Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Canoeing
Canoeing is an ancient art in Maine. Its roots reach back thousands of
years to the Native Americans who were the first humans to call the
region home.
With thick forests and high mountains everywhere, rivers and streams
provided the best routes between seasonal encampments and rich hunt-
ing and gathering grounds. With relatively short carries between lakes or
over coastal peninsulas, the Indians, who fashioned rugged canoes from
single sheets of bark from “canoe birch,” (aka white birch), could quickly
and safely access most of the state.
The potential for trips is endless. It ranges from short day trips on mean-
dering streams Down East (such as the Narraguagus and Pleasant) to
two-week expeditions on the fabled Allagash in Northern Maine.
For paddlers who don't shrink from having to endure repeated lengthy
portages, there is the East Branch of the Penobscot, with its aptly-named
Hulling Machine where no pulp or saw log that entered upstream came
out below with a shred of bark left on.
For those seeking a more transcendental experience there are leisurely
float trips on the sandy Saco in Western Maine or week-long adventures
on the St. Croix on the boundary with New Brunswick. There are few
canoeable places in North America where river left is one country and
river right another. And, because each country is in a different time zone,
it is possible to get up in Canada, paddle for nearly an hour, and stop for
breakfast in the US before you actually got up!
Use of Maine's rivers shifts with the seasons. Smaller coastal rivers with
limited watersheds often get too low for decent paddling by late June.
Bigger rivers, many of which are dam controlled, often sport rapids too
dangerous for paddlers in open boats. Still, drifting down a wild stream
never knowing if a moose may be lingering just around the corner is one
of life's great pleasures in the Maine outdoors. On most lakes loons call
each night and serenade tired campers to sleep.
Recommended canoe trips are covered in the individual area chapters.
