Happy Birthday, Allagash Wilderness Waterway!

It was this day in 1966, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway was established.  The official legislation was passed in order to protect and preserve the unique deep Maine woods in all of its splendor.

Located in Aroostook County, the Allagash is 90+ miles of rivers, streams, lakes and ponds throughout the most remote areas of Maine. No humans live here and anyone that does visit is honored by it's mystique and respect for the absolute wilds of nature.

Access to the Allagash is gatekept by various private land owners and is monitored with many checkpoints on private roads.

Do know that humans are around (beware of logging trucks- they do have the right of way, always) on the logging roads around the wilderness but, other than that, the only residents are the non-human ones.

It is a a place that remains one of Maine's most incredible places that few have ventured through.  It was a favorite gem for writer Henry David Thoreau who wrote a book about his adventures in the Allagash called The Maine Woods.

It was the home of nomadic people thousands of years ago with a rich history which has turned up archeological treasures that include fishing nets, stone axes, pottery and birch bark canoes.

Once the lumber harvesting era came, profiteers took to harvesting trees to be milled into lumber using the waterways for transporting the wood to Bangor.  This took reversing the natural northward direction of the waterflow of the Allagash by engineering the flow to run southward towards Bangor.

It is advised that if you want to visit the Allagash, be sure to prepare well in advance. Ice-out usually takes place during the month of May, well into Spring and black fly season starts a few short weeks after that. There is no public transportation, access is limited to rural roads, camping is primitive and internet and cell service does not exist up there.

Check out more about the Allagash Wilderness Waterway by checking out this brochure from Maine.gov or visit the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Foundation website all about this incredible Maine place.