gulf Hagas you have to take the Katahdin Ironworks Road from either Greenville or Brownville Junction, which is not paved since it is an active logging road and can be a little bumpy. I went in from Brownville, and the drive was fine, but before you get to the parking area, you do have to stop at the KI checkpoint to pay a fee to use the road. I paid $12 since I was from out of state, but Maine residents only pay $10. You can also pay $2 for a map, but I just downloaded the map online for free before I went. There are also campsites around the Gulf Hagas area that one can also use for a fee, which can be paid at the checkpoint. From the checkpoint, there are two different areas you can start the hike at. The first parking area that you can start from requires fording a stream, and the second parking area (or first if you are coming from Greenville) does not require crossing a stream. I started from the first parking area coming from Brownville, and decided to ford the stream, which is not as high in the Fall, but can be much more treacherous in the Spring, so be wary! It was a little less than knee high at its deepest, and I would definitely recommend packing an extra pair of socks in case. I actually packed a pair of water shoes just to ford the stream and changed back into my hiking shoes after crossing it. From the stream, is a short hike along the Appalachian Trail to the beginning of the Rim Trail, which follows along the edge of the gorge, and loops around back to where the Rim Trail starts. I decided to go left and start along the edge of the gulf. This part of the trail does have side trails that go down to where the waterfalls that Gulf Hagas is known for are, but further along the trail after Screw Auger Falls, can be very steep, so take caution. It is not impossible to do, but there is a lot of up and down. Along the trail, there are also two different cutoff trails, which make the trip a little bit shorter, but if you decide to do the entire loop from the parking area and back, it is about 9 miles. I decided to take the second cutoff trail, which made my trip about 6 miles, since I started a little late, and it was starting to get dark at 6:30 pm.

We took the hike from south to north, the shortened route, starting on the river side. Wow that river was cold to ford. It was a sunny day around 50F but the water was brutally cold. About 14 in. deep at the most, I am just complaining. Much easier on the way back. This is a rugged hike defined on the way up by roots and rocks and cliffs ending in some great views of the river. Really cool. There is one spot where you leave the trail and walk down toward the river. I recommend that. And the road from Greenville is just fine despite other reviews.

Today 5/3/2014 we started at the first parking lot. We had planned on wading the stream. Well I tried first and about 3/4 way over it go to be too deep. So we decided to walk up the river on the opposite side. We eventually hiked almost 2 miles says the map but that's a straight line and believe me there were hills and it felt like 7 miles. I go and hike the trail 3-4 times a year, It's SUPERB.

I don't know that I can say enough about the Gulf Hagas Experience. First you stop at a little hut and pay your fees to enter the timber land, then you drive down a well maintained dirt road to the pull off. It was raining the day I went and I was warned not to do the full hike. I wasn't to inclined to anyways, but anyways you have to forage a small river which was only ankle high in October but still sucked any blood out of my feet as it was so cold by the time I got across. The path was fairly good for the portion I hiked, I saw a couple waterfalls and then turned around and headed back. There isn't much near you or within a 100 miles, so don't get hurt! The canyon is beautiful and so is the scenery. I would try to go early in the morning so you have enough time to hike where you want. There were rumors of Moose sightings but I didn't see any while I was there.

We got lost - had no business having our first hiking experience be a 'challenging' one. But came off the trail after hiking 6&1/2 hours and 11 miles (hence the getting lost) with the resolve that I will do this every year now.

I have been to Maine several times, but this was the first time we hiked Gulf Hagas! This is worth the effort! It was a memorable hike! Views were spectacular! As someone suggested, we continued hikin along the rim and explored every "viewpoint"! This is a difficult hike, with many obstacles to pass. I suggest trek sandels or water shoes to cross the Pleasant River prior to hiking. Plan o spending the whole day exploring, especially if you want to reach the "head of the gulf". Our hike was approximately 9 miles and took about 7 hours!

