Hiking

Hiking, backpacking, biking and snowshoeing in Maine is a once in a lifetime adventure, picture yourself in the middle of the breathtaking cool dark pine forests crowned by blue skies. Diverse wildlife will frame the hundreds of hiking trails varying from easy to challenging.

Naming all the state's natural areas where you can find good hiking trails is nearly impossible, although the most popular is the Appalachian Trail whose northern end is Mount Katahdin, the highest elevation of just over 5200 feet, located at Baxter State Park.

In fact, Maine's hiking top spots are the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, developed by volunteers and opened as a continuous trail in 1937, and the Acadia National Park, located on the rugged coast over 47,000 acres of granite-domed mountains, woodlands, lakes and ponds, and the ocean shoreline.

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a 2,174-mile path across major valleys of the Appalachian Mountains, traversing the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia.

Mount Katahdin is the home of the Appalachian Trail (AT) used by day, weekend and different short-term hikers, section-hikers and thru-hikers. Thru-hikers hike the entire length of the Trail only during the spring season of every year, when a group of hikers leave Springer, Georgia, for the long journey to the summit in Baxter State Park in Maine.

This journey is a marathon hike including people from many age groups forging friendship and memories while hiking from south to north starting in March and ending in Maine just before the fierce winter arrives to New England. The exciting part is that any person can complete the hiking trail. The average age is 20, but the oldest person who has ended the hike was in his 80's.

Maine has a favorite saying, "If you do not like the weather wait a minute" which can make your hiking trip enjoyable if you take that minute selecting from the variety of hiking options and experiences for a day, overnight or a week hiking trip. Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands manage hiking trails. Contact them for further information and hiking maps for state parks.

Acadia National Park is located on Mount Desert Island, and offers 120 miles of hiking trails for both the novice and the expert, ranging in difficulty from easy to strenuous. Terrain on this area varies from rugged shoreline, and includes deep woods, to open mountain summits, which have breathtaking views of the ocean and the islands nearby.

Take the challenge hiking to the top of Cadillac Mountain, and explore some of the most quiet and secluded mountain paths, or enjoy the most spectacular sunrise over Frenchman's Bay, coincidentally this is the first place in the United States to see the sunrise every day.

Maine's North Woods is New England's great wilderness where moose and other wildlife are still commonly encountered during a hike or ride. However, you can also enjoy nature on the hiking trails along the coast, the same at Bar Harbor, Boothbay, Camden, or Portland, where the cooler coastal sea breeze keeps the weather warm and with less snow during the winter season due to salt from the ocean.

The regions inland, such as Bangor, Waterville, Newport, and Millinocket, have summer temperatures ranging from 70º F to 80º F, and Winter months very cold with wind chills in sub-zero ranges and snow from November through March., while in Maine's western mountains of Jackman, Bethel, Rangley, etc. evenings temperatures range from the 40º F to 50º F during summer, and heavy snow during Winter.