Woods, Water + Stars
Summer is peak season for Maine’s darkest skies.
Nighttime in Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument is solid and absolute, darkness so pristine it swallows the vast forest and reveals a bright celestial vistion overhead. The monument’s skies transform into a canopy of stars, sketched with constellations and the luminous silver plume of the Milky Way. Established in 2016, this 87,500-acre expanse of northern Maine wilderness is an official International Dark Skies Sanctuary—the first of its kind east of the Mississippi.
“In a major city like New York or Chicago, you might only see a few dozen stars,” says University of Maine astronomer Shawn Laatsch. “In a preserved dark-sky area like the monument, you can see up to 2,000 with the naked eye.”
Late summer is a prime time for stargazing in Katahdin Woods & Waters, according to Laatsch, when our earthly position “looks toward the center of our galaxy, in the direction of Scorpius and Sagittarius.” Here, you’ve got a front row seat to the cosmos, and a starting point for wide-ranging Maine adventure.
Explore Maine
Towns of Note
▶ MILLINOCKET
This timber town marks the gateway to the northern Maine wilderness. Gear up for adventure or join triumphant thru-hikers at The Appalachian Trail Cafe, where they sign trail names on the ceiling.
▶ HOULTON
A stately, red-brick Victorian downtown winks to the prosperous past in “Shire Town,” thanks to potato and logging fortunes. Canada is a stone's throw to the east.
Landmark + Scenic Drive
▶ TEKAKAPIMEK CONTACT CENTER
Overlooking Penobscot ancestral homelands, the sweeping cedar curves of Tekakapimek [sound out “deh gah-gah bee mook”] honor the region’s Indigenous cultures and history.
▶ KATAHDIN LOOP ROAD
Meander 17 miles through rugged wilderness, interrupted by scenic overlooks and the start of the International Appalachian Trail.
Nearby Public Lands
▶ BAXTER STATE PARK
A hardscrabble adventurer’s paradise on the western border of the monument, Baxter is home to Maine’s highest peak and northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, the fearsome Katahdin.
▶ ALLAGASH WILDERNESS
WATERWAY
This ribboning network of rivers and lakes, stretching over 90 miles through the remote North Maine Woods, made a profound impression on Thoreau in 1857. Maine Guides continue to provide traditional guided trips in and around the waterway.
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