Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness

845 Views

Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness is 11,233-acres located within the White Mountain National Forest in western Maine. It is Maine’s largest wilderness area. The property is centered around Speckled Mountain and Caribou Mountain, separated from each other by about four miles of rugged and heavily-forested countryside.

Speckled Mountain

Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness

Established: 1990
State: Maine
Management:
U.S. Forest Service
Acres: 11,236
Nearest Towns:
From US Route 2 in Gilead, travel south on Maine State Route 113 for 4.8 miles to the parking area at the Caribou/Mud Brook Trailhead on the east side of the road. From US Route 302 in Fryeburg, travel north on Maine State Route 113 for 24.8 miles to the parking area. For the north end of Caribou Trail: From US Route 2 just west of West Bethel, travel south on Bog Road 2.8 miles

Maine’s largest wilderness area gets its name from two mountains within its boundaries: Caribou Mountain and Speckled Mountain. Speckled Mountain is so named for the hardwoods which dot its slopes and turn vibrant colors in the fall, transforming the mountain into a speckled, multicolored jewel. The other mountain is named for the caribou that roamed throughout Maine until the early 20th century.

Though visitors won’t find any wild caribou roaming the wilderness, they will find coyotes, bears and moose. The Appalachian Mountain Club named Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness one of the best federal wilderness areas for hiking.

White Mountain National ForestThe terrain is criss-crossed with deep notches and open ledges. In the lower elevations is where you’ll find lots of white pine. Up the hill from that is where the spruces and firs dominate. Mixed in with the evergreens are lots of hardwoods, the kind of trees that make for great colors in the fall season: that’s how Speckled Mountain got the name…

In the early years of the 20th century, most of the forest in this part of America was logged. Caribou lived in the area up until the time of the great logging crews. The last wild caribou in the region was shot on Caribou Mountain by two brothers in 1854; the brothers’ names are still carved on top of the mountain.

Moose defending calf from wolf
The forest has regrown nicely since those days but moose have displaced the caribou… moose, black bear, deer, fox, gray wolf and coyote.

The understory of the forest tends to be very thick so travel in the wilderness is easier if you stick to the trails and the ridgetops. Staying higher up will also help to avoid the raging streams swollen with spring and summer snowmelt. There are a lot of trails in the wilderness, most of them following streams, ledges and ridges. Winter access to the property is limited because of the winter closure of State Route 113. The road is generally unplowed from mid-November to mid-May and that road offers the best access to the western trail heads.