Horseshoe Pond Trail is a wide, grassy forest path. Cross four log bridges through a wet area to reach the junction with Pearl Ponds Trail on the right at 0.3 miles. Continuing ahead on Horseshoe Pond Trail, the route follows a contour around the base of Indian Mountain on an increasingly rough foot trail, crossing 29 bog bridges. Heading gradually downhill, the trail crosses a small stream just before a large wooden bridge. There is a view of Pearl Ponds to the right. The wide path climbs a small rise, then descends to a junction just above the pond at 0.9 miles. A spur trail to the right leads 50 yards to Horseshoe Pond Campsite and the pond, where a grassy clearing offers a beautiful view across the pond to Elephant Mountain.
Continuing on Horseshoe Pond Trail, the path leads north, away from the pond, climbing gradually to its end on a logging road at 1.4 miles. To the left (north), this road may be followed for 0.8 miles to the start of the trail just south of Baker Pond Road, thus making a loop hike possible.
This trail is within 66,000 acres of conservation land owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) as a part of AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative. The Maine Woods Initiative is the AMC’s strategy for land conservation in the 100-Mile Wilderness region. The Initiative is an innovative approach to conservation that combines outdoor recreation, resource protection, sustainable forestry, and community partnerships. Through conservation purchase with our partners, AMC permanently protected over 66,000 acres of land in the region, creating a 63-mile-long corridor of conservation land stretching from AMC's property near Greenville north to Baxter State Park. This land is open to the public for recreational uses including hiking, paddling, camping, skiing, and snowshoeing. Fishing and hunting are also permitted in accordance with state law.
Project partners include the Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, the Land for Maine’s Future Program, the federal Forest Legacy Program and the Forest Society of Maine.
This trail passes through a property that was acquired in part with funds from the Land for Maine’s Future program. For more information about the LMF program and the places it has helped to protect, please visit the LMF webpage.
Visit AMC's Maine Woods Initiative online for more information or contact:
This section of Horseshoe Pond Trail leaves from a logging road just south of the Upper Valley Road, at a point 3.8 miles north of the junction of Greenville Road and KI Road. From Upper Valley Road, walk south on the logging road for 100 yards to a trail junction. Here, Horseshoe Pond Trail leaves the road to the right (west), while Indian Mountain Circuit leaves the road to the left (east).
From the east via Brownville: Approach the Katahdin Iron Works Rd. on ME 11 either 26.0 mi. southbound from Millinocket or 5.5 mi. northbound from Brownville Jct. Signage for the Katahdin Ironworks Historic Site (KIW) may be missing, so check your mileage. Turn west onto Katahdin Ironworks Rd. The checkpoint at the entrance to KI Jo-Mary Forest is 6.3 miles from ME 11. Stop and register (fee charged May through October $10 per person $6 for Maine Residents).
From the west via Greenville: At the blinking traffic light in the center of Greenville on ME 6/15, proceed north one block and turn right onto Pleasant St. After 2.0 mi. the road becomes gravel. This road becomes the KI road. At 11.0 mi. from Greenville, stop and register at the North Maine Woods Hedgehog checkpoint (fee charged May through October $10 per person $6 for Maine Residents).
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