The Complete Guide To The North Maine Woods
Driving The North Maine Woods
We talk a lot about overland adventures and travel, but where do we actually go? One of our favorite places is right in our backyard, the North Maine Woods. We have spent extensive time driving, camping, and exploring all corners of it. So much so that we decided to share our knowledge in this Guidebook.
The North Maine Woods
The North Maine Woods (NMW) is an area in the northern geographic area of the state of Maine. It is massive, covering 3.5 million acres. To put that into perspective the entire state of Rhode Island is about 776, 960 square miles. It’s almost twice the size of the state of Massachusetts, and about the size of Yellowstone, Glacier, and Yosemite National Parks combined. It is almost entirely private commercial forest land and is owned by a group of timber companies.
Map of The North Maine Woods
While most private, there are some areas of public lands and wilderness areas, with the biggest being Baxter State Park, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, and sections of the Appalachian Trail. There are no towns or paved roads, none. Very few people live there, this includes only a small number of people who have private camps either grandfathered in or on land leased from the timber companies, workers at lumber camps, or workers supporting the Maple Syrup industry. The lumber companies do allow you to visit for a fee. The NMW sees over 100,000 people every year that come to explore, camp, fish, hunt, and snowmobile. The only other people you will see are an occasional Border Patrol Officer or Game Warden. It is a lonely area.
So what is there? Miles and miles of trees, streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. All 14 of Maine’s highest mountains, all over 4,000 ft including Mt. Katahdin. All of Maine’s largest rivers start there: the Androscoggin, the Kennebec, the St. John, the Penobscot, and the St. Croix. It hosts the entirety of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Every type of wildlife that Maine has to offer, deer, moose, bears, turkeys, pheasants, Canada Lynx., common loons, coyotes, and bobcats. Maine has the largest population of Moose in the lower 48 and the nation’s largest population of Canada Lynx in the nation, most of them being in the NMW. Even with the sporadic lumber activity, it is one of the largest uninterrupted examples of nature at its purest in the nation.
Thoreau put it best when he described the views from Maine’s highest point, Mount Katahdin, as akin to looking at “a mirror broken into a thousand fragments, and scattered wildly across the grass.”
Now that we have piqued your interest, here are all the details that you will need before you go.
North Maine Woods Checkpoints and Fees
Checkpoints are one of the first parts of the NMW that you will experience. While you can explore portions of the outskirts of the woods, you will need to go through a checkpoint in order to access the majority of it. There are at least 14 checkpoints spread across the NMW. The majority of these checkpoints are staffed and are open from either 5 am or 6 am to 9 pm EST seven days a week. You must register and pay your access fees at the checkpoints. You can go through a checkpoint at any time of day. If it is off-hours you can call using the supplied phone at the checkpoint to speak with a representative at NMW HQ, and leave an envelope in the slot with your registration form and fees included.
Some of the checkpoints are never staffed and have no Gate, but you gave the responsibility to stop and self-register. When you register, you will keep one of the sheets as per the instructions. You will need to leave this sheet at the checkpoint on your way out, even if it is unstaffed. This way they will know that you paid for the full length of your stay. You can find a self-registration form on the NMW website. You can also find them at all NMW checkpoints.
You will have to go through a checkpoint in order to access or exit the NMW. While you might think that there must be a road that you can use somewhere to get in or out without paying you would be wrong. We have traveled hundreds of miles of roads and are yet to find a non checkpointed access road. So don’t think that you can get in without paying.
Important Note: The checkpoints do NOT accept credit cards, you either need to pay in cash or by check.
Note: Checkpoints are only staffed and you are only required to pay fees from May until late November.
North Maine Woods Camping
Over the last few years when we said that we went camping this is where we went. There are over 350 maintained campsites spread out across the NMW. They are all first come first serve and don’t accept reservations. Unlike National Forests and BLM land, you can’t camp anywhere that you want but rather need to camp in an authorized campsite. Even though they are first come first serve most have multiple spots. We like to be alone though and if someone is there we often look for another campsite. If you plan to camp there is a separate camping fee to go along with the day-use fees, details on camping and day-use fees are included in the chart above. There is a two-week maximum limit per site.
