QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 5,000 acres
- Trail Mileage: 16 miles in network
- Pets: no
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Sights: East Branch Penobscot River, Katahdin views
My map is not yet complete!
Cross-country ski lovers in Maine must try to visit Penobscot River Trails just north of Millinocket. It may be a drive if you’re coming from the south, but you can stay in nearby accommodations and make a weekend of it!
The free trail system, opened in 2019 by the Butler Conservation Fund, includes more than 16 miles of easy to moderate trails groomed for skate and classic skiing. During the rest of the year, the wide carriage trails, laid with “crusher dust,” are open to bikers and hikers.
You don’t even need to bring any of your own equipment since the visitor’s center is outfitted with skis, poles, and boots of all sizes—available to anyone for a donation. (Also available for borrowing: snowshoes and a ski carrier for toting kids.) In the summer, you can grab bikes, helmets, knee pads, shin pads, and baby strollers.
The trails are set up as a series of increasingly longer loops, allowing skiers to choose the extent of their outing. The riverside trails, while beautiful, tend to be a bit windier and rolling than the main thoroughfare, the Tote Road, which makes a straight shot from visitor center to warming hut and a magnificent view of Katahdin.
But to reach that view requires a significant effort! The distance from the visitor’s center to the Long Meadow warming hut is about 6.8 miles one way if you stick to the Tote Road, and 9.1 miles one way if you ski along the river. A less arduous but still very enjoyable outing is to ski from the visitor’s center to closer of the two warming huts—the Pines & Ridges Hut—which is toasty warm with a wood stove and a decent view of the top of Katahdin on a clear day. This ski is about 7.5 miles roundtrip. (More info and distances here.)
Directions: From Bangor, take Route 95 North to exit 244 in Medway. (It’s about 1 hour and 10 minutes.) After exiting the highway, turn left onto Route 157. In 0.3 miles, turn right onto Route 11. Follow Route 11 for almost 12 miles and look for the Penobscot River Trails sign on the left. Continue down the driveway for 0.5 miles and take a left into the large visitor’s center lot. You’ll see a ggrand kiosk and trail map at the far end. Walk the little path to the right of the kiosk to reach the visitor’s center.
