Maine Scenic Byway Attractions Made by Mother Nature
MAINE –
Maine‘s 12 national and state scenic byways cover more than 500 miles of roadway through beautiful coastal and inland landscapes. Each byway has natural attractions providing detours from a short walk to recreation opportunities that could fill a weekend.
Grafton
Notch
State Park is a destination for many travelers on the Route 26 Grafton Notch Scenic Byway (http://www.exploremaine.org/byways/lakes-mtns/graftonnotch.shtml). The park’s
Moose
Cave is a boulder cave within a 200-foot long gorge that has 45-foot tall walls. The byway crosses the
Appalachian Trail and passes through the 4,000-foot Mahoosuc Mountain Range.
Near the northern end of the 78-mile Old Canada Road National Scenic Byway (http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/11510) (Route 201) take the Attean Rd. before reaching downtown Jackman and drive to the public boat launch on Attean Pond. Paddle along the shore on the right until you reach a series of five campsites on sandy beaches. The last of the sites has a trailhead for 2,200 foot
Sally
Mountain with panoramic views of the island-studded pond and colorful surrounding hills and mountains.
Donnell
Pond
Public
Reserved
Land provides an oasis of recreation along the Blackwoods Road Scenic Byway (http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/11511/) (Route 182) between the towns of
Franklin and Cherryfield. Take a break along the 13-mile byway to paddle in one of
Maine‘s clearest lakes, hike small mountains, camp or fish on a secluded pond, or watch for moose, deer, great gray owls or bald eagles.
Racing to See the Colors
Get a workout in with your leaf-peeping at the 20th annual Maine Marathon, Relay and Half Marathon (http://www.mainemarathon.com/) Oct. 2 in
Portland. The marathon and half marathon begin and end beside the city’s Back Cove. The marathon course is mostly flat with rolling hills and heads north into Falmouth and
Yarmouth before turning south. The marathon relay is open for teams of two to four runners. The event is a Boston Marathon qualifier race.
Another option is the 10th annual Mount Dessert Island Marathon & Relay (http://www.mdimarathon.org/) Oct. 16. The race that was named Most Scenic in North America by ESPN begins in downtown Bar Harbor and snakes through the villages of Otter Creek and
Seal
Harbor to
Northeast
Harbor, Somesville and
Southwest
Harbor. Admire the changing foliage colors with ocean, mountain and forest vistas.
For more information about
Maine’s fall events and activities go to www.visitmaine.com.
What’s New & Unique
Works By Rock Stars on Display
A biennial gathering of the world’s top rock sculptors has led to a unique public art tour along
Maine’s downeast coast. Granite sculptures created at the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium have been permanently installed at 12 sites from Deer Isle to Milbridge. The large-scale, free-form sculptures on the Schoodic Sculpture Tour (http://schoodicsculpture.org/tour/) have names like “Transitory,” “Tribute to Life,” and “A glimpse of the moon.” Six new sculptures will be added to the tour following the completion of the 2011 symposium.
From Wine to Beer to Beer Flavored Ice Cream
After nearly 10 years of successful winemaking the owners of Winterport Winery added beer to their product line, opening Penobscot Bay Brewery. And now the
Anderson family is using a stout brew to create another product: Bay Brew Ice Cream (http://www.winterportwinery.com/baybrewicecream.asp). Stone Fox Creamery in
Monroe makes Half Moon Stout ice cream (tastes like coffee) and Black and Tan (stout base with chocolate swirl) for Bay Brew. Finally, you can drink your beer and eat it too.
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