1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (10 page)

Where the Woods Are Lovely, Dark, and Deep

Maine

In his 1848 essay titled “Ktaadn,” Henry David Thoreau wrote, “What is most striking about the Maine wilderness is the continuousness of the forest…. Except for a few burnt lands, the narrow intervals on the rivers, the bare tops
of mountains, and the lakes and streams, the forest is uninterrupted. It is even more grim and wild than you had anticipated.” Eighty years later, it was that very quality of wildness—and the desire to preserve it—that inspired former Maine governor Percival P. Baxter to begin buying up land in the North Woods and donating it to his state. In 1930, he bought the core of what would soon be known as Baxter State Park, a 204,733-acre wilderness that included Mount Katahdin, at 5,267 feet the state’s highest peak. Unlike most parks, Baxter was to remain “forever wild,” with human recreation regarded as secondary to the simple goal of just letting things be.

Almost nine decades later, it still is. Located amid millions of acres owned and managed by logging companies, Baxter has no paved roads, no fancy picnic areas, and no campground bathhouses. Motorcycles, pets, radios, and cell phones are prohibited. Designed to be seen on foot, the park has 200 miles of trail ranging from easy boardwalks to rugged, boulder-strewn mountain paths, all maintained primarily by volunteers. All around, forests of spruce and fir are dotted with ponds and bogs and bisected by streams and waterfalls. Moose are a common sight during the summer months, grazing the edges of marshy ponds, while black bear are drawn to the park’s abundant raspberry and blueberry patches. Plant life varies with the terrain, from alpine
wildflowers to woodland ferns and wetland orchids.

On the southern end of the park, pink and white Katahdin granite make up the rugged mountains.

The highlight of the park, of course, is Katahdin, “the greatest mountain” in the Penobscot language. A stark, mile-high, glacially scoured granite monolith, it’s the most difficult climb in the Northeast, especially along the mile-long Knife Edge, a narrow spine that runs from Pamola Peak to Baxter Peak, with steep drop-offs of several hundred feet on either side. Less difficult routes include the Abol and Hunt trails, the latter the final stretch of the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail (see p. 332). If you want to see Katahdin instead of climbing it, the 4-mile South Turner Trail offers wonderful views.

W
HERE:
86 miles north of Bangor. Tel 207-723-5140;
www.baxterstateparkauthority.com
.
W
HEN:
mid-May–mid-Oct. Campsite reservations become available in mid-Jan (in person and by mail only) and sell out fast.
B
EST TIMES:
Aug and Sept for the best weather and the absence of black flies.

“’Tis a Gift to Be Simple”

New Gloucester, Maine

The United Society of Believers, commonly called Shakers after their habit of shaking ecstatically during worship, was founded in England in 1747 and brought to the States by Mother Ann Lee in 1774. Centered
around the idea of giving oneself to God through an agrarian life of celibacy, pacifism, and communal living, and gaining fulfillment through work and building, the society grew to some 5,000 to 6,000 souls during the 19th century. The Shakers made an indelible mark on American life through their tradition of fine woodwork and their invention of several now-common tools and household items, including the wooden clothespin and the circular saw.

Founded in 1783, Sabbathday Lake was one of the smallest and most isolated of the Shaker villages. In less than a year it had attracted 200 believers, and by 1794 had begun construction of the wooden and brick buildings still in use today. It’s the only active Shaker community in the United States, with fewer than ten members tending 1,800 acres of land.

Seventeen wooden buildings and the large brick Dwelling House are nestled among carefully tended gardens and fields. The community members are always busy and usually out of sight (“Hands to Work, Hearts to God,” as Mother Ann used to say), but visitors can get a glimpse of their lifestyle by touring the community, taking in the displays and resources at its museum and library, or signing up for summer courses in herb gardening, woodworking, and other crafts.

Sabbathday’s museum, organized in 1931, contains 13,000 artifacts charting the history of Maine’s Shaker culture, including examples of the wooden furniture that is the Shakers’ most well-known cultural legacy; the Shakers believed in seeking the divine through functionality and a perfection of line.

The community’s library, established in 1882, is a nationally known repository of Shaker history, with more than 3,000 books by and about the Shakers, plus thousands of photos, journals, scrapbooks, oral histories, and
recordings of Shaker hymns. Tours depart from the museum and visit six of the community’s buildings, including the 1794 Meetinghouse, still used for worship services; the Ministry’s Shop; the 1816 Spinhouse; and the Sister’s Shop, where workers pack culinary herbs and herbal teas using methods the Shakers have employed for two centuries. They’re available at a shop on the grounds, and—proof that the community isn’t living entirely in the past—through their website.

