Maine trails · Great Circle Trail

Great Circle Trail

A 6.5-mile out-and-back in Maine, with 461 ft of climbing. Reaches Nahmakanta Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

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Length

6.5 mi

Elevation gain

461 ft

Difficulty

Moderate

Max grade

18%

Steepest mile

+327 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

1.1 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Surface

Dirt

Bikes

Horses

Managed by

Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands

Elevation profile

The climbing leans toward the middle third: 48% of the ascent falls between mile 2.2 and mile 4.3. It gives back about 637 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Nahmakanta Lake (lake)
Sixth Debsconeag Pond (lake)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Great Circle Trail access. About 3 h 09 min drive (90 mi, 27 of them unpaved) from Bangor. 45.77802, -69.16505 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:21 a.m., the sun rises at 6:51 a.m. and sets at 5:53 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:23 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 02 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 12.9-mile round trip takes roughly 5 h 15 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 12:06 p.m. — 5 h 46 min before sunset.