Maine Outdoors Spring 2025

Riding through the woods

Mountain biking is a great way to explore Maine’s waking landscape WRITTEN BY AISLINN SARNACKI The whir of tires turning and the click of shifting gears — these familiar sounds of biking, for many people, are as much a part of spring’s joyful song as the melody of returning songbirds. When the snow melts from Maine’s landscape, mountain biking is among the top outdoor activities…

Wild for wildflowers

WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE BOUCHARD If you’re walking woodland trails in early spring, you may find a tropical-looking plant emerging from wet soils, especially near streams. This is the skunk cabbage, so named for its strong odor. As one of Maine’s earliest wildflowers, it is the herald of what’s to come as spring progresses: a bounty of wildflowers. Wildflowers, flowering plants that grow freely without the…

Stop the spread: protect Maine’s waters

BY DAKOTA STANKOWSI, MAINE DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES CORRDINATOR Imagine heading out for a peaceful day of boating and swimming, only to find the water clogged with invasive plants. Or to your favorite fishing spot, where you discover your choice fish species is struggling to survive as a newly introduced invasive fish is beginning to thrive. This is the reality…

Conserving Maine’s forests for people of all ages

COURTESY OF THE FOREST SOCIETY OF MAINE Whether you’re fishing for wild brook trout, skipping rocks on a pond, paddling down a river, or hiking up a mountain, Maine’s 12-million-acre North Woods offers a unique stillness and tranquility, where one can relax in the sounds of the birds or enjoy a gentle breeze. Maine’s forestlands, at three and a half times the size of Connecticut,…

Easy paddling

WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE BOUCHARD Being out on the water in Maine is one of the joys of the warmer months, and flatwater kayaking is a great way to do that. But where to go? Here are a few great spots to go flatwater kayaking according to Chris Francis, a Penobscot National Tribal Guide, and Danielle Dorrie, a Registered Maine Guide, co-owners of Skyline Maine Adventures…

Leave no trace

Caring for Maine’s Natural Spaces WRITTEN BY CRYSTAL SANDS Maine’s outdoor spaces are literally national treasures. The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument hosts about 40,000 visitors each year, and Acadia National Park welcomes an average of 3.5 million visitors per year — which equals a lot of human contact with Maine’s natural wonders. Because it’s so important to preserve Maine’s outdoor spaces, Leave No…

New anthology takes readers into the trees and under the stars

WRITTEN BY JUDY HARRISON Have you ever been alone in the Maine woods at night? Can you still hear the rustling of leaves under your feet and the sound of nocturnal creatures scampering nearby? Can you smell the pines and see the Milky Way, Jupiter, the Big Dipper, and Orion overhead? Want to return there from a comfortable couch? “North Woods at Night: Literary Reflections…

How to cook with fresh Maine ingredients this spring

WRITTEN BY SARAH WALKER CARON As the weather warms, farmers’ markets begin having more stalls with bags of fresh greens, rods of asparagus and rhubarb, and more. Or perhaps you are more the grow-you-own type, and are beginning to see the fruits of your labor pushing through the warming soil, just waiting to be transformed into something delicious. Either way, it’s a wonderful time to…