ANDROSCOGGIN RIVER:
The 26 mile stretch of river, from the New Hampshire border, to Rumford Point, offers  a variety of canoe & kayak adventures.  The most picturesque section is from Gilead boat landing to Bethel, a total of 10 miles, taking an average of 3 hours.  Wildlife sightings are common and include bald eagles, osprey, great blue heron, loons, otters and even moose!   Several nearby canoe & kayak  outfitters are available for rentals, pick-ups, drop-offs and guiding services.

CUPSUPTIC RIVER:
For a short trip with easy-in and easy-out access (trip length about 1 to 1 1/2 hours), take Route 4 from Rangeley towards Oquossoc to the Information Pavilion. Turn right on Route 16 towards Wilsons Mills, continue across the Kennebago River, pass the Cupsuptic Campground, and go approximately 1 mile past the Maine Forest Service Station to the Public Boat Access on the Cupsuptic River. Do not cross the bridge; landing is on the east side.

MAGALLOWAY RIVER:
This 5.5-mile trip requires a shuttle (takes approx. 3 hours). Take Rt. 4 from Rangeley towards Oquossoc to the Information Pavilion. Turn right on Route 16 to Wilson’s Mills. At Wilson’s Mills as you approach the bridge, turn right on Bennett Road; immediately on the left is the launching point. There is fast water at the beginning of the trip, but it is flat. Shuttle: Take a car to the bridge at the Maine-New Hampshire border – there is only one bridge which crosses the river. Take out at bridge; it is quite steep.

DEAD RIVER (NORTH BRANCH):
This class-I paddle requires a shuttle and a portage. Follow Rt. 27 north, past Cathedral Pines Campground, to the King & Bartlett Road on the right. (approx. 1.5 miles past Eustis). At the sign, turn right and cross the bridge. Launch just past the bridge. Leave your car at the Cathedral Pines Campground. A portage circumvents a dam marked by a cable with barrels strung across the river. Pull out on the right where the cable is anchored. There is a path to the left.  Continue to Cathedral Pines. This 3.4-mile trip takes about 2 hours.

KENNEBAGO RIVER:
This trip offers a great opportunity to see moose and other wildlife. The trip (approximately 3 miles) also requires a shuttle. Take Route 4 from Rangeley towards Oquossoc to the Information Pavilion. Turn right on Route 16 and proceed 1.3 miles to the Kennebago River Road on the right. Proceed 2 miles on this gravel road to the so-called Steep Bank Pool on the left. You will see a path for launching at this point; park on the right side of road. You may have to carry over at this area under certain water conditions, depending on your paddling skills. After this it is flat water to the Route 16 bridge. Take out on the east bank
immediately after the bridge.

RANGELEY LAKES CHAIN CANOE TRIPS:
This trip offers flat paddling and takes approximately 3 to 5 days. Starting at the Town Park in the center of the Village of Rangeley, there is an eight mile paddle across Rangeley Lake to Oquossoc, with a portage of 1.5 miles to Haines Landing on Mooselookmeguntic Lake. A commercial camping area is located on the northern shore of Cupsuptic Lake.

SACO RIVER CANOEING & KAYAKING TRIPS:
With several points in which to put in or take out … you can choose canoe or kayak trips that range from 1 hour (3 mile stretch) to 3-4 days (43 mile stretch) and several options in between.  Put in at the Swan’s Falls in Fryeburg and you can paddle all the way to Hiram.  The Saco River offers wide-open non-obstructed river paddling with many beaches for swimming and picnicking.

Freeport is a historic coastal Maine village with over 170 retailers, upscale outlets, designer ships, eclectic boutiques, charming B&B’s, hotels, fantastic restaurants and casual cafes.  It’s also home to world-famous L.L. Bean.

L.L. Bean started in Freeport in 1912 with 100 pairs of boots.  By 1982 the store’s immense popularity with shoppers inspired more than 130 brand name outlet stores, boutiques, specialty stores, fabulous restaurants and gift shops to open their businesses in Freeport.

Today Freeport is a tourist destination with more than 3.5 million visitors annually.  Adding to your shopping experience are open air concert series, talks with tips on outdoor activities, art festivals and street performers.

While shopping diversity has become synonymous with Freeport, you’ll find the town has retained an allure and elegance that builds on its cultural past.  Many businesses retained the original architectural style of buildings from an early era, which gives Freeport’s Main Street a traditional historic flair.

A short distance from the thriving downtown you can find the amazing Desert of Maine with natural 70-foot sand dunes; Winslow Memorial Park with a beach, boat landing, playground and campsites; the Audubon Society’s Mast Landing Santuary with day camp and trails through the woods and fields and Wolfe’s Neck State Park offering 233 acres to explore.