W
HERE:
25 miles north of Portland. Tel 207-926-4597;
www.shaker.lib.me.us.
W
HEN:
late May–mid-Oct.
B
EST TIMES:
summer, when Sun 10
A.M
. services in the Meeting House are open to the public; autumn for “Apple Saturdays” walks through the orchards; 1st Sat in Dec for the Shaker Christmas Fair.

Paddling in the Company of Moose, Loons, and Beaver

Northern Maine

Way up in northern Maine, surrounded east, west, and north by Canada, the 92-mile Allagash Wilderness Waterway is the top canoeing destination in the northeastern United States, offering pristine lakes
, amazing white water, towering forests, and a chance to commune with the soul of the great North Woods. Civilization is distant, effectively ending at the town of Greenville on Moosehead Lake (see p. 28), and other people are scarce—even in the relatively long May–October season, the area typically sees only about 10,000 paddlers.

The waterway was established in 1966 by Maine’s state legislature, with the goal of conserving the Allagash’s natural beauty and undeveloped character. Venture far by land and you’ll eventually hit a logging road or clear-cut—evidence that this part of Maine is one vast tree farm, its 3.5 million acres primarily owned and managed by logging companies. Around the rivers and lakes, though, things remain as they’ve always been, the wet forest climate providing a perfect habitat for diverse plant and animal species, including moose, black bear, deer, beaver, bald eagles, and loons.

Typically, Allagash trips begin at Chamberlain Lake, west of Baxter State Park (see p. 29) and continue north to Allagash Village and the convergence of the Allagash and St. John rivers. The trip takes about a week, with more than half the route passing through a series of lakes, spiced by stretches of Class II white-water and milder rapids. Highlights along the route include gorgeous views of Mt. Katahdin from Chesuncook Lake and, at the northern end, the 40-foot tumble of Allagash Falls. Campsites are available along the route.

Northern Maine also offers prime canoeing on the St. John River and the Upper West Branch of the Penobscot. The St. John is a
classic weeklong trip, with many Class I and II rapids and two stretches of Class III. The best time is in spring, soon after the ice has melted and the water is high. The Penobscot is a calmer passage with few rapids, none difficult.

The Allagash Wilderness Waterway is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

W
HERE:
About 90 miles north of Bangor, beginning just west of Baxter State Park.
Visitor info:
Tel 207-941-4014;
www.maine.gov/doc/parks
.
H
OW:
Allagash Canoe Trips in Greenville (tel 207-237-3077;
www.allagashcanoetrips.com
) offers guided trips May–Oct; weeklong trips from $750 per person.
W
HEN:
May–Oct.
B
EST TIME:
early Oct for solitude, lack of bugs, and moose mating season.

A Beautiful Place by the Sea

Maine

Back in the day, Maine’s native Abenaki Indians came to this spot on the southern coast, liked what they saw, and gave it a straightforward name: Ogunquit, “a beautiful place by the sea.” What had caught their eye was
Ogunquit Beach, a 3.5-mile stretch of pristine white sand that’s generally regarded as New England’s most beautiful. Non-native vacationers discovered the stretch in 1888, and town residents, fearing it would be bought up and privatized, talked the state legislature into ceding it to the town. It was a wise and prescient move. Over the next century much of the 4,342-mile Maine coast did in fact fall into private hands, limiting public access, but you can still go to Ogunquit. In summer the village and its adjoining sands can be very busy. A little farther north is a stretch catering to Ogunquit’s large contingent of gay vacationers.

Called Marginal Way because it skirts the rocky cliffs and beaches of Ogunquit, it’s a lovely spot for an afternoon walk.

For a scenic stroll, head south along Marginal Way, a footpath that hugs the coast for 1.25 miles from Beach Street to Perkins Cove, a small anchorage whose pedestrian drawbridge raises to allow sailboats through to the ocean. Once a vital part of the fishing economy, today the cove is rimmed with boutiques, restaurants, and art galleries, the latter a testament to Ogunquit’s century-long history as an artists’ haven. Just west of the cove, the Ogunquit Museum of American Art is considered one of the nation’s best small museums as well as one of its most beautiful, situated on 3 landscaped acres looking toward the horizon. Opened in 1953 by painter Henry Strater, the museum today holds a collection of more than 1,500 works, including paintings by Marsden Hartley, Reginald Marsh, Robert Henri, and Charles Demuth and sculpture by Carl Walters and Isabella Howland. Its galleries have an open feel, offering wonderful views of the coast.

Nearby, the Cliff House has been open as a resort since 1872, but those early visitors never conceived of some of the treatments available
now at the on-site Cliff Spa—the Organic Maine Blueberry Body Wrap, for instance. Both the spa and the guest rooms look out over the sea from their perch atop Bald Head Cliff. For a postwrap meal, head to celebrated Arrows Restaurant, an 18th-century farmhouse offering regional ingredients and produce from its own gardens prepared with a subtle Asian influence.