Tumbledown Dick Trail

Tumbledown Dick Trail is a long-distance hiking route in the 43,000-acre Nahmakanta Public Reserved Land, managed by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. It links the Appalachian Trail with Leavitt Pond and the Turtle Ridge trail system, and it’s built around a feature near the middle of the route: Tumbledown Dick Falls.

The trail runs one-way for about 5.40 miles. Difficulty is rated Level 3–4 (moderate to strenuous), and it stays on dirt/forest-floor tread with a primitive feel—expect roots, rocks, and stretches of trail that aren’t sharply defined even though it has recently been blazed with blue blazes.

A practical way to think about the route is “falls to ponds to stream.” Tumbledown Dick Falls is roughly 3 miles from the (southern) Jo Mary Road trailhead; the route also has an alternate approach where the falls are about 2 miles southeast of the Appalachian Trail trail head on Nahmakanta Stream Road.

Near the Jo Mary Road end, Leavitt Pond comes in within about a quarter-mile after heading north from the trailhead, and there’s a side trail on/near the north shore that reaches a primitive campsite requiring a fire permit from the Maine Forest Service.

Between Leavitt Pond and Tumbledown Dick Pond, the tread passes through regenerating forest from previously harvested areas. North of Tumbledown Dick Pond, the route follows Tumbledown Dick Stream through mixed woods.

Camping is available on primitive campsites at Tumbledown Dick Pond and at/near Leavitt Pond, both requiring fire permits. The primitive camps at these ponds are described as fire-permit only, so plan the permit before you go rather than assuming a standard backcountry campfire setup.

More information: Map, Nahmakanta Public Reserved Land - TravelMaine.com, Nahmakanta Public Reserved Land - Tumbledown Dick