Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Avoid areas above and below dams. In addition to trick cur-
rents, water levels can change rapidly and without warning.
Do not swim in remote, abandoned quarries. In addition to ac-
cess difficulty the water is often extraordinarily deep, cold,
and filled with debris such as old derricks and steel cables.
If caught in a rip tide (sudden surge of water away from land)
while swimming at an ocean beach, don't fight it. You will only
tire and get nowhere. Swim parallel to the shore. You will
eventually swim out of the rip and into water where you can
easily make your way to dry land.
Skiing
For many residents of Maine and visitors alike, winter is the season
when things really come alive. Years ago, winter was a time to “hive up,”
and avoid going outdoors. Hearty trappers ventured out to tend their
lines and the woods buzzed with activity as loggers felled trees in antici-
pation of Spring's thaw and the rush of wood downstream to mills.
Sporting camp owners and entrepreneurs hit the lakes to cut massive
blocks of ice to stash in ice houses insulated with sawdust. Winter's
bounty kept the bourbon cool all summer and was often shipped by schoo-
ner to big cities all along the Eastern Seaboard.
By November, most of those “snowbirds” who will flee to Florida have left.
But, as the first flakes of snow begin to mount and deep, clear ice stills
the waters of northern lakes, a new season of visitation sets in.
Fishermen take to the lakes in their cozy, wood-heated shacks. With
thousands of miles of trails, Maine's more than 75,000 snowmobiles hit
the road.
Still, even where there is an emphasis on motorized travel, the wilds of
Maine offer millions of acres of pristine snow for snow shoeing or winter
camping. Ice skating and ice boating are also popular pastimes.
Maine is home to some of the finest alpine skiing in North America.
Mountains and resorts range from the comparatively tame Shawnee
Peak in Bridgeton to lofty Sugarloaf, which offers the only above-treeline
skiing in the North. More than a dozen major ski areas boast some of of
