Looking for an easy trail that gives kids something extra to search for along the way? The Gnome Home Roam at the Rangeley Lakes Trails Center turns a walk through the woods into a scavenger hunt, with more than 30 gnomes tucked into handcrafted homes throughout the trail system.
We visited the Gnome Home Roam during our recent family trip to Rangeley, and it was completely new to us despite years of visiting the area. After hiking Bald Mountain earlier in the week, this was a much easier outing and a fun way to spend a slower morning outdoors.
For families with young children—or anyone looking for an outdoor adventure that feels more like a game than a hike—the Gnome Home Roam is a fun addition to a Rangeley trip.
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Trail Experience
The Gnome Home Roam begins at the Rangeley Lakes Trails Center, where families can pick up a Gnome Home Roam map from the kiosk box near the yurt before heading into the woods.
The project was created as a way to involve local children in the Trails Center while encouraging families to get outside. Local carpenters partnered with students from Rangeley Lakes Regional School to bring the idea to life. Student artists created the gnomes, while local carpenters built the tiny homes where they now live. Today, there are more than 30 gnomes—and counting—scattered throughout the trails.
Rather than simply walking from one end of the trail to the other, kids have a mission: find the gnome homes.
The largest collection is found in the Village of the Gnomes, located a short hike from the yurt parking lot. Other gnome homes are scattered along the trails, giving kids a reason to keep walking and watching carefully as they explore.
Each gnome home has its own special paper punch. When you find one, use the punch to mark the corresponding gnome on your map, then return the punch to the home and latch the little door for the next family.
Along the way you’ll find:
- More than 30 gnomes created by local student artists
- Handcrafted gnome homes tucked into the woods
- The Village of the Gnomes
- A scavenger-hunt-style map to guide your adventure
- Paper punches inside the gnome homes to mark your discoveries
- Wooded trails with plenty to look for along the way
The trail is especially fun for children who might not normally be excited about simply going for a hike. Instead of focusing on how far they have walked, there’s always another tiny house or gnome to search for ahead.
Trail Details
Location: Rangeley Lakes Trails Center, Rangeley, Maine
Distance: Varies depending on how many gnome homes you search for
Difficulty: Easy
Uses: Walking, family hiking, nature exploration, gnome hunting
Surface: Wooded trail
Stroller Friendly: No
Facilities: Yurt/trail center area
Parking: Parking available near the yurt
Managed by: Rangeley Lakes Trails Center
Gnome Home Roam Maps: Pick one up from the kiosk box near the yurt before beginning your walk.
Tips for Families
Ages: Especially fun for toddlers through elementary-aged children, although older siblings and adults can certainly join the search.
Start with a map: Grab a Gnome Home Roam map from the kiosk near the yurt so kids can keep track of the homes they find.
Look carefully: Part of the fun is searching the woods for the little homes rather than simply following the trail.
Don’t skip the Village: The Village of the Gnomes has the highest concentration of gnome homes and is only a short hike from the parking area.
Leave everything for the next family: After using the special paper punch inside a gnome home, return it to its spot and make sure the door is latched.
Footwear: Sneakers or hiking shoes are a good choice for exploring the wooded trails.
Season: This would be especially fun to add to a summer or fall trip to Rangeley. Or take on the search by ski or snow shoe in the winter.
Season: This would be especially fun to add to a summer or fall trip to Rangeley.
Why Families Love It
The Gnome Home Roam takes something simple—a walk through the woods—and gives kids a reason to stay curious about what might be around the next corner.
Instead of asking how much farther they have to walk, kids can focus on finding the next gnome, opening tiny doors, and punching their maps as they go.
There’s also a wonderful community story behind the trail. The gnomes aren’t commercially produced decorations placed along a trail—they were created by local students, with their homes built by local carpenters as part of a project designed specifically to get children involved and encourage outdoor activity.
For us, the Gnome Home Roam was also proof that even after visiting Rangeley for years, there are still new places to discover. We explored it during our recent six-day Rangeley vacation, and it made an easy morning adventure before returning to Rangeley Lake for an afternoon of swimming.
See It For Yourself
Plan Your Rangeley Adventure
The Gnome Home Roam is an easy activity to work into a larger family trip to Rangeley. It doesn’t require committing to a mountain hike or an entire day on the trails, making it a good choice for a slower morning, younger hikers, or a day when you want to combine several activities.
During our recent trip, we paired our morning at the Gnome Home Roam with an afternoon swimming at Rangeley Lake Resort’s waterfront, dinner downtown, and a sunset drive to the top of Quill Hill.
You can see everything we did during our trip in our Rangeley, Maine with Kids: Our 6-Day Family Vacationitinerary.
Whether your kids already love hiking or need a little extra motivation to keep moving, searching for tiny homes and their gnome residents makes this woodland walk feel like its own little adventure.
Read More:
- Rangeley, Maine with Kids: Our 6-Day Family Vacation
- Bald Mountain – Oquossoc, Maine
- Quill Hill Near Rangeley, Maine
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