Rangers will be patrolling Tumbledown Mountain over the long Labor Day weekend to enforce the camping ban there.
Camping has been banned at the popular hiking destination in Weld since 2021, when state officials grappled with more campers damaging public lands and leaving litter behind at numerous sites across Maine.
While there are no official campgrounds on Tumbledown, dispersed camping was traditionally allowed there. Dispersed camping is the term used for camping on public or national forest lands outside of designated campsites.
But campers discarded equipment, cut down trees, trampled vegetation, burned fires and left behind human and dog feces.
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Maine Forest Service plan to dispatch rangers to Tumbledown to enforce the camping ban and promote safe, responsible recreation.
“We appreciate the cooperation we’ve seen from hikers since instituting the camping ban, and we want to keep that momentum going,” Maine Public Reserved Lands Deputy Director Bill Patterson said in a Wednesday statement. “With increased use during holiday weekends, these patrols help reinforce the shared responsibility we all have to protect Tumbledown for future generations.”
Those who wish to stay in the area can reserve sites at nearby state and private campgrounds.
Hikers should remember to pack out all trash and other belongings, stay on marked trails, and pack all necessary equipment, including proper footwear, appropriate clothing and water, for a trip into remote woods.
The 3,068-foot-tall Tumbledown Mountain is west of Farmington.
