States to celebrate canoe route on Trails Day

A canoe route through four states, including Maine, that has been used by American Indians for hundreds of years can hardly be called new, but a ribbon-cutting ceremony will mark a fresh start for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

On National Trails Day, June 3, volunteers involved in reviving the historic canoe route will celebrate in all four states. Workers have been busy marking and mapping the route for more than five years.

The 740-mile canoe trail stretches from Old Forge, N.Y., through Vermont, New Hampshire and into Maine’s Moosehead region, with a brief foray into Canada.

Kate Williams, executive director of the canoe trail, said the celebration coincides with the publication of the final two maps that complete a 13-map series detailing each section of the trail.

Williams, a lifetime paddler, said the trail was designed to connect the stories and heritage of the 45 different communities along the way.

“The trail creates this sort of physical red thread through these communities across the region,” she told the Caledonian Record of Vermont. “We hope that it will contribute to the identity of the northern forest…. We hope the trail will sort of help bring understanding to this region as a whole.”

The canoe trail starts off at the Saranac River in the Adirondacks, and takes travelers across Lake Champlain and up the Missisquoi and Clyde rivers and down the Nulhegan in Vermont.

The trail passes through Lake Memphremagog, taking paddlers into Quebec, then goes into New Hampshire on the Connecticut, Upper Ammonoosuc and Androscoggin rivers, and into Maine on the Rangeley Lakes, Moosehead Lake and the Penobscot, Allagash and St. John rivers.

In between are dozens of lesser-known rivers and lakes, and 62 spots where paddlers must carry their boats a total of 55 miles.

Inns, bed-and-breakfasts and camping facilities provide places for paddlers to stay along the way.

“The Northern Forest Canoe Trail does more than simply connect the Northern Forest states by water,” said Stephen D. Blackmer, president of the Northern Forest Center. “It’s sure to play a significant role in the Northern Forest’s emerging sustainable economy.”

Williams said adventurers can expect the 740-mile journey to take a couple of months. Only one person is known to have “through-paddled” the trail – Donny Mullen of St. George, Maine.

Mullen did the trip six years ago in a home-built wood-and-canvas canoe, sometimes with friends, and sometimes alone. It took him 50 days.

Simultaneous ribbon-cutting ceremonies are planned in Saranac Lake, N.Y.; Newport, Vt.; Groveton, N.H.; and Greenville, Maine, at 11 a.m.

Local officials and agencies also are organizing exhibits, cookouts, guided walking and canoe trips and other events during the course of the day.