Maine has many wonderful trail guides — in print and online — by both published authors and bloggers, and by devoted hikers who post observations from their adventures on crowd-sourced hiking sites. Over the years, I have grown to appreciate many of them! I thought I would start to list a few here.
At the bottom of the page are books — mostly nonfiction — that I think may appeal to people who like to follow trails and spend time in the outdoors.
Books
- Steady Companion since 1961:
- Appalachian Mountain Club’s Maine Mountain Guide, now in its 12th edition, compiled and edited by Carey Kish.
- Inspiring Hiking Resource to Western Maine:
- Scenic 7 Hiking Guide and Challenge, order a free guide from High Peaks Alliance.
- Informative, and Funny, Guide to Hikes in Northern Maine:
- North Woods Walks, by Christopher Keene. Pick up the latest edition in the Greenville bookstore, Gabriel’s, or at the Indian Hill Trading Post.
- Curated Guides by an Outdoors Writer:
- Dog Friendly Hikes in Maine, Maine Hikes Off the Beaten Path, Family Friendly Hikes in Maine, by Aislinn Sarnacki. (Also check out her stories on Bangor Daily News.)
Online Sources
- Obviously!
- Maine Trail Finder, free and easy to use
- AllTrails, both free and paid versions, crowdsourced, up-to-date trail information from users
- Strava, an app for mapping your own hikes and following others’ hikes
- Other interesting or specific ones
- Avenza Maps, downloadable maps. I use this for Acadia National Park.
- Joe’s Guide to Acadia
- Blogs by People who Love the Outdoors and Hiking
- Walking Maine’s Wild Side, by Sam Shirley, who seems to know every out-of-the way trail to amazing spots in Western Maine, and to a lot of other places in Maine, too.
- Hiking in Maine
- Wandering Around the Block
- Franklin Sites
- Social media
- Maine Hiking (Facebook), Filled with current info from knowledgable, passionate hikers. You have to request access to join.
- The Rediscoverer Club (Facebook) A good resource for southern Maine.
Maps
- Map Adventures Maine series — These waterproof maps are worth every penny!
Let me know of other good ones!
Other Books
Below are a few books I’ve enjoyed with themes of walking, the environment, or animals (wild and domesticated) — or all three. I’m open to recommendations!
- How to Love a Forest, Ethan Tapper
- The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature, David George Haskell
- Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Ring of Bright Water, Gavin Maxwell
- North Woods (novel): Daniel Mason
- H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald
- Running for the Hills: Growing Up on My Mother’s Sheep Farm in Wales, Horatio Clare
- The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot, Robert Macfarlane
- To the River, Olivia Laing
- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard
- Walking Home: A Poet’s Journey, Simon Armitage
- My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell
- Lab Girl, Hope Jahren
- What We Can Know (novel), Ian McEwan