Hiking Old Speck Trail
Trail Name: Old Speck Trail
Location: Newry, Maine
Distance: 7.6 miles
Elevation gain: 2847 ft
Difficulty: Hard
Pets: Allowed
My husband and I both grew up hiking the Grafton Notch State Park trails, so it only makes sense to keep all of the trails on our yearly hiking list. We decided that Memorial Day weekend would be a great time to hike the Old Speck Trail, due to how beautiful the weather was predicted to be. Well, the weather was perfect. Which explains why so many people had the idea to hike in Grafton on that very same day. All I have to say is thank goodness we hike very early in the morning, or else we would have had to deal with the out-of-state crowds and finding a parking spot.
The Old Speck Trail starts with a slow, gradual incline as you make your way over several streams and rocks. The first mile of the hike feature a couple picturesque waterfalls. Because we were hiking in the Spring, they were very full and the water was moving rapidly. Be careful to watch your footing when taking pictures, as you could easily slip and fall. These waterfalls are extra gorgeous in the fall, covered with bright orange and burnt red leaves.
The first mile also features a beautiful forest of hardwoods. From here, the hike gets gradually more steep until it eventually rises out of the woods, where you will find beautiful views of the notch and old speck. I remember stopping at this lookout the first time I hiked Speck. Someone pointed out where the summit was and I honestly didn’t believe them. Ahh, good times.
Shortly after this lookout, you will come to a trail intersection, where you can either complete the 2.2 mile eyebrow loop, or continue on the Old Speck Trail. From this point, you will have about 2.7 miles to go until you reach the summit of Old Speck. Until you reach the summit, the trail will also continuously wind up and down, going back and forth between being in the forest and walking over rock formations.
There is one last outlook that is about 0.3 miles from the summit. It provides excellent views of Western Maine. Shortly after reaching this point, you will come to an intersection where you can continue to the summit or add a couple miles to your hike by also hiking the Speck Pond Loop. We avoided this loop, due to all of the snow that was still present on the trail. We also wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to safely get down the mountain.
When you arrive at the summit, you’ll see that most views are hindered by trees. Climbing the fire tower is the only way to get picturesque, 360 degree views of the Whites and other nearby mountains and lakes. I know it is very ironic, but i’m actually afraid of heights and I still climb the tower because of how good the views are. We were actually the first people to summit the mountain that day, so we had the tower all to ourselves. The views from the tower are too gorgeous to be real, which is why this hike makes the cut for our hiking list every year.
