Avery Peak is the eastern summit of the Bigelow Range, carrying the name of Myron H. Avery, the Maine-born chairman of the Appalachian Trail Conference who personally measured the trail's original 269-mile traverse of Maine and founded the Maine Appalachian Trail Club in 1935. The range itself is named for Major Timothy Bigelow, who scaled its ridgeline in October 1775 while on reconnaissance during Colonel Benedict Arnold's ill-fated march toward Canada. Both summits are part of the 10,540-acre Bigelow Preserve, designated a National Natural Landmark in 1975 after a statewide referendum blocked a large proposed ski resort.
The most direct route is via the Fire Warden's Trail, a roughly 5-mile climb from a trailhead off Stratton Brook Pond Road. The trail rises to Bigelow Col, where a lean-to sits in the saddle between Avery Peak (0.4 mile east) and the slightly higher West Peak (0.3 mile west). The Appalachian Trail crosses the col and links both summits, making a traverse natural. The final push to Avery is steep, gaining around 1,700 feet in the last mile and a half before breaking into open subalpine terrain.
The summit is fully open, with panoramic views taking in Flagstaff Lake to the north and a broad arc of western Maine ridges to the south and east. The concrete foundation of a former fire tower sits just past the high point. Weather can shift rapidly; afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer, and the exposed ridge holds ice well into late spring.
