Aroostook County

Northern Maine was made for outdoor enjoyment. Highlighted by a low rolling countryside, Aroostook County offers more than 2,000 lakes, streams and rivers, and plenty of opportunities for camping, hiking, biking golfing and canoeing.

© MECOA

Known simply to Mainers as “The County,” it is larger in area than the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and is dotted with rolling

farmlands that produce more than 40 million bushels of potatoes each year.

The region blends several distinct cultures including a strong Acadian Heritage, a Swedish Colony, two Native American tribes and an Amish community. On Maine’s northern border, the St.John River Valley is home to local voices that carry a Francoise lilt, and menus boast traditional offerings of ploys and pot en pol.

Outdoor enthusiasts especially love “The County” because it offers unlimited opportunities for hiking, fishing, unrivaled canoe trips and whitewater rafting during spring runoff and some of the best cycling trails in the North East.

While Presque Isle and Caribou are the commercial centers of “The County,” much activity is centered in smaller towns such as Fort Fairfield, which hosts the annual Potato Blossom Festival, and New Sweden which celebrates its Swedish heritage with a traditional Sommerfest each summer. Some highlights of “The County” are:

• Market Square Historic Business District — in Houlton, that includes 28 architecturally significant structures dating from 1885 to 1910. • The Oakfield Railroad Museum is located in the original railroad station in Oakfield and takes visitors back in time to the 19th century and the beginning of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad in 1891.

• Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum

located on US Route 1 in Littleton. Pot luck suppers, annual car show and dances.

• Caribou’s Nylander Museum features geological collections, and collections of local butterflies, moths, mounted birds and animals.

• The 16 buildings in the Acadian Village in Van Buren are furnished with period furniture and other artifacts dating from 1790-1900. • The Fort Kent blockhouse was constructed in 1839 for the bloodless Aroostook Border War. The site was part of a more extensive fortification and contains a small museum.

• The Reed Art Gallery at the University of Maine at Presque Isle features the work of Maine and Canadian artists.