Winter adventures in Katahdin
A bounty of Nordic ski and snowshoe fun awaits winter visitors to the Katahdin region
The view of snow-capped, 5,268-foot Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain, from Abol Bridge on the Golden Road 20 miles west of Millinocket is a favorite of winter visitors.
Article and photos by Carey Kish
Mile-high Katahdin dominates the northcentral Maine landscape for miles around, its great granite walls and ridges drawing visitors to recreate year-round amid the pristine woods and waters in its long shadow. Come wintertime, opportunities abound for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and sightseeing fun in the wild region around the state’s highest peak.
Penobscot River Trails
At Penobscot River Trails in Soldiertown Township, miles of impeccably groomed and tracked ski trails wind along the wild and free East Branch of the Penobscot River.
Penobscot River Trails, the newest recreation area in the Katahdin region, is a landscape-scale project of philanthropist Gilbert Butler and the Butler Conservation Fund. Five years ago, they purchased 5,000 acres and eight miles of corridor along the East Branch of the Penobscot River. Two years ago, the group opened a state-of-the-art year-round facility in Soldiertown Township off Route 11 a dozen miles north of Medway, complete with a beautiful visitor center complex.
A wintery day’s adventure at Penobscot River Trails will lead you along a wonderfully groomed and tracked system of ski and snowshoe trails – 16 miles in all – next to the big gurgling river of Henry David Thoreau fame. As you kick and glide fancy free, you’re likely to spy the tracks of moose, fox, hare, perhaps a bobcat, plus a host of smaller critters crossing the impeccable corduroy path lined with graceful old growth hardwoods and conifer thickets.
Two beautiful warming huts, Pines and Ridges at four miles out from the visitor center and Long Meadow eight miles along near the north end of the property, offer the welcoming warmth of a crackling woodstove fire and tables and chairs to relax around, dry out your gear and enjoy a bite of lunch and a hot drink. The huts are also a good place to study the trail map.
Penobscot River Trails features 16 miles of cross-country ski and snowshoe trails, more than enough for many hours of enjoyment in the snowy woods.
Large glass windows at each hut allow plenty of glorious sunlight to stream in, while rewarding with tantalizing glimpses of snow-covered Katahdin, Maine’s “Greatest Mountain,” a little less than 20 miles to the northwest as the crow flies. Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate on the weather front, rendering a good look at the state’s highest peak and the spectacular ramparts of the Knife Edge a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, but the journey will be a memorable one nonetheless. Notice the hush of the winter woods in this remote place.
The extensive Penobscot River Trails system, modeled after John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s historic carriage roads and sporting signposts and trail signs similar to those in Acadia National Park, features not only Nordic skiing and snowshoeing in winter but paddling in the spring and mountain biking in the fall. Public use of the trails is free, and use of their plentiful loaner gear, including skis, poles, boots and snowshoes, is available by donation. No dogs or pets are allowed.
Penobscot River Trails is also the base camp for the Maine Outdoor Education Program, whose mission is to connect school-age children to the outdoors and facilitate a lifelong appreciation of physical fitness and environmental awareness for our next generation of outdoor stewards.
Two beautiful warming huts in the riverside woods at Penobscot River Trails offer skiers and snowshoers a warm respite around a cozy woodstove.
More ski and snowshoe fun in the Katahdin Region
Volunteers from the Northern Timber Cruisers snowmobile club maintain cross-country ski trails at two locations on the outskirts of Millinocket, adjacent to their clubhouse just west of town and at the “Bait Hole” just south of town on Route 11.
A pleasant 15-mile system of Nordic ski and snowshoe trails – the work of the nonprofit Katahdin Area Trails organization – emanate from the New England Outdoor Center at Twin Pine Camps on Millinocket Lake, just off the Millinocket Lake Road, eight miles northwest of Millinocket.
Immediately across from NEOC’s River Drivers Restaurant, the fine web of groomed and tracked trails leads to Hammond Ridge and Black Cat Peak, and along Millinocket Lake, rewarding with million-dollar Katahdin views here and there on a good day. Post-trek, you can grab a bite and a brew at River Drivers, then wander out onto the frozen lake for an unobstructed vista of the mountain.
The trails at NEOC are free, with gear rentals available at River Drivers.
In Millinocket, volunteers from the Northern Timber Cruisers Snowmobile and Cross-Country Ski Club maintain some 20 miles of Nordic ski and snowshoe trails on the outskirts of town, at Bait Hole three miles south on Route 11, and at the club’s clubhouse on Millinocket Lake Road just to the west. Little Smith Pond and Smith Brook are highlights at the “Clubhouse” trails, while the Bait Hole trails meander next to Elbow Lake and the Penobscot River.
The Katahdin Gear Library, an innovative service of the Millinocket Memorial Library, has skis and snowshoes to borrow, free for state residents with any Maine library card.
Follow the route of the Katahdin Woods & Waters Scenic Byway through Patten to reach the northern sector of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Designated in 2016, this 87,500-acre chunk of conservation land nestled between Baxter State Park and the East Branch of the Penobscot River features some 15 miles of groomed cross-country ski trails plus many more miles of snowshoeing options in a wilderness setting.
The ski and snowshoe trails emanating from Northern Timber Cruisers clubhouse just west of Millinocket proper lead deep into the fragrant coniferous forests.
Plan your Katahdin Region winter visit
Get cross-country ski and snowshoe trail maps plus info on trail conditions.