I have hiked the entire Appalacian trail in Maine and Gulf Hagas is one of the most spectacular hikes in Maine. It is rugged, but well worth the hike. Be prepared with good hiking boots, water and bug spray.

We were staying in Brownville for the weekend and decided to go to Gulf Hagas as everyone said what a beautiful place it was. The Grand Canyon of Maine. We started off pretty early as we had evening plans. We drove approximately 6 miles down a bumpy, holey road when we reached the entrance. Since we were not Maine residents we had to pay $12 pp plus (to help maintain the roads we were told) another $2 for a map. We had read it was $10 a car, but didn't realize that was for Maine residents only. Whatever, it was fine and we really wanted to go.Since we were limited on time, the lady at the counter suggested we drive the 11 miles or so and do the 1.5 mile hike. Had we of started there at the entrance she said we would have to cross the river in about knee deep water. We opted to drive the approx 11 miles further into the park and do the 1.5 mile hike.About 8 miles into this miserable dirt road, we encountered a fork where there was a bunch of debris piled up in the middle of the road. The grader had been through and pushed a bunch of rock and dirt into the center of the road. If you have a car that sits low to the ground, as we did, this is not the place you should be. After we managed to run over a churned up rock and ripped the muffler pipe from the flange (which we later found out was the problem~not that the noise alone wasn't an indication), we continued on to the hike. After an hour of walking on poorly marked trails, we had to give up without seeing any waterfalls and head back as the 11 mile ride took quite a long time with the poor conditions of the road. The ride back was further hindered by the man on the grader. We had to ride behind him for quite some time as we clearly could not cross over the pile of debris he was still pushing up. It took even longer getting out as we were afraid to damage the car even more. However the highlight of the day came when we came around a curve and a moose was standing in the road. That was the last thing we were expecting to see, especially since we were on an our way to a moose safari. Once we reached the entrance/exit, we informed the elderly gentleman working the desk about the grader and that perhaps they should advise little cars to not go up there or at least forwarn them. He said they normally do. If they do or not, I don't know, but if your reading this, consider it your warning. We found it really ironic that we had to pay $12pp "to maintain the roads". Interesting. So basically this review is more about the road to Gulf Hagas and not the beautiful serene hiking, babbling brooks, and rushing waterfalls that everyone else has apparently experienced. The day clearly wasn't in our favor as that moose safari we had to rush to...yeah... we never even seen a moose. I'm sure Gulf Hagas is everything everyone says it is (with pictures to prove it), just be mindful of the road (and low riding cars )and look out for that grader.

Snow shoed in from Little Lyford Pond Camps after a snow storm; blue skies, serenity & great scenery any time of year!

First of all Gulf Hagas is nowhere near Rockwood. It should be listed as Greenville if you are coming in from the northern end or Brownville Junction if from the south.It appears from the reviews that some hikers are not aware that for the past few years there is a much easier alternate route from the town of Greenville to a newly constructed bridge over the Pleasant River. No need to ford the river and start off with wet feet if you come in by this route. From the parking lot it is a fairly easy 1.6 miles to the start of the Rim Trail. It is also possible to hike the trail in one direction if you have two cars. Park the first one at the southern parking lot and then take the KI Road up to the northern parking lot close to the bridge. This will involve crossing the river at the end of the hike, but for most that is preferable to doing it at the start. Doing it this way also makes it easier to do the entire Rim Trail as well as visit Screw Auger Falls and the Iron Works all in one day.Others have described how difficult the trail is and that is no exagerration. The continuous up and down over what can be very slippery and root covered rocks requires paying close attention to where you step. Even with walking sticks and well gripped hiking boots both my hiking companion and I each took a good fall. As a local expert he had hiked the trail on many occassions and was kind enough to point out a number of places where others had met an untimely end - a real condidence booster! And finally, as others have noted, Gulf Hagas is no Grand Canyon.So why bother? Because accepting the challenges will take you through an amazing stretch of waterfalls, rapids and increasingly narrow chasm that is unique. Hopefully that will come through in the attached pictures.Also, if you do go in by the northern route consider when you get back to Greenville consider driving north on the Lily Bay Road to Prong Pond Road and follow the well marked signs to the site of a B-52 crash in 1963. Amazingly the crash remains are strewn throughout a hardwood forest on the edge of Elephant Mountain and have been left as a monument to the fliers who were killed in the crash. This is not a hike, but an easy walk a short distance from the parking lot.

