Bigelow Range via Fire Warden’s Trail
The route climbs from hardwood forest to Avery Peak, where a fire-tower foundation and long lake views reveal both conservation history and glacial scale.
Artwork inspired by Winslow Homer
A steep ascent reaches an alpine ridge above Flagstaff Lake. The route climbs from hardwood forest to Avery Peak, where a fire-tower foundation and long lake views reveal both conservation history and glacial scale. Extensions across the range add major mileage.
Treat Avery Peak as a complete objective unless daylight, weather, and energy clearly support a longer ridge traverse. Steep grades, exposed summit rock, sudden weather, and remote access require an early start and full mountain kit. At Bigelow Range via Fire Warden’s Trail, route choice and environmental conditions matter more than headline mileage or a single map pin.
- High point
- 4,088 feet
- Preserve
- Bigelow
- Route
- Steep out and back
Quick guide
- Start with
- Treat Avery Peak as a complete objective unless daylight, weather, and energy clearly support a longer ridge traverse.
- Look closely at
- Compare Flagstaff Lake with fire-tower foundation; the relationship reveals something the headline feature alone cannot.
Know before you go
- Start with
- Treat Avery Peak as a complete objective unless daylight, weather, and energy clearly support a longer ridge traverse.
- Look closely at
- Compare Flagstaff Lake with fire-tower foundation; the relationship reveals something the headline feature alone cannot.
- Connect the story
- Connect the fire-tower foundation, Avery Peak exposure, and Flagstaff Lake view to the region’s conservation and land-use history.
- Plan around
- Check current conditions before leaving, set a turnaround time, and preserve enough daylight to examine fire-tower foundation rather than rushing past it.
Good to know
Steep grades, exposed summit rock, sudden weather, and remote access require an early start and full mountain kit.
Notice these
- Avery Peak
- Flagstaff Lake
- fire-tower foundation