Sites vary, but most of them have picnic tables, (some covered), fire pits, and vault toilets. Some, but not all are on lakes, ponds, and rivers. Often you will arrive to find chopped firewood stacked by the fire ring.
These campsites are maintained by the staff of the NMW. They do great work and we are yet to arrive at a campsite that wasn’t in perfect shape. With that said, treat the campsites gently and try and leave them better than you find them. Pack out all trash, and when possible clean up any trash that was left before you. It makes it better for everyone.
You can find a campsite inventory list on the North Maine Woods website. The inventory list also includes other information including the number of spots, if the picnic table is covered, and if it is accessible by canoe or accessible by vehicle. Please note, not all campsites are accessible by car, some of them, for example in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway are only accessible via canoe or kayak.
Fires are allowed in fire rings at designated campsites unless otherwise marked. There are a smaller number of sites that require fire permits in order to have a fire. Fire permits can be acquired before arrival from the North Region Headquarters in Ashland, ME. They can also be acquired at some of the checkpoints.
You are not allowed to cut live trees in order to acquire firewood, however, you are able to use deadfall and downed trees. All fires must be kept within provided fire rings. Please also douse all fires before you leave. Fires outside a steel ring require a written fire permit from the Maine Forest Service.
While you won’t often see wildlife at your campsite, they will often visit at night. It is important to clean up and properly store all food and trash in your vehicle at night. This will help to keep animals away, and if they do come they won’t make as much of a mess and will be less likely to come back.
Mobile homes are not allowed in the NMW for recreational use. Only single vehicles less than 28 feet in length and vehicles and trailers with a combined length of fewer than 44 feet will be allowed entrance. Large vehicles within these limits may also be required to travel at certain low traffic periods through any checkpoint if requested by the checkpoint receptionist on duty.
In addition, there are over 50 commercial outfitters and lodges in the NMW that provide overnight accommodations. You can find a list of businesses on the NMW business link page.
We have found that the campsite Infomation on the inventory, Maine Gazetteer, and offroad GPS apps like Gaia GPS, are generally accurate, however, we do find discrepancies. While we haven’t visited all NMW campsites we have visited a lot of them, and you can find our list of waypoints including campsites in our Unofficial Backroads Mapbook of the NMW.
Driving in the North Maine Woods
Driving in the North Maine Woods is relatively easy but you need to pay attention. Even though most roads are empty you can find traffic from logging operations, animals, other visitors, and road conditions can change quickly. The NMW can be busy with logging traffic most days. In reality, very few sections are being logged at any one time but there can still be decent traffic transporting logs out for processing. We mostly travel on weekends and around holidays, so we rarely see active logging operations. Drive carefully and always drive with your lights on for safety.
Remember logging vehicles own the road, literally and in reality. They are letting you visit and they have right of way. And be careful, logging trucks often travel fast and have large heavy loads, they won’t move, you have to. Logging trucks often drop logs along the way so don’t be surprised if you see stray logs in the middle of the road.
Logging trucks own the roads in the North Maine Woods
All of the roads in the NMW are dirt but most can be traveled on even in a stock 2WD vehicle. Many often are in terrible shape though. Even though the logging companies do grade the roads, the logging trucks really chew them up and they are can become rutted, corrugated, and very muddy. While most bridges are sturdy they are in various conditions and need to be crossed carefully.
There are offshoots and trails that can get sticky and more difficult with the addition of rocks, mud, and even flooding. Some of them should also be classified less as roads and more as game trails or goat paths and are tight and overgrown. These more challenging trails are the trails that we look for. I think part of it is that we like to challenge ourselves, and I think that there is a special feeling when you are able to go somewhere that most others couldn’t get to. We love the idea of going where very few have gone before. You might not and then we recommend staying off of them.
