Grafton Notch State Park

Grafton Notch State Park is a dramatic glacially carved mountain notch cutting through the Mahoosuc Range in the rugged western mountains of Maine — a landscape of soaring cliffs, cascading waterfalls, a spectacular slot canyon, and wild forest along State Route 26. The park is a premier natural attraction of western Maine, with concentrated scenic highlights within easy reach of the road alongside remote and demanding backcountry.

The park is home to some of Maine’s most spectacular geological features: Screw Auger Falls (a perfect helical gorge), Mother Walker Falls, Moose Cave (a slot-canyon gorge), and Bear River White Water, alongside the Appalachian Trail, which passes through the park and traverses the notoriously difficult Mahoosuc Notch — called by many the hardest mile on the entire AT. Wild, varied and geologically rich, Grafton Notch is a treasured natural icon of western Maine.

Grafton Notch State Park concentrates outstanding recreation in a compact area — easy roadside walks to Screw Auger Falls (a perfectly helical gorge), Moose Cave (a slot-canyon scramble), Mother Walker Falls and Bear River views; more demanding hiking up to Old Speck Mountain (the fourth-highest peak in Maine, with a fire-tower summit view) via the Appalachian Trail; and through-hiking the legendary, boulder-choked Mahoosuc Notch (often called the hardest mile on the AT). The Bear River offers swimming holes on hot summer days. Hiking the accessible gorges and falls alongside the challenging AT terrain makes Grafton Notch a complete western-Maine hiking destination.

Late spring through early fall (May through October) is the season, when the trails and park facilities are open and accessible. Summer brings warm hiking weather and the swimming holes on the Bear River, while late September and early October offer spectacular fall foliage framing the notch cliffs and forest — among the most scenic settings for autumn color in Maine. Waterfall flows are best in spring (May–June); the slot canyon and gorges are dramatic year-round. Fall foliage and summer hiking are the highlights — come in late September for the foliage at its peak, and start early for the longer backcountry hikes.

The Mahoosuc Range and Grafton Notch are part of the ancestral homeland of the Abenaki people, who used the mountain passes as travel routes. The notch was first settled and farmed by European homesteaders in the early 1800s — a few cellar holes and old apple orchards remain in the forest. Logging operations worked the surrounding mountains in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Appalachian Trail was routed through the notch and over Old Speck in the 1930s. Grafton Notch State Park was established to protect the notch’s spectacular geological features and scenic character. The park preserves this rugged mountain pass, a treasured icon of western Maine.

Grafton Notch is a glacially carved mountain pass through the Mahoosuc Range, where Ice Age glaciers scoured and deepened the valley between the rugged ridges of metamorphic and igneous bedrock. The park’s most striking geological features — Screw Auger Falls, where the Bear River has drilled a perfect helical gorge through bedrock, and Moose Cave, a narrow slot canyon — were carved by water exploiting fractures and weak zones in the rock. Potholes, polished rock, steep canyon walls and glacial striations are visible throughout. The glacial shaping of the notch and the river’s post-glacial gorge-cutting created this remarkable concentration of geological features.

Grafton Notch and the surrounding Mahoosuc Range host moose (the notch ponds and bogs are good spots), white-tailed deer, black bears, beavers, and a rich birdlife including Bicknell’s thrush on Old Speck’s summit ridge (a rare boreal species found only on the highest northeastern peaks), other boreal birds in the spruce-fir forest, and warblers in the hardwoods of the notch. The Bear River holds brook trout. The mix of elevations and habitats — from the river valley to the mountain summit — supports diverse wildlife. The park offers excellent wildlife watching, especially moose near ponds and boreal birds on the high ridge.

