Dead Man's Area
- Aug–Oct
- best months
Dead Man's Area is a bouldering area in Maine, set within the Highview land unit, which is managed by a non-governmental organization. It sits among a cluster of other climbing spots, with South Freeport Boulders and Cat Pine Boulder each about 0.1 mile away, and Coffin Boulder (aka "Belly Button") at the same distance. The Ridge Trail starts about 0.2 mile off, so the area works well as a base for a short hike or a day of bouldering. The climbing here is all bouldering, with seven routes spread across the V0 to V9+ range. Toby Jacobs is the first ascender on several of them, including Two Step at V0 and Gravedigger at V2. Tripping Billies runs V4-5, and Weight of the World (Theoretical Project) is the hardest at V9+. Summer is the most comfortable time to visit. Typical averages from the nearby Gray weather station show July highs around 79°F with lows near 60°F, while winter brings highs in the 30s and regular snow days from December through February.
- South Freeport BouldersRock climbing0.1 mi
- Cat Pine BoulderRock climbing0.1 mi
- Coffin Boulder (aka "Belly Button")Rock climbing0.1 mi
- Ridge TrailHiking0.2 mi
- Stonewood TrailHiking0.5 mi
Power Line TrailHikingPhoto: computationalmystic, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)1.3 mi- Chandler BrookCanoeing6.3 mi
- Royal River Water TrailCanoeing9 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
- South Freeport BouldersRock climbing · Next door
- Cat Pine BoulderRock climbing · Next door
- Coffin Boulder (aka "Belly Button")Rock climbing · Next door
- Upper Strip BoulderRock climbing · Next door
- Strip BoulderRock climbing · Next door
- Prickly Pear Boulder ( originally "Upper Sector")Rock climbing · Next door
- Grand Slab (Home Base)Rock climbing · Next door
- Grand Slab Area (aka "Home Base")Rock climbing · Next door
- c. Greater PortlandRock climbing · ~9 min drive
- The CornerstoneRock climbing · ~10 min drive
Best time to visit Dead Man's Area
Best months: August–October. 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
30° / 14°
11 wet · 9 snow
Feb
33° / 16°
10 wet · 8 snow
Mar
41° / 25°
11 wet · 6 snow
Apr
53° / 34°
12 wet · 2 snow
May
64° / 44°
13 wet
Jun
73° / 54°
13 wet
Jul
79° / 60°
13 wet
Aug
78° / 59°
11 wet
Sep
70° / 52°
10 wet
Oct
58° / 41°
11 wet
Nov
46° / 31°
11 wet · 3 snow
Dec
35° / 21°
12 wet · 7 snow
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Gray, ME, 8.4 mi away at 378 ft. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
