Appalachian Mountain Club Wilderness Lodges
Location: Near Moosehead Lake Region: The Maine Highlands Activities: Boating, Hiking, Mountain Biking, Fly Fishing, Swimming Dogs Not Allowed During Summer/Fall Season
Staying at the Appalachian Mountain Club's lodges in northern Maine can be a tonic, especially now. While the coronavirus pandemic has forced changes on AMC’s woodland properties, you’re still welcome to head to these bastions of the North Woods for some backcountry therapy. Come sleep in a comfy cabin, cast a fly line, paddle a canoe, hike a ridge or cannonball into an adjacent pond.
The AMC has three wilderness lodges near Moosehead Lake: Gorman Chairback Lodge & Cabins, Little Lyford Lodge & Cabins and Medawisla Lodge & Cabins. Due to COVID-19, Little Lyford is closed during the summer/fall 2020 season.
The Gorman Chairback Lodge & Cabins opened in 1867 as a private camp and has been renovated since then. It sits on Long Pond, where canoes and kayaks are available for guests. Hikers can head out on Henderson Brook Trail or try for the summit of Third Mountain, on the Barren-Chairback Ridge. Enjoy fly fishing on Long Pond.
Medawisla Lodge & Cabins is a totally rebuilt sporting camp that originally opened on the location in 1953. It’s at the confluence of Second Roach Pond and the Roach River, meaning there’s plenty of opportunities for time on the water. Canoes and kayaks are available for guests. Trails and roads linked to the lodge are perfect for trail running and mountain biking. Anglers can fly fish for wild brook trout or landlocked salmon.
Three homemade meals a day (one a trail lunch) are provided for guests at each lodge. Because of coronavirus, visitors get their meals delivered to their cabins rather than having them in the dining rooms, which are closed. Other common spaces, such as the wood-fired saunas and bunkhouses, are also closed. Communal books and games have been put away for the duration. Still, AMC officials say, there’s plenty for people to do. Both lodges can be accessed by road during the warmer months.
The summer/fall season at Maine AMC Wilderness Lodges runs until Oct. 17, 2020. Check here for information on reservations and the winter season.
Driving Distances:
To Gorham Chairback:
From Bangor: 68 miles From Lewiston / Auburn: 148 miles From Portland: 170 miles
To Medawisla:
From Bangor: 96 miles From Lewiston / Auburn: 157 miles From Portland: 178 miles
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