The Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail offers visitors a chance to experience a natural beauty seemingly untouched by man in the wilds of Maine. The trail is located in Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties and runs up from Bangor along the two branches of the Penobscot River, past the immense Moosehead Lake and through Baxter State Park. It takes in part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.
Visit Maine: Henry David Thoreau and his book “The Maine Woods”
Whether looking to retrace the routes of Thoreau accompanied by an expert guide, or seeking a solitary adventure — camping, canoeing, fishing, kayaking, rafting, hiking or just enjoying the immense solitude one finds in the Maine woods — the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail is an amazing way to experience Maine in a unique way that few others have.
150 years after Henry David Thoreau’s own excursions, a 16-day expedition was organized by Maine Woods Discovery in 2014 to retrace the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail. Poet and naturalist Thoreau wrote eloquently of his experiences in Maine and his journeys accompanied by members of the Wabanaki Tribes in his seminal book, The Maine Woods, published in 1864. In the summer of 2014, a core group of eight team members completed the entire voyage, among them Thoreau scholars, members of the Penobscot Nation and the expedition’s intrepid leader, Maine Master Guide Kevin Slater. The group paddled approximately 300 miles over rivers and lakes along the original route of Thoreau’s voyage. The experience is captured in a multi-media presentation on Henry David Thoreau in The Maine Thing Quarterly and visitors moved by the story and experiences of the group can find their own similar adventure along the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail. View the trailer from the Quarterly and related videos here.
Adventurers can choose to complete portions of the trail — there are routes along the East or West Branch of the Penobscot Rivers, and Moosehead Lake — or hike into Baxter State Park and summit Mt. Katahdin. Some portions of the trail are family friendly, with easy to moderate canoeing and hiking with the option of a well-maintained campsite or cozy B&B to come home to at day’s end. Other portions are more challenging and are often best enjoyed with a Maine Guide, a professional who knows the rivers and the land, and can provide a relaxing and enjoyable camping trip deep into the wilderness. There is a true range of experiences to be had on the water, as well — the trail offers placid family-friendly rivers to world-class whitewater rafting.
Find your own exciting wilderness experience along the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail. For more information on this and other Maine adventures, please visit www.visitmaine.com.
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