Truthfully we rarely see people at all. It might be days until we run into someone and by then it is actually a little startling when you see another vehicle. We see way more wildlife than we do people. Moose and wildlife are more frequent sightings on roads than cars or trucks.
You need to be careful and pay attention though because accidents do happen. We suspect the water truck below hit a moose in the road and bet that it didn’t end well for either of them. I would love to see the Craigslist posting for the vehicle, “lightly used commercial water truck, that needs a little work. Handyman’s special!”
The North Maine Woods is open all year long and doesn’t close in winter, but note that not all roads are plowed. Most of the larger roads are plowed, but most of the smaller roads aren’t plowed and are used for snowmobiling. You can get a list of the roads that are currently being plowed on the North Maine Woods website here. Do not expect access to campsites in winter, except when there is little to no snow. Also note that you will see even less traffic in winter, so you have to be even more careful and self-sufficient.
No bicycles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, or horses are allowed at any time of year in the North Maine Woods area. This is necessary for logging road safety and to reduce the possibility of forest fires in hard-to-reach locations.
Through Traffic Between Maine and Canada
The roads within North Maine Woods are privately built for the purpose of managing the woodland area. Through traffic from Canada into Maine or Maine into Canada is not permitted via the road system in NMW. Recreationists may travel to their desired destinations within the area and then return to the country from which they entered. Parties entering at one of the Canadian Border checkpoints must leave via the same checkpoint.
Weather
The weather in the North Maine Woods can vary dramatically and can change quickly. As you would expect, the warmest months are July and August with an average temperature of about 75 degrees. December through February are the coldest on the other hand with average temperatures for December through February is only around 11 degrees in the north, much colder than the Maine coast.
While Northern Maine sees less overall precipitation than the rest of Maine, it does see considerably more snow. Caribou for example sees on average 110 of snow a year. The below chart shows the average temperatures and precipitation by month for Clayton Lake, which is located in the northern central area of the NMW.
Also expect that there might be big temperature changes day to day. While quite warm for several days it can quickly turn quite cold. Remember that the NMW is very far North, it is actually about as far North as Montreal. Always bring clothes for colder weather than you expect to be safe.
Recreation in the North Maine Woods
There is so much that you can do in the North Maine Woods that there is likely to be something of interest for everyone. We have discussed camping already so we will now touch on other options for fun.
Wildlife Viewing: As mentioned above, the NMW is teaming with Wildlife. Moose, deer, black bears, coyotes, bobcats, Canadian lynx, red fox, fisher, otter, mink, marten, weasel, beavers, porcupine, muskrat, red squirrel, and snowshoe hare. You can also find all kinds of birds including turkeys, pheasants, Loons, ducks, and yes even eagles. You often don’t have to go looking for wildlife, it will either find you or you will often happen to just stumble on it. Wildlife viewing is one of our favorite things to do in the NMW.
Fishing: The fishing in the NMW is fantastic. Due to its remoteness and lack of development, the fish population has stayed strong compared to most other places, and you have so many opportunities to choose from. There are thousands of lakes and ponds and miles of rivers and streams. All of Maine’s largest rivers start there: the Androscoggin, the Kennebec, the St. John, the Penobscot, and the St. Croix. It hosts the entirety of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. You can fly fish for Brook trout, Maine Arctic Charr, and land-locked salmon. Lake trout, bass, muskellunge. Your fishing opportunities don’t end in winter either as you can ice fish as well. You can also hire a guide if you are not as experienced or want to up your chances.
Snowmobiling: The NMW is home to some of the best backcountry snowmobile trails in Maine. Stay off of plowed roads, riding snowmobiles on plowed roads is illegal. Stay on marked trails or roads at all times. Be extra careful as you will be super remote. If you are not comfortable self-supporting then hire a guide. There are multiple winter lodges in the NMW as well if you don’t want to just spend the day.
