Pump Handle Trail
- 0.6 mi
- round trip
- 279 ft
- climb
- 1,196 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- May–Jun, Aug–Sep
- best months
Pump Handle Trail is a short, easy out-and-back hike in Allagash Wilderness Waterway State Park in northern Maine, managed by State Park and Recreation. The trail is about a mile long, with a total elevation gain of roughly 280 feet, and it reaches a high point of about 1,196 feet. The climb is front-loaded, with the steepest stretch at about 0.3 miles in, where the grade reaches about 15 percent. Summer is the most comfortable time to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Clayton Lake show July highs around 76°F with lows near 52°F, while winter highs stay in the 20s. The trip takes about half an hour, so it works well as a quick addition to a day in the park. Eagle Lake Locomotives and Tramway Trail lies about 3 miles away, and Big Eddy Trail is roughly 10 miles off.
Eagle Lake Locomotives and Tramway TrailHikingPhoto: epicanis, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)3.1 mi- Big Eddy TrailHiking9.6 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
- Eagle Lake Locomotives and Tramway TrailHiking · ~5 min drivePhoto: epicanis, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
- Allagash Mountain TrailHiking · ~19 min drive
- Burnt Mountain TrailHiking · ~44 min drive
- Doubletop TrailHiking · ~57 min drive
- Big Eddy TrailHiking · ~16 min drive
- Wadleigh Brook TrailHiking · ~36 min drive
- Traverler Mountain TrailHiking · ~51 min drive
- Forestry Interpretive TrailHiking · ~46 min drive
- Frost Pond TrailHiking · ~44 min drive
- Middle Fowler Pond TrailHiking · ~52 min drive
Best time to visit Pump Handle Trail
Best months: May–June and August–September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
20° / -4°
10 wet
Feb
23° / -4°
9 wet
Mar
34° / 7°
9 wet
Apr
46° / 25°
10 wet
May
61° / 37°
11 wet
Jun
71° / 47°
12 wet
Jul
76° / 52°
13 wet
Aug
74° / 50°
10 wet
Sep
66° / 41°
10 wet
Oct
51° / 31°
12 wet
Nov
38° / 22°
11 wet
Dec
26° / 7°
11 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Clayton Lake, ME, 18.4 mi away at 1,000 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors
