When it comes to outdoor recreation, Maine is probably best known as the home of the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, at Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park. However, although many of the best hikes and mountain bike rides in Maine are indeed in the Appalachian Mountains, there are excellent opportunities for outdoor recreation on great trails throughout the state.
Of course, Mt. Katahdin, Maine’s highest point at 5,268 feet, still makes a worthy destination year-round, from the heat of summer when hikers and backpackers scale its heights to mid-winter when the park’s snow-laden trails are open for cross-country skiing. Maine also has excellent downhill skiing and snowboarding at uncrowded resorts like Sugarloaf and Sunday River, whose trails are great for mountain biking in the warmer months. Snowshoeing is also popular in Maine, with its long winters, ample snowfall, and vast wilderness. And canoeists will love Maine’s countless lakes, ponds, and rivers, one of the best ways to experience the north woods.
It is only about 225 miles between New Hampshire and the Canadian border, but Maine’s spectacular coastline is so rugged it has been estimated to measure 10 times that distance or more. Acadia National Park, outside of Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, is its crown jewel with great trails of all kinds exploring its signature pink granite, precipitous cliffs, and ocean views. Most of the state’s population, concentrated in Portland, Augusta, Waterville, and Bangor along the I-95 corridor, lives within an easy day trip of the Atlantic Ocean, whose rocky coves, bays, and cliffs offer a lifetime of exploration for boaters, sea kayakers, and fisherman, and plenty of scenic drives to picturesque New England villages along the shore. Truly, Maine is much more than just Mount Katahdin and the Appalachian Trail.
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