Hunting: Hunting is a popular activity in the NMW. Depending on the season there are opportunities to hunt for moose, dear, black bear, turkey, grouse, and other fowl. Just like fishing, there are multiple different guide services that can aid you on your hunt. Check-in with the staff at the checkpoints for any other hunting requirements.
Boating: As you can imagine with thousands of rivers, ponds, and lakes, the NMW is a great spot to go boating. Canoeing and Kayaking are extremely popular. A great example of this is the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW). The AWW is 92 miles long and consists of lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams that meander through the heart of the North Maine Woods region. Hundreds of boating, fishing, and canoeing enthusiasts visit the AWW each year. There are campsites located all up and down the AWW, a good deal of which are only accessible via boat. There are also multiple shuttle services if you want to float the AWW or one of the other major rivers and need a ride back or to be picked up. Many of the ponds and lakes also allow motorboats and provide boat launches as well.
North Maine Woods Services
As you can imagine, it is remote! Even though it is enormous there are basically no services, no gas, no food, and no AAA (that we are aware of). There are one or two outfitters or lodges like Pittston Farm that offer some food and fuel, but that’s it. If you want to go you will need to be self-sufficient and be prepared. Even though you can often be a stone’s throw from Canada and there might be services right over the border, there are no border crossings in the NMW except for commercial and logging operations.
While there are no non-guide or lodging services in the North Maine Woods, there are some on the outskirts that can be accessed relatively easily. You can leave the NMW and return as long as you show your slip at the checkpoint on the way back in. Historic Pittston Farm is a great example. They are on the outskirts of the NMW are technically located in Rockwood Maine, just north of Greenville. They are located just outside of the Twenty Mile checkpoint. They offer lodging, have a restaurant, a small convenience type store, and most importantly offer fuel for trucks and snowmobiles.
The town of Ashland is also a great place for resources even further north. It is located about 6 miles east of the Six Mile checkpoint on Realty Road. There are multiple gas stations, restaurants, and convenience stores. This is also the location of the NMW HQ and a major game warden location.
Even further north there is Chamberlains Market just outside of the Little Black checkpoint in Allagash. They have gas, food, and a small convenience store.
Be Prepared
We love the North Maine Woods and highly recommend that you visit it, but if you go, go prepared. We have mentioned some of this before but it is important enough to repeat. The NMW is massive, and most of it is extremely remote. There is no cell signal. Assume that you are on your own. Many of the major roads like the Golden Road, Realty Road, and Telos Road see significant traffic, but the further you get from these roads the quieter it gets. You may not see people for days. Here are some key points:
Again, within the NMW proper, there is no gas. Keep an eye on your tank and remember that you will need to go just as far back as you have come and plan to turn around while you still have a margin for error. We also recommend that you carry extra fuel as a safety net, at least 5 gallons stored in a safe container
Ensure that your vehicle is in good working order, and carry extra fluids if you often need them. A breakdown in the NMW is tough to deal with
Make sure that you have four high-quality tires in good condition and a full-size working spare. We also recommend that you carry a small tire compressor and a tire repair kit, and know how to use them. A flat tire is one of the likeliest issues that you will encounter
While it is not a bad idea to bring jumper cables, we more highly recommend that you bring a micro jumpstarter like the Antigravity Micro-Start. Why? Because if you get a dead battery there is a strong likelihood that you will be isolated and not have easy access to anyone to give you a jumpstart. Even though we have a dual battery kit in our Jeep, we still carry the Noco Boost X for added protection and it has worked perfectly. After a flat, one of the next likeliest issues is a dead battery
Bring a basic tool kit including a jack and lug wrench
Carry a couple of days of extra food and water. If something does happen you never know how long you will be stranded. Make sure that you store high-quality food to act as fuel in an emergency. Bringing some higher calorie foods in colder weather as your body needs more calories to stay warm. Remember to bring items that can keep for a while like canned goods and freeze-dried meals. Don’t forget your pets, and make sure to bring extra dog food and enough water for them as well. We often find that you need more water than you think. It is not a bad idea to bring a water filter to be on the safe side. If you tap into your food or water reserves make sure to restock when you get home that it is ready when you need it
In the same regard, we recommend that you bring some warm clothes and extra blankets/sleeping bags to be safe, even in summer as you could get stuck out on a cold night. At the least carry a couple of emergency blankets
Carry a first aid kit and make sure that you know basic first aid. In an emergency, there is a chance that no one will get to you in time. Learn important items like CPR and bring and know when and how to use a tourniquet. And again don’t forget your pets, make sure that you have supplies to support them as well, New Skin or something similar is good for torn open footpads, and Coban comes in handy for small scrapes and cuts. The AKC has a great article on what should be included in a dog's first aid kit.
