Rattlesnake Pool

Dates: August 15

Exploration: Rattlesnake Pool, Stone House Farm Property, Stow, Maine

Station: 14 Bethel Outdoor Adventure & Campground

George takes a swim in Rattlesnake Pool

Most of us grew up with a place in nature that’ll remain in our hearts long after childhood and hopefully for all time. For me, that place was Grafton Notch State Park. Today I learned about some place new in western Maine, Rattlesnake Pool, and it’s that special place for one of my best college pals and longtime friend, Jessica.

Abby and Jess

Jess and I met over a decade ago as we stuttered through French class, looking at each other wondering, “What did the professor say?” On weekends, we took breaks from studying trading college life for a day in the woods to hike and catch up on fresh air. In 2006, Jess visited me 3,000 miles from Maine as I settled into my new house in Washington; we toured Mount Rainier, Seattle and even dunked our feet—okay, our hands because it was cold!—into the Pacific Ocean. Now we were reuniting again for a little hike to Rattlesnake Pool.

The Stone House

Rattlesnake Pool was located on the Stone House Property near Evans Notch. The property was established in 1845. By the 1850s, the stone house was erected, thanks to oxen power that hauled it from quarries on Rattlesnake Mountain. In 1986 the property was purchased by the present-day owners, who restored the home after forty years of vacancy, and Frank Eastman, the property caretaker, cleared trails we hiked. (Please be respectful when entering the stone house property. Though it is surrounded by the White Mountain National Forest, it is actually privately owned, and hikers are guests.)

George tries to show Fizzgig to bite the stick, not the leash

To reach the pool, we hiked on the Stone House Trail. It was a quick, easy hike suitable for youngsters, including the puppy variety like Fizzgig, Jess’ pug.

Rattlesnake Flume

On the way, we passed Rattlesnake Plume, a gorge cut into a basalt dike from an ancient volcano. Basalt is much softer than the surrounding granite, and the gorge was deep (20 feet) and narrow (only 15 feet wide) for the length of a football field. But on a hot day, Rattlesnake Pool was the place to take a nice swim. The 18-foot pool was between two cascades that fed fresh mountain water.

Rattlesnake Pool

Jess and I reached our hands into the pool, but taking a dunk seemed to be a bit too chilly, but that didn’t stop my dog from taking a dunk. We held up our arms, unsuccessfully blocking the spray of water as George shook off the water. He splashed back in and Fizzgig looked on uncertainly. My friend and I laughed. It was just one chuckle for the picnic and hike, the first, I hoped, of many now that we were back in Maine.

The trailhead depiction about Rattlesnake Pool describes it as good for swimming “so long as you’re young or slightly crazy.” George falls into the “slightly crazy” classification!

Thank you for exploring America with 1,000 MILES!

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