Column: It took me 9 years to finally find this remote Maine trail

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 4, 2026

Lobster Lake is situated in the wild, wooded country east of Moosehead Lake and south of the Golden Road. The name lobster isn’t one you’d normally associate with the northern Maine woods. But owing to a fluke of topography, the lake happens to be shaped like a lobster claw. A two-mile trail leads from Jackson Cove to a lookout at roughly the 2,000-foot contour on Lobster Mountain. The hike is just three in the entire Maine Mountain Guide that are accessible only by water. The trail winds gradually over the northern slope, and in just over an hour, we’ve reached the main outlook and a nice bench. My GPS reads 1.5 miles. The view over Lobster Lake is grand: wild, forested country as far as the eye can see. We step down to look around the corner and are greeted with a huge look at mighty Katahdin and many of its high neighbors. ~ Carey Kish