Hammond Ridge Trail
- 0.5 mi
- round trip
- 311 ft
- climb
- 978 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- May, Aug–Oct
- best months
Hammond Ridge Trail is a cross-country skiing route in northern Maine, about 6 miles from the town of Norcross. It is a short, easy outing, with a round-trip length of about a mile and a total climb of about 300 feet. The trail is an out-and-back, starting at a low point of about 820 feet and reaching a high of about 980 feet. The steepest stretch comes early on, with a grade of about 8 percent at roughly 0.16 miles in. Winter is the natural season for skiing here. Typical averages from the nearby Millinocket weather station show January highs around 24°F with lows near 5°F, and the station sits well below the trail, so temperatures on the ridge run cooler. Hammond Ridge, a hike, is just 0.1 mile away, and Katahdin View, another cross-country ski route, is about 0.4 mile off. Twin Pines Loop and Lakeside Trail are both within about half a mile.
Best time to go · May, Aug–Oct
Best time to visit Hammond Ridge Trail
Best months: May and 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
24° / 5°
10 wet
Feb
26° / 6°
9 wet
Mar
36° / 16°
10 wet
Apr
50° / 30°
10 wet
May
64° / 41°
12 wet
Jun
74° / 51°
13 wet
Jul
78° / 57°
13 wet
Aug
78° / 56°
11 wet
Sep
70° / 48°
11 wet
Oct
55° / 37°
12 wet
Nov
43° / 27°
11 wet
Dec
31° / 15°
11 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Millinocket, ME, 6.5 mi away at 360 ft. The station sits about 600 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Keep exploring — more snow worth the drive
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Hammond Ridge
Next door
2.20-mile out-and-back ski route in Maine with 460 ft of elevation gain.
SKI
Katahdin View
Next door
0.45-mile out-and-back ski route in Maine with 190 ft of elevation gain.
SKI
Black Cat Peak
~1 min drive
2.62-mile out-and-back route in Maine with 534 ft of elevation gain.
SKI
Katahdin View
Next door
Katahdin View is a 1.17-mile out-and-back ski route in Maine with 106 feet of elevation gain.
SKI
Twin Pines Loop
~1 min drive
0.14-mile out-and-back ski out-and-back in Maine with 64 ft of elevation gain.
SKI
Twin Pines Loop
~1 min drive
0.54-mile out-and-back out-and-back with 140 ft gain in Maine
SKI
Hammond Ridge Trail
~1 min drive
0.35-mile out-and-back trail in Maine with 106 ft of elevation gain.
SKI
Golden Road
~1 min drive
0.11-mile out-and-back route in Maine with 22 ft of elevation gain.
SKI
Lakeside Trail
~1 min drive
1.63-mile out-and-back trail in Maine with 442 ft of elevation gain.
SKI
Twin Pines Loop
~2 min drive
0.51-mile out-and-back out-and-back with 155 ft elevation gain in Maine.
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Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors
