WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP – Bald Mountain, one of the more popular and accessible hiking trails in the Mount Blue-Tumbledown Mountain region in western Maine, has been closed to the public.

No-trespassing signs have been posted warning violators they will be prosecuted, and a large tree has been dropped chest-high across the trail entrance off Route 156.

The closing comes during the peak of foliage season when hikers are flocking to the region. The mountain, with an elevation of 3,000 feet, is a favorite for families and school field trips because the bald rock summit has scenic views and can be reached in less than an hour.

Area residents said they don’t know why the owner closed the trail.

“This is completely unexpected,” said Bruce Farnham, longtime manager at nearby Mount Blue State Park in Weld. “It is such a heavily used trail and there has always been access as long as I have been here.”

For years, the land has been part of large tract owned by the family of Tom Oliver. Oliver’s wife, Kate, declined to comment.

“It is closed until further notice,” she said.

The Tumbledown Conservation Alliance has been warning people since a large portion of the Mount Blue-Tumbledown region went on the market in 1998 that they could lose access to hiking trails that are on private land, but have traditionally been open for public use.

Of the half-dozen or so popular hiking trails in the area, only one in the state park is on public land.

One sign at the Bald Mountain trail entrance serves as a public notice: “Bald Mountain’s private property and, as of Oct. 1, 2002, it became necessary for the landowner to close the land for public use.”

At the Weld General Store five miles away, owner Jerry Nearing, the Appalachian Mountain Club trail coordinator for nearby Tumbledown Mountain, said people are shocked.

“But it is private property and the landowner doesn’t have to give any notice or reason for closing it off,” he said. “The public took the land for granted, and that is one thing we are learning – you cannot take access to people’s land for granted anymore.”