Bethel is a beautiful four-season recreational area and convenient to reach … but a world away from the hustle and bustle that most people live in.  Bethel is uncrowded and unpretentious.  Whether you are seeking the exhilaration of high adventure or a quiet walk in our National Historic District or a stroll along our riverbank, your experiences here will weave themselves into your inner fabric.  Each season provides a myriad of opportunities to connect with the natural world … and you determine the pace.

Our mountain forests provide recreation and opportunities in every season, a source of relaxation for the outdoor crowd!  The Appalachian Trail and the recently-opened Grafton Loop Trail provide multi-day backpacking trips … but shorter hikes/day hikes here abound … for folks of all ages and abilities.  Bird and wildlife watching opportunities are abundant, from teh trails in the forest and also from the comfort of your vehicle along our scenic highway system.  Guided ATV tours are increasing in popularity!  Fishing and swinning in our dozens of rivers, streams, and lakes are wonderful ways to get closer to nature. There are few pastimes that beat sitting near one of our many waterfalls, several within an easy walk of the roadsides.  Our fall foliage provides a breathtaking backdrop for several weeks in teh autumn.  Winter provides an endless array of active outdoor pursuits as well as just snuggling up in front of a fire in one of our classic New England hostelries.

The Bethel area offers an abundant choice of accommodations, food services, and recreation amenities in all seasons.  This is the perfect place for a family reunion or a quiet getaway; it’s a place where you can climb one of our mountain peaks and be one with nature!  Bethel claims to be Maine’s Most Beautiful Mountain Village … and so much more!

Eight miles from Farmington you’ll find Wilton, also with a bustling historic downtown.  Wilton is known for being the location of Maine’s first  cotton mill.   In 1876, George Henry Bass founded G.H. Bass & Co. and became the best-known businessman in Wilton’s history.

Wilton claims to be the “place to play”.  While here you will find a plethora of outdoor activities to enjoy year-round on the Wilson Lake or you might choose to spend a day on the links at the Wilson Lake Country Club.

If visiting museums is more to your liking then make sure your vacation includes a stop at then Wilton Farm and Home Museum.  The museum is housed in a solid Maine structure built during the Civil War.  It includes one of Maine’s finest collections of farm tools, a nearly complete collection of Maine bottles and memorabilia from G.H. Bass, originator of the famous Bass Weejun.

In August, Wilton hosts its famous two-day Blueberry Festival with over 60 events going on fun for all Road races, boat rides, parades, tractor pull, baby crawl, entertainment, lot’s of good food, crafters, and the list goes on.” Wilton in August is the place to be.

Fourteen miles northwest of Wilton you’ll discover the Mount Blue State Park.  It boasts 5,021 acres; campground; sand beach with bathhouse; hot showers; flush toilets; boat launch; amphitheater, and nature center. The Adirondack shelters are available for large group use, and canoes may be rented. The park maintains cross-country ski trails, a major snowmobile trail, and an ice rink during the winter.

For accommodations you’ll find excellent choices from charming inns (like the Wilson Lake Inn), to local motels and great camping options.

With the stars overhead, a breeze stirring the trees, you toss another log on the campfire.  You stretch out on your campsite lounge chair, relax and recount the fun you had today on the first day of your camping vacation in Maine.

This is an often repeated scene at many of the more than 275 campgrounds throughout the state. You’ll find some campgrounds offer a “back-to-nature” approach with little more than a clearing under a patch of trees deep in the forest where you pitch your tent. Others are moderate in size with swimming pools, outdoor sports, game rooms, convenience stores and bathing facilities.   Some are more lavish with refined amenities, entertainment and services.

You’ll find some campgrounds offer a “back-to-nature” approach with little more than a clearing under a patch of trees deep in the forest where you pitch your tent.  Others are moderate in size with swimming pools, outdoor sports, game rooms, convenience stores and bathing facilities.  Some are more lavish with refined amenities, entertainment and services.

The camp’s location will also add to the fun of your vacation.  Do you want the quiet solitude away from the maddening crowd or do you want to experience the excitement of visiting tourist areas, shops and historical places?  Will you be making stopovers at local attractions or will your campsite be the base for more adventurous travels throughout the state?

You have so many choices. To help you select the campground that best suits your vacation plans contact the Maine Campground Owners Association at (207) 852-4700 or check their website.

Many of Maine’s state parks also provide campground facilities. You can get details about these locations and make reservations by contacting the Bureau of Parks and Lands in the Augusta office at (207) 287-3821 or their website.

Route 189 leads to the town of Lubec which was founded in 1811 and prospered from more than twenty sardine canneries and shipbuilding.

With nearly 100 miles of coastline, Lubec offers a unique and ideal travel destination with unmatched natural beauty, immense tides, a wonderful climate, parks, museums, culture, and the friendliest people.

