John Gibson - Maines Most Scenic Roads

Text copyright 1998 by John Gibson

ISBN 978-089272942-5

Designed by Phil Schirmer

Cover photo by Laurence Parent

Back cover photo by Jason Verschoor/iStockphoto

2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gibson, John, 1940

Maines most scenic roads : 25 routes off the beaten path : a

travelers guide / John Gibson.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-089272942-5 (pbk.)

1. MaineTours. 2. Automobile travelMaineGuidebooks.

3. Scenic bywaysMaineGuidebooks. I. Title.

F17.3.G515 1998

917.410443dc21

98-28623

CIP

maps

Fryeburg to Gilead

Route 1

Bethel, Grafton Notch, Upton

Route 2

Norway, Lovell, Harrison

Route 3

Wilton to Weld

Route 4

Rumford to Rangeley

Route 5

Augusta, Belgrade Lakes

Route 6

Damariscotta to South Bristol

Route 7

Gardiner to Bath

Route 8

Woolwich to Reid State Park

Route 9

Coopers Mills to Dodge Point

Route 10

Belfast to Liberty

Route 11

Augusta to Camden

Route 12

Dresden to Friendship

Route 13

Thomaston to Rockland

Route 14

Castine to Deer Isle

Route 15

Bingham to Jackman

Route 16

Jackman to Greenville

Route 17

Howland to Vanceboro

Route 18

Island Falls to Lincoln

Route 19

Topsfield to Houlton

Route 20

Smyrna Mills to Ashland

Route 21

Mount Desert Island (West Side)

Route 22

Gouldsboro Schoodic Point

Route 23

Ellsworth to Cherryfield

Route 24

East Machias, Lubec, West Quoddy Head

Route 25

introduction

WELCOME to the inviting back roads and country highways of rural Maine. We know youll enjoy your journey in this authentic corner of the Northeast, wherever you travel.

The Pine Tree State is a large, rangy place, and visitors are often surprised by its size when they head off to its beautiful hinterlands. This may be because Maine is the topmost part of that seemingly diminutive region known historically as New England. On a national map, New England seems a compact place, and Maine a mere section of it. Such notions can be deceptive.

If, for example, a traveler began at Kittery, the states southernmost point, and ambled northward to the Canadian border at Fort Kent or Madawaska, he or she would drive over 300 miles before crossing that border. If you were to explore Maine from west to east, driving, for example, from Gilead to Bangor to Wesley to Machias to Lubec at the states widest point, you would cover well over 200 miles. And every mile on every road chosen would be interesting and eye catching. Point being: There are nearly unlimited miles of open road in Maine for would-be explorers.

Maines network of pleasant rural highways is not only extensive; it will take you through a surprising variety of landscapes. Some would say Maine has more distinct regional landscapes than any state in the nation, and theyd likely be correct. Visitors and natives alike drive the Maine coast for its legendary beauty. Small villages with salty air and the hallmarks of deepwater commerce line the way. Turn westward and youll encounter scenic rural roads in Maines imposing mountain country. Some of the highest and most rugged peaks in the northern Appalachians reside there. Think Saddleback, Abraham, Bigelow, Kathadin, and others.

Southern Maine drives take one to beaches, islands, and numerous necks of land that lead to striking coves and harbors. A lot of Americas early history was enacted on this ground. Today, unique galleries, famous sands, crafters studios, and artist encampments abound. Maines great oceanfront city of Portland is here, too, rich with museums, galleries, theaters, and world-class inns and restaurants. Everything from trawlers to the worlds largest ocean liners tie up on the Portland waterfront.

Go north in Maine as far as the eye can see and youll drive through beautiful Aroostook, a place of big skies, farms, and fields, known simply to natives as The County. Potato barns dot the countryside, seasonal storage for the countys biggest traditional crop. Silos peek over hills, and quiet roads with little traffic invite you to keep exploring. Temperatures in northern Aroostook have been seen to get rather chilly in winter, so cold, in fact, that the US Weather Service office in Caribou, Maine, routinely reports the wintriest temperatures on the national map. Drives in Aroostook show one a hard, rolling beauty found nowhere else in New England.

Motor to Newry, Rangeley, and Stratton in Maines far northwest for bold mountain views and the best big-mountain skiing in the Northeast, plus the hospitality to go with it. Motor to Jackman and jump off from there to the sporting camps and superb fishing that make the region famous. Maines northern lakes are thick on the vine here, and connecting rivers engage canoeists for days on end. From Rangeley to Presque Isle as the loon flies, the trout fishing in Maines vast northwest is, as locals may allow, wicked good. These are Maines Great North Woods, the biggest unsettled area east of the Mississippi.

The region, visited by few from away because they havent troubled to know about it, makes its living by harvesting lumber logs and pulp for paper. In its midst is hidden the wonder of Baxter State Park and more than 20,000 miles of gravel paper-company roads. Camping at deep woodland sites where you are quite likely to see moose, deer, fox, and bear, is available upon inquiry. Driving Maines North Woods and tenting in the back country will put to shame any camping youve ever done in the suburban elsewhere. Maines sporting camps are there, too, where youll find rustic accommodations, good eating, and the best hiking, canoeing, hunting, and fishing in eastern America. As promised, you are unlikely to run out of road in Maine whatever your preferred destinations and interests.

To those who know Maines unique terrain, it puzzles that many visitors spend so much of their travel time pursuing entertainments they might have got just as well around the corner at home. Try something different. This book urges you to get off the beaten track, leave behind the familiar, forget video games and plastic amusements, and take to Maines open country roads. Excellent local accommodations, imaginative fine dining, grand places to rough it and more await you. The people youll meet, the backbone of Maine, are finestkind, too! Yes, Interstates and major well-trafficked arteries such as U.S. Route 1 do exist in Maine. We do, in fact, have one of each. Thats quite enough. This book will guide you to the many pleasing alternatives.

Practical Realities

This volume is a guide to some of Maines most scenic rural highways, along which youll discover much to interest you. Well describe a host of routes you may wish to follow, some point-to-point, others loops that will bring you back to your starting point. Each route directs you to a distinct region and its flavors. Along the way well indicate places you may want to pause and visit, as well as shopping districts, auto services, and other important venues. Always, the purpose of each route description is to present what you will encounter as you drive along.

This isnt a guide to particular businesses or restaurants or accommodations, which may change, relocate, or close from time to time or season to season. Well call your attention to attractions such as museums, artist and craft studios, and galleries. Places of historical and architectural interest, and scenes of natural beauty are, of course, mentioned. And, just because this is a guide to pleasant Maine drives doesnt mean we slight more energetic pastimes. Maine roads roll by many hiking trails, coastal walks, camping places, canoe launches, and excellent short strolls. Well mention these in passing, too.