We know, we know. Most of you equate Maine with lobsters and lighthouses. But look at a map and you’ll see that the jagged coastline is just a tiny part of the puzzle that makes Maine, Maine. The heart of the state – with its stone peaks, moose, lumberjacks, français-speaking locals and float-plane rides – is up north in the Maine Woods and is practically as wild as Alaska.
It’s an area with few roads, and locals enjoy repeating the mantra ‘can’t get there from here’. Except the point is you can: by hiking, biking, skiing, paddling, snowmobiling…and on a few very rough roads. Here we present the highlights.
Moose
Maine moose rule, and the further into the woods you go, the more moose you get. It’s hard not to see them. Go in after dawn or at dusk on side roads (slowly and with both eyes open), and you’ll find moose lingering around water-logged meadows. In spring, they carry their ugly winter hair; in fall the distinctive horns come out – this is also when males can be at their most testy.
Hike or ski cabin-to-cabin
Ski slopes such as at Bethel near the New Hampshire border offer powder without all the New York City crowds who head to upstate New York or Vermont. Further in, Maine becomes cross-country ski-central on trails that get hiked the rest of the year.
In recent years, a series of hut-to-hut networks have made these trails more accessible for ‘soft adventurers’ (like me), who enjoy the wild, but also enjoy having luggage forwarded and hot showers waiting. Appalachian Mountain Club (www.outdoors.org/lodging), 20 miles east of Moosehead Lake, has a network of three lodges connected by hiking/cross-country ski trails. Their Gorman lodge, on the waterfront of Long Pond, has canoes for exploring nearby islands and beaver dams. You can also arrange a float-plane from the Bangor airport to the pond for under $100. Read more….