Grafton Notch State Park protects the ecological transition from the rich hardwood forests of the valley floor through the mixed and spruce-fir forests of the mountain slopes to the rare boreal summit vegetation of Old Speck, where Bicknell’s thrush and other high-elevation species depend on the cold, wind-exposed ridgeline habitat. The Bear River and its tributaries harbor native brook trout and are sensitive to disturbance. The slot canyons and gorges create unique microhabitats. Protecting the forest, the mountain summit habitats, the wild river and the geological features sustains both the ecology and the spectacular natural character of Grafton Notch.

Grafton Notch State Park holds a treasured place among the icons of western Maine — a rugged mountain notch of soaring cliffs, spectacular gorges and waterfalls, and the famous Mahoosuc Notch, often called the hardest mile on the Appalachian Trail, drawing hikers who seek both the accessible beauty of Screw Auger Falls and the demanding backcountry of the Mahoosuc Range. The park embodies the wild, varied character of western Maine’s mountains. Grafton Notch is a cherished natural icon of Maine.

Grafton Notch State Park is in western Maine on State Route 26 in the Mahoosuc Range, between the towns of Newry (near Sunday River ski area) to the south and Upton to the north, about an hour from the city of Bethel and roughly 2 hours from Portland. The park’s scenic features — Screw Auger Falls, Moose Cave, Mother Walker Falls — are reached by short walks from roadside pull-offs on Route 26 (no admission fee for these day-use areas, though a state-park fee may apply at some facilities). The Appalachian Trail trailhead for Old Speck is also on Route 26. Check Maine Bureau of Parks & Lands for fees, facilities and conditions.

Maine Bureau of Parks & Lands protects Grafton Notch. Visitors help by staying on trails and the designated paths into the gorges (the canyon walls and waterfall edges are fragile and dangerous), not climbing on slippery rocks near the falls, practicing Leave No Trace, packing out all trash, protecting the Bear River and its brook trout from pollution and disturbance, and respecting all trail closures. The slot canyons, the geological features and the high-summit boreal habitat are sensitive and irreplaceable. Protecting them sustains both the ecology and the wild character of this spectacular western Maine park.

The gorges, slot canyons and waterfall areas at Grafton Notch are beautiful but hazardous — the rocks are slippery and the canyon walls are steep; stay on the designated paths and never climb into the water channels or onto slippery ledges, and watch children closely near the gorge edges and falls (fatal falls have occurred). The Mahoosuc Notch (on the AT through the adjacent wilderness) is extremely rugged — a boulder-choked mile requiring climbing and route-finding skill; be fully prepared before attempting it. Weather in the mountains changes fast. Carry layers, water and essentials for any hike longer than the roadside walks.

A Maine state-park day-use fee may apply at some facilities; the roadside pull-offs for Screw Auger Falls, Moose Cave and Mother Walker Falls are generally free day-use areas (check current policy). Stay on designated paths; do not climb into the gorges or on slippery rocks near the falls. Pets must be leashed. Camp only at designated sites (nearby state campgrounds — not within the park itself). Drones are restricted. Pack out all trash. Fires in designated areas only. Follow Maine Bureau of Parks & Lands and Appalachian Trail rules before visiting.

The Sunday River ski area near Newry just to the south, the town of Bethel with its services and outdoor outfitters, the Rangeley Lakes region to the north, the Appalachian Trail corridor through the Mahoosuc Range, the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the west, and the western Maine mountains surround the park. The Mahoosuc Range and western Maine define the region. Grafton Notch anchors the scenic western Maine mountain corridor, a centerpiece of a western-Maine adventure, easily combined with Sunday River, Bethel, Rangeley Lakes and a drive over the notch on Route 26.

Take the short walk to Screw Auger Falls first — the perfectly helical gorge is among the most striking geological features in Maine — then scramble through Moose Cave slot canyon and walk to Mother Walker Falls for a concentration of gorge scenery in a short stretch of Route 26. For a full day, hike the Appalachian Trail up to Old Speck’s summit fire tower for a panoramic view of the western Maine mountains. Do not climb on the slippery rocks in the gorges, and come in late September for spectacular fall foliage framing the notch and forest.