We heard from a store clerk in Lincoln Maine, that the hike at Gulf Hagas was worth the drive, and she was right. It's between Millinocket and Greenville - we went through Millinocket which is a great town to visit itself. We read all the literature at the entrance - where you pay a fee to park, ten dollars and two bucks for the trail map which said it was a difficult strenuous trail, and to bring water shoes. There were very clean out-houses. At the start we were all excited, and rushed through the Katahdin Iron Works site, which was a mistake, should have taken a few more minutes to learn more about that interesting era...but off to the trail. The first part is the AT - easy and clear. The stream crossing was so cold I got brain freeze! We took the rim trail along Screw Auger Falls and others. They were nice to look at, but not spectacular as expected. The trail was easy, some rocks and roots. The brochure says the vertical climb is about 700 ft. As the day went on, we laughed about the "ooooh trecherous trail" - NOT. There are some cut offs that lead you away from the water and gorge for those of lesser ability, but there is nothing special to see, some log paths, and water hazzards and big trees - sort of like trails at Baxter State Park. We continued on the rim trail toward the Jaws and Indian Head...ok so these were nice to see and yes the trail was getting tough. The sections marked #4 - #5 - we felt our age! And that 700 ft? Yes, up 700 down 700 up 700 down 700 and so on. The trail was not well marked in the rugged areas, many marked trees had fallen. Also there are many secondary trails that added to the confusion. The rocks and roots and mud and hazzards mounted and the description finally came true - strenuous and difficult. By the second cheater cut off, we were ready to head back - leaving the last few miles for another day - beginning from the Greenville side! This site was worth the drive, though the falls and formations were not spectacular, they were enjoyable. The trail - was a challenge worth taking as long as you are somewhat fit or under 40 yrs old. The suggested 6 - 8 hours is valid to enjoy the day and stop for a picnic lunch at one of the many falls.On the way home we saw several turkeys, a fox, but no moose. We stopped in Millinocket for some antique shopping, art-work and ice cream. I would have gone bowling at their candlestick center, but I was too tired.

Numerous waterfalls, trails overall in good shape, a couple of rocky slippery places but overall a great place to hike.

This is about a 6 mile loop hike but it is not an easy hike. We hiked a portion of the Rim Trail and returned on the tote road. While it sounds simple, it isn't. But, it is more than worth the effort to do it.Gulf Hagas is part of the 100 mile wilderness on the Appalachian Trail. This is basically a hike through mature mixed forest along the rim of the canyon formed by the West Branch of the Pleasant River. For most of the Rim Trial you cannot actually see the canyon or water, but there are several side trails to take you there. The several waterfalls along the way can, on a warm summer day, be very inviting to swim in. Each view is more awesome than the next.The actual hike: Shortly after leaving the Gulf Hagas parking lot, you have to cross the Western Branch of the Pleasant River. There is no bridge and you will have to ford the almost knee deep water. A little further, you will have to cross a single log traversing Gulf Hagas Brook. The Rim Trail is a typical Maine trail, a fair amount of roots and rocks. The further we went, the more strenuous the trail got. The ups were steeper and there were more scrabbles up large boulders. The return on the tote road was relatively flat but crossed several wet areas on log walkways. An alternate starting point is the Head of the Gulf Trail with no river to wade through.

8 Mile round trip hike with multiple waterfalls that you can swim in their pools. Such an awesome thing to do on a summer day. Well worth it!