Note that on most of the logging roads the truckers use channel 19 to communicate. If it is different it will be marked. You could always try and contact someone nearby on a CB radio if you have one
If you can, we highly recommend carrying a satellite messenger like the Spot Satellite Messanger, Garmin Inreach, Somewhere Global Hotspot, or Zoleo Satellite Communicator. The newer models don’t just have SOS functions that will send help to your location, but also let you communicate through text to your family, friends, or first responders. We have the Inreach Mini and never go into the NMW without it
Let someone know your plans, where you are going, and when they should expect you back. We often tell them that if we are not back by this time on this day call for help. If you have a satellite communicator you can send daily messages that all is well as well as reach out when you need help
Even if you have a GPS unit or app on your phone, make sure to bring a paper map as well. Twice while traveling in the NMW our GPS failed and we had to resort to our trusted Gazeteer. If you are using a GPS unit or app, make sure to download the data beforehand as you won’t be able to access it once you arrive
One last key point on preparation, these items do you no good if you don’t bring them. While it seems obvious, your luck will be that the one time you forgot something is the time you will need it. We keep most of our emergency/safety gear in our Jeep at all times. If you are not able to then we recommend that you have a pre-trip checklist that includes all of your required items. It is not a bad idea to have for your normal needs as well, food, clothes, camping gear, etc.
Vehicle Recovery and Recovery Gear
Most of the roads in the NMW are easy and can be traveled in a stock 2WD vehicle, but some of the side roads and roads that see heavy logging traffic can deteriorate quickly. Make sure that you properly tailor your driving style to your recovery kit. Don’t have any recovery gear? Then stick to the main roads or be at least turn around when things get hairy.
Do you plan to travel alone? Or do you travel with at least one other vehicle? We travel alone and do like to take the challenging roads, so we carry a full self-recovery kit. We have a Comeup Winch installed on our front bumper and a full recovery kit to go with it (tree strap, winch extension, soft shackles, and D shackles) and it has saved us many times. We also carry Maxtrax Recovery Boards and a shovel.
If you travel with another vehicle, at least carry a recovery strap and a couple of soft shackles, if not also add a kinetic snatch strap. Adding a shovel also isn’t a bad idea.
Explore For Yourself
We love the North Maine Woods and even though we have spent extensive time exploring it we can’t wait for more. We have traveled all over the NMW woods including to the very northernmost tip of Maine, there are very few areas that we haven’t explored. We have captured hundreds of trails, and waypoints including campsites, checkpoints, animal sightings, and other points of interest. Offroad GPS maps and the Maine Gazetteer Map are relatively good, but we have found that they aren’t always accurate. Trails and roads they say are there but aren’t, roads we find that are not on the map and campsites that are supposed to exist but don’t. If you want the most accurate map of the North Maine Woods check out our store for The Complete Unofficial Backroads Mapbook of the North Maine Woods.
So now you have read this guidebook, and you now want to go for yourself. So what are you waiting for? Get prepared, get up, and go. If you have any questions or want suggestions please reach out, we would love to help!
