Snowshoeing Baxter State Park, Foss and Knowlton Trail (Abol to Foss and Knowlton Pond)

The Foss and Knowlton Trail is located in the southwest corner of Baxter State Park, branching off from the Appalachian Trail shortly after Abol Bridge.   

We snowshoed 6.4 miles round-trip to Foss Knowlton Pond from Abol Bridge.  The hike started mostly flat, mildly undulating for the first half of the hike, then gradually ascended to the pond, gaining 400 feet of elevation over the final 1.5 miles.  

This was a great hike through Baxter's forested landscape.  The trail had been hard-packed from previous travelers, making hiking relatively easy.   On a clear day the shoreline of Foss and Knowlton Pond provides excellent views of Mt. Katahdin.  Today was cloudy, however, and it started snowing as we approached the pond.  We enjoyed the limited views anyway, stopping to heat up lunch and relax before journeying back.  

Our trail guide (the excellent Katahdin: A Guide to Baxter State Park) noted that we would cross two streams during our hike, including one requiring a ford.  A deep layer of snow and ice covered the portion that would have required fording, and a bridge crossed the second stream.  

A 45 acre area near the trail had burned in a May 2020 wildfire, and it was interesting to observe the impact of the fire and the regenerative growth that has occurred since.    

Here is a map of our hike.