Katahdin Loop Road Entrance
in Maine
The Katahdin Loop Road is a 17-mile scenic drive through Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The Loop Road provides access to scenic views, wildlife viewing opportunities, and various trails for hiking, bicycling, or horseback riding. A small, single vehicle pullout before the entrance offers parking for a single vehicle for a quick photo opportunity.
- States
- Maine
- Trail type
- National Monument trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Portland, ME · 171 mi · ~5 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 45.8667°, -68.6789°
About Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
This trail is inside Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, a national monument managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/katahdin-loop-road-entrance.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/kaww/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Katahdin Loop Road Entrance and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Other trails within 50 miles
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.