Old Speck is one of the 4,000 footer hikes, in Maine. There are a total of 14 mountains in Maine to complete and 115 mountains to hike in total throughout all of the Northeast. Old Speck is considered the “easiest” one to hike in Maine. Even though it has about 1,000 feet of elevation gain per mile, it’s actually one of the more balanced peaks, which is crazy to say. A thousand feet of elevation gain per mile is steep, you are huffing and puffing. Old Speck is located in Bethel Maine, about an hour and a half away from Rangeley, where a lot of the other 4,000 footers are near. While, the rest are in Baxter State Park, which is far away, about 4.5-5 hours away just from Rangeley, Maine.

Recently, over the summer I took a trip to Bethel and Rangeley, Maine. My friend and I started the trip in Bethel, to hike Old Speck. Old Speck is the only 4,000 footer in Maine, that is not located near Rangeley or Baxter. We had the intention to hike 11 out of the 14 and ended up hiking 10 out of the 4,000 footers. So all in all, it was a great trip. In this article, I wanted to share my overall experience when hiking Old Speck and Maine in general.

In this article, you will read about Old Speck Mountain, Old Speck Mountain trail, hiking times, Old Speck Mountain elevation, Old Speck trail conditions, Old Speck trailhead, Old Speck difficulty, Old Speck Mountain hike, and more.

This article is all about Old Speck.

Old Speck:

Old Speck Mountain Stats

Hiking in Maine is very similar to hiking in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. It is rugged, muddy, green, wild, and beautiful. However, Old Speck is a part of the Appalachian Trail and is a little different from hiking in the Adirondacks. What sets Old Speck apart is all the rocks and how well maintained it is compared to some Adirondack trails. Otherwise, they are pretty similar. Old Speck is a little over 7 miles round trip with about 3,000 feet of elevation gain. This hike took my friend and I about five hours to complete. This includes water breaks and about a 40 minute break at the summit. The elevation gain is steady throughout the entire hike. This is definitely not the worst hike I’ve been on difficulty wise, but it’s by no means the easiest. I would say it’s right in the middle of the pack on the difficult level scale. Also, there is an observation deck at the top and you have to climb this very sketchy ladder to see the true summit view (I will talk later about the ladder).

Overall, this hike is pretty well maintained. It feels like quintessential Maine when you’re on the trail (pictures are below). There’s a lot of rock slabs within the first mile and different colored mosses along with so much green.

Old Speck Mountain Trail

Old Speck is located just outside of Bethel, Maine in a town called North Oxford in Grafton Notch State Park. This is the main way to hike Old Speck and it’s very straight forward and there’s signs you can follow along the way. Also, there were a ton of people at the trailhead when my friend and I hiked this. However, we did hike this trail on a Sunday in the beginning of August, so it was prime season. I’m sure it’s a lot less crowded on weekdays and off season times. Also, this is a popular section on the Appalachian trail to hike. Also, there are two compose bathrooms located at this trailhead. Lastly, the parking lot is a good size, I would say 30-40 cars could park there.

Now, you are suppose to pay to park here, however, it is strictly based on the honor code system. Meaning, there is a bucket/poll next to the trailhead. The bucket/poll has a slot where you can deposit $4 (or not). I only had $3 so that’s what I paid. There’s no one there making sure you pay the fee and honestly most people walk right by the bucket/poll and don’t even realize you’re suppose to pay something. But, after you park and find the trailhead, you want to stay to your left and you will be on your way to the summit of Old Speck.

My Experience & Trail Conditions

Okay, Old Speck trailhead is located outside of Bethel, Maine. My friend and I started our Maine trip by spending a night in Bethel, so we could wake up the next morning and hike Old Speck. Compared to the other 4,000 footers in Maine, Old Speck is kind of in its own world, location wise. It’s not really close to another 4,000 footer.

Once my friend and I parked at Grafton Notch State Park we found the trailhead area, went to the left side trail and started our hike. Again, this trail is very easy to follow, it’s straight forward and you’ll run into a lot of other people if you need something, it’s a pretty popular trail. My friend and I also used AllTrails the downloadable offline map. Here is the AllTrails Map we followed while hiking. We had no issues when using this map, it was very accurate.

Elevation Gains & Trail Conditions

The elevation gain is pretty steady throughout the whole way to the summit. If you’re use to hiking, you will be use to this kind of grade. Again, I would say this is a 5 out of 10 on the difficulty level scale. When we hiked this trail it was in really good condition. There are a lot of grippy, fun rock slabs to climb in the beginning portion of this trail. Then it’s all in the woods until you get very close to the summit. About .3 away from the summit you will get a little lookout on a small ridge line. Then you will go back into the woods for the true summit. The true summit is wooded. However, there is an observation deck that’s structured like an Adirondack fire tower. The ladder is and does look structurally sound.

But, it is vertical, you climb straight up to the top of the deck. I didn’t think anything of this, then about halfway to the top I got a little nervous, knowing I was going to have to climb back down this ladder and that there was nothing supporting me from falling if I leaned back or to the side a little too much. However, nothing bad happened, both my friend and I made it safely to the top and back down.

Old Speck Summit

There is a decent sized summit area where my friend and I sat and ate lunch. The top of the observation deck is really cool. It’s small, so I wouldn’t get lunch up there, only about 3 people can fit on it at one time. It’s not the best view out of the Northeast 4,000 footers but it’s definitely not the worst. Also, we got an extra cool view because the clouds were moving when we got there. I did enjoy this view, however, the whole hike is medium for me. Just like the difficulty scale, my overall experience of this hike I would give a 5 out of 10. If you want to hike all the 4,000 footers in Maine and in the Northeast or just New England, then yes, hike Old Speck. However, if you’re not interested in this challenge, then there would be other hikes I would do before hiking Old Speck.

Later On & in Conclusion

After the summit, we followed the same trail up to go back down to our cars. Once, we got to our cars, we changed into different clothes and headed to Rangeley for the rest of our Maine adventure. I really enjoyed hiking in Maine and I’m very excited to go back. Although, I would stay in Rangeley if you are interested in doing a lot of hiking. While Rangeley is a SMALL town, it has everything you need. Prices will be more expensive because again it’s a small town and the only town in the area. I did find this to be a common thing in the interior of Maine, there’s NOT a lot around. You will not find Targets or Walmarts anywhere, the major highways are two lines, and overall it’s not built up. I liked this a lot however, I did like going back to the capital region of New York (where I’m from) and having more options for places to eat and shop.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is it was a great getaway but I don’t know if I would live there full time. If you aren’t into hiking, Rangeley has SO MANY different lakes that you can fish, boat, paddle-board, kayak, sea-planes, and swim in. Overall, I recommend hiking in Rangeley. I wouldn’t hike Old Speck, unless you are trying to complete all the 4,000 footers in Maine/New England and or the Northeast. Otherwise, it’s okay if you skip this one. Thank you so much for reading and I hope this article was helpful!