Mud Brook Canoe Trip

April Canoe Launch site in August 2014

Mud Brook, with origins in Stacyville, flows south into Herseytown Township and then to Soldiertown Township in Penobscot County where it joins the Penobscot River East Branch. In April 2014 the brook was still at spring flood stage, making access from Route 11 an opportunity for a short trip.  Scout Brady Williams identified the spot…

Naples

Long Lake on Route 302 in Naples (2013)

Blessed with ample access to Long Lake, Sebago Lake at the intersection of U.S. Route 302 and Maine Routes 11, 35 and 114, Naples has long been a vacation resort community. See photos. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne have sung its praises. The Songo Lock, built about 1830 and now shared with the town of Casco, linked Long Pond and Brandy Pond with Sebago Lake

Nesourdnahunk Township

North Branch of Trout Brook on the Tote Road (2014)

Wholly within Baxter State Park, also known as T5 R10 WELS, it contains five mountains over 1,700 feet. Trout Brook flow through. Dwelley Pond is it only pond. The Dwelley Pond Trail follows the old Tote Road north to south from near Burnt Mountain to near Strickland Mountain for day hiking, canoeing and fishing.

Newry

Built in 1872, the Sunday River Bridge, called “he most painted and photographed covered bridge in the state,” crosses the river of the same name. See photos. The Sunday River Ski Resort is located here. On Maine Route 26, Newry is the gateway to the hiking trails, including the Appalachian Trail, of Grafton Township. Step Falls Preserve, the first preserve of the Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, has 24 acres of cascades and pools.

North Maine Woods

The 20 mile North Maine Woods checkpoint in the Pittston Academy Grant (T2 R4 NBKP) (2008)

North Maine Woods In addition to be a general term for the forests of northern Maine, North Maine Woods is an organization that manages access to a specific area of mostly privately own land. Land Ownership                           The complicated historic land ownership in…

Northport

The modest Northport Music Theater features contemporary American musical theater. See photos. In addition to its long coastline facing Islesboro on Penobscot Bay, the town has frontage on the three-mile long Pitcher Pond and all of its Knight Pond. The historic Bayside village, of closely space summer cottages, lies off U.S. Route 1. St. Clair Preserve protects nearly all of unspoiled Knight’s Pond with 304 acres of mixed forest, bogs, swamps and fields has been home to black bears, bobcats, fishers, foxes, and deer.

Outdoor Recreation

Rafting near The Forks (2004)

in Maine is a matter of picking the freely available natural resources: streams and lakes for canoeing, nature preserves and mountains for hiking, rivers for rafting on the Penobscot River’s West Branch and the Magalloway River, forests and parks for camping, among the many non-motorized options. Not to mention hunting and fishing opportunities. The Appalachian…

Owls Head

The Knox County Regional Airport is located in Owls Head and is one of Maine’s busiest during the summer months. Owls Head State Park offers views of Penobscot Bay and the nearby Owls Head Transportation Museum contains vintage aircraft frequently flown over the Bay. Owls Head Light Station marks the southern entrance to Rockland Harbor.

Phillips

Mountain View from Route 4 in Phillips

The Sandy River-Rangeley Lakes Railroad, which transported people and forest products to and from the north woods, was once headquartered in the town. See photos. As the Sandy River passes through the village, the river bed appears as frozen sand, almost bone-like in its strange shapes. A canoe trip from here to Farmington begins well below the bridge. Outdoors woman, columnist, and promoter of outdoor sports in Maine, Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby was born here.

Phippsburg

Dunes at Popham Beach in Phippsburg (2006)

Even before it was incorporated, the community had its church (see photos), which was organized in 1765 and built in 1802. The tip of Phippsburg at the mouth of the Kennebec River is the site of the first English attempt at settling New England: the Popham Colony of 1607-1608. Fort Popham and Fort Baldwin, rise as a guardians of land upriver. Coxes Head, which juts out into the Kennebec River.

Pierce Pond Township

An Appalachian Trail Hiker Savors the Colorful Fall View

             An Appalachian Trail Hiker Savors the Colorful Fall View [PEERCE POND] a township in Somerset County, is home to all but a small portion of Pierce Pond, all of Upper Pierce Pond, Grass Pond and half of Kilgore Pond, which it shares with Bowtown Township to the east. Pierce…

Plymouth Township

Plymouth Township is in northern Somerset County, northwest of Moosehead Lake. It is split north to south by Seboomook Lake. “Seven Mile Hill” is named for its location, seven miles from Seboomook in the east.                   The northern half is accessed by the Golden Road, which runs…

Pownal

Location Map for Portland

Bradbury Mountain State Park offers picnicking, a modest walk to the summit, and a historic cattle pound. See video and photos. “Pineland Center ” is a community of non-profits and local businesses. Most of the town is rural residential, with homes and a few farmhouses widely spaced along the local roads. The few commercial establishments are clustered in Pownal Center Village.

Presque Isle

Presque Isle Birdseye View 1894

With many fine houses and a historic downtown, Presque Isle has its commercial strip like so many other communities. See photos. The University of Maine campus here provides educational and cultural opportunities for area residents. Aroostook State Park is located at the southern end of the town, on Echo Lake. The French presque isle means “almost an island,” based on the twists and turns of the Aroostook River and the Presque Isle Stream.

Public Reserved Lands

Richardson Pond in Adamstown Township from Richardson Pond Road in Lincoln Plantation (2018)

Richardson Pond in Adamstown Township from Richardson Pond Road in Lincoln Plantation (2018)   History “Maine’s “Public Reserved Lands” have a unique history. Separate from the state park system and Baxter State Park, and from more recent purchases under the “Land for Maine’s Future” program, these lands have their origin in the “public lots” that…

Rangeley

Rangely Lake (2001)

The town is at the center of the Rangeley Lakes Region with many hotels, campsites, boat launching facilities and recreational opportunities. See photos. The region was the setting for Louise Dickenson Rich’s 1942 book We Took to the Woods. It hosts Hunter Cove nature preserve and Bald Mountain public reserved land.