Aroostook County, Maine – Far Removed from the Crowds

In spite of the starry sky above, it was pitch black on the ice-covered lake and all I could see were a few bobbing lights of snowmobiles racing far ahead of me in the distance. Only twenty hours earlier I had left home on the Spanish coast to fly for my first winter visit to the far northeastern corner of Aroostook County, Maine. I landed in the small regional airport of Presque Island, still more than an hour from my final destination on Long Lake. No sooner had I arrived when I was suited up and seated on a snowmobile after hasty instructional lessons. Halfway across the lake my machine sputtered so I slowed down instead of speeding up through the slushy snow topped ice. I feared I was going down not realizing there was still two feet of thick ice under the slush. I was soon rescued, but we did have to return the next day with an ax to chop my machine out of the ice.

I certainly didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of a genuine love for this rather remote corner of the USA. At almost 7,000 square miles, Aroostook County is the second largest county east of the Mississippi, is home to some 67,000 permanent inhabitants and is referred to as “The County” by Mainers.

During the two years of Covid many more people than usual from all over the United States visited the state of Maine to experience a less stressful and peaceful environment. This last summer, when everything opened again, it got so busy on the beautiful coast of Maine that it was hard to find accommodation anywhere. The secret is to leave the coast and travel northwest via Piscataquis, the smallest county with just over 16,500 inhabitants, towards Aroostook County. The road offers an opportunity to enjoy a magnificent view of Mt. Katahdin, the highest mountain in the state at an elevation of 5,269 feet. It is here the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail, the world’s longest hiking trail, begins winding its way south to the northwest mountains of Georgia about two and a half hours north of Atlanta. Our drive from the Maine border to the far north of Aroostook County brought us to Ft. Kent at the Canadian border. It is here that US Route One originates, ending 2,369 miles south in Key West. 

It is also possible to drive I-95 North via Portland and Bangor, partially parallel to the Canadian border as far as Houlton, the county seat that was established back in 1807. As far as I know from Bangor north it is the only Federal Highway on the East Coast of the United States with a speed limit of 75 miles per hour and there is so little traffic that you will likely encounter sections without any cars at all. On its own that is a worthwhile experience for anyone used to driving I-95 anywhere else. However, it still takes six hours on a good day. The potential hazard on the road is moose crossing the highway. Their huge bodies can suddenly appear crashing out of the woods onto the highway wreaking havoc on moving vehicles resulting in serious driver and passenger injuries.

The county has over 2,000 named lakes, rivers and streams and part of the Canadian border is covered by one of the last official wilderness areas in the United States. 

The 93 square miles of the Allagash National Park was established in 1966 and offers camping, canoeing, and hiking experiencing nature and wildlife most likely without meeting more than a few other like minded people. 

Aroostook County supports potato growing and the production of paper in the northern woods of Maine. Until after WWII the wood pulp industry was such an important part of Maine that the Eagle Lake and West Branch Railroad was built there to transport pulp. Trekking through the Allagash Wilderness and literally in the middle of nowhere I discovered the only remains of that railroad: two abandoned locomotives.

The name Aroostook originates from the Native American Micmac Tribe word for “beautiful.” The first Europeans came here from the Vendee Region, which is a part of the Loire River area in Western France on the Atlantic coast. Around the year 1600 this was one of the poorest regions of France and the government offered the people the opportunity to emigrate to southern Canada, and what is now Maine, to colonize the lands for the French king. In 1604 they formed “Acadie,” what is now Nova Scotia, and spilled over into northern Maine. Between 1604 and 1755 there was an enormous population growth as the French immigrants were used to large families, although due to difficult conditions in this otherwise undiscovered part of the country they had to deal with a fifty percent infant mortality rate. The remnants of that history can still be felt in northern Maine as many original descendants speak a form of French as their first language. The Acadian flag is still flown; every summer features Acadian Festivals and although times are changing, there still are a few families with more than twenty children. The borders between the United States and Canada used to be wide open and locals did not need to show passports to cross back and forth. But in view of the political situation in the world, that changed, and the two years of Covid resulted in total closure of the borders and a tremendous economic burden for towns on both sides. Today Americans can freely cross again showing their passports, but Canadians still have restrictions. However, strangely there are many crossings between the two countries, and this might sound astounding in view of the illegal immigration our country deals with, but in northern Maine one can drive across paved roads from the USA to Canada and back and is unlikely to be confronted by any border agents. It is illegal to cross and signs alert people to it, but only an occasional border patrol will obstruct passage. 

Just outside the city of Ft. Fairfield, there even is a golf course and country club that straddles the border. The bar is in Canada and the restaurant is in the United States.

The state of Maine offers solitude, beautiful rolling landscapes, craggy picturesque white birch and evergreen studded granite bluff, remote fly fishing streams, great hunting opportunities, brisk sailing and surfing, rustically charming coastal villages, early morning puffins in the harbor mist, stalwart people and of course Maine lobster! Aroostook County is the crowning jewel.