Lubec is the eastern-most town in the United States … you can be the first to see the sunrise in the U.S. here.

Nearby you’ll find the West Quoddy Head Light and State Park.  The candi-striped lighthouse is Maine’s most photographed. Make a note to stop at the Visitor Center with a museum, gift shop and gallery.   Hiking trails offer picturesque views where you might catch seals playing in the ocean, whales, fishermen hauling their daily catch, and waves crashing on the rocks.

Lubec hosts Summer Keys, and adult music camp that features weekly evening concerts, and The Easternmost Institute for the Arts, which presents a variety of summer workshops for adults and children.  Lubec also boasts Washington County’s only garden on the Maine Garden & Landscape Trail. Also, includes in the “arts”, Lubec offers “Jazz in Lubec”~ a week of jazz performances in August, and Summer Brushes ~ a painting workshop program.

Across the international bridge from Lubec (bring your passport) lies beautiful Campobello Island.  In the U.S. Campobello may be best known for being FDR’s “beloved island”.  The historic 2,800 acre Roosevelt-Campobello International Park offers a visitor center, gardens, and tours of the Roosevelt’s 34-room “summer cottage”.

The quaint waterfront village of Lubec offers a variety of lodging accommodations from charming inns to motels and private home rentals.  There are lovely cafes, chocolatiers, restaurants, gift shops, and pubs.  Enjoy strolling Water Street where you’ll also find a public library , galleries, and friendly-folk that all say hello!

In the northeast section of the MAINE HIGHLANDS region you’ll find Baxter State Park.  Spreading out over 200,000 acres are unspoiled forests.  Magnificent MountKatahdin , Maine’s tallest peak at 5,267 feet is the jewel of the park.  It provides a variety of trails that first time climbers and veteran mountaineer find challenging and exhilarating.  The mountain marks one end of the Appalachian Trail which links with Georgia 2,000 miles away.

At the southern entrance to the park is the town of Millinocket. Built up as a major paper mill town, today it provides accommodations and recreational activities for visitors and outdoor enthusiasts.

It’s an area where you can appreciate the vastness of the outdoors and are surrounded by exceptional locations for camping, hiking, climbing, fishing, boating, bird watching, photography, and relaxing.

Info to come soon …

In the western section of the MAINE HIGHLANDS region is Moosehead Lake, the largest fresh water lake int eh state.  It spreads 40 miles long and 20 miles wide and provides a year-round destination for water sports and nature lovers.

Mount Kineo, which rises to 1,806 feet out of Moosehead Lake, offers excellent climbing trails.  Along with the fishing, camping and boating that lures visitors to the region you can shoot the rapids of the many surging rivers on an unforgettable white water rafting excursion.

Southwest of Mount Kineo is the town of Rockwood.  It offers spectacular views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

You’ll find Greenville at the southern end of the lake.  Lili Bay State Park is located on the lake’s shore and provides 925 acres for picnics, swimming and camping.

When the first snow appears in Maine eager snowmobilers will be riding through the scenic landscape on one of the more than 13,000 miles of groomed and well-marked snowmobile trails. Many of these trails are part of the Interconnected Trail System (ITS) and maps are available showing trail locations. The trails have been created and maintained by snowmobile clubs, local communities and supporting businesses, along with landowners who allow snowmobilers access to their property.

Across the state hundreds of lodges, restaurants and supporting facilities have emerged to welcome vacationers for a day, weekend or longer of snowmobiling fun.

Listed below are resources, organizations and state departments to help you make the most of your snowmobiling experience in Maine. They provide information about snow conditions, trails locations, free maps, outfitters, facilities and state regulations.

Maine Snowmobile Association
PO Box 80, Augusta ME 04332
Tel. (207) 622-6983 Fax. (207) 622-7669
www.mesnow.com
With 14,000 families in 292 clubs, plus 2,200 businesses.

Maine Department of Conservation Snowmobile Division
East Side Campus?18 Elkins Lane, Augusta ?Tel: (207) 287-2211, (800) 462-1019) Fax: (207) 287-2400
www.maine.gov

International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association
1640 Haslett Road, Suite 170 ?Haslett, Michigan USA 48840 ?Phone: (517) 339-7788 Fax: (517) 339-7798
www.snowmobile.org
Has a Snowmobiling Fact book

Me. Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
284 State Street?41 State House Station?Augusta, ME 04333-0041?Phone: (207) 287-8000?Fax: (207) 287-8094 or (207) 287-6395
www.maine.gov
Maine’s Snowmobile Laws and Rules.
Division of Licensing and Registration,
State House Station #11
41 Anthony Avenue
Augusta Maine 04333
Telephone: (800) 791-4080, (207)287-9300
Register Maine snowmobiles through the Department or at
200 agents (town offices, dealerships, variety stores, etc.) across the state.