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Greenville/ By Nancy and Richard Woodworth The drive through interior Maine on Route 6 and 15, the only road into the Moosehead Lake region, seems endless. But the intrepid traveler need not despair. Suddenly, the road crests atop a hill and now, before you in all its glory, unfolds the majesty of Moosehead, the Northeast’s largest lake. At the near end lies Greenville (population 2,200), the region's only town of note. On all sides are mountains – small ones, to be sure, but enough to alter the landscape of what to the south had been essentially rolling flatlands. The sky-blue glacier lake spreads its tentacles like the antlers of a moose head around islands and into coves. Think of an inland sea stretching into a forest of green, rather like a freshwater version of Penobscot Bay. The pristine lake, shaped vaguely like a moose head, is 40 miles long and 20 miles across at its widest. It's up to 300 feet deep at the base of the landmark Mount Kineo cliffs. Most of the 400 miles of shoreline, owned by paper companies more interested in raw lumber than in vacation condominiums, is undeveloped. Forestry and recreation are the area's industries. For visitors, the mystique of Moosehead has always been that of a sportsman's paradise in the North Woods wilderness. The area has long been a mecca for hunters and fishermen. Increasingly, its lure is broadening to embrace nature and wildlife lovers, hikers, rafters and canoeists in summer, and cross-country skiers, downhill skiers and snowmobilers in winter. The area is poised for what one proponent calls "eco-travel, the tourism of the future," for those who like to pursue sports year-round in the great outdoors. Already the rough co-exists with the refined. Nationwide publicity has been accorded the Road Kill Cafe, a restaurant poking fun at the pretensions of some of its peers, and the Lodge at Moosehead Lake, an inn revising the standards for creature comforts and style in the Maine woods. New owners are improving the Squaw Mountain Resort, a troubled but promising ski area. True, much of the area remains raw and primeval. But its virgin veneer is leavened by a gentleness that the great lake gives to the mountains, by a subtle sophistication that escapes other north woods destinations. Moose-watching is a mania, and few visitors leave without spotting at least a few, front and center during a moose cruise or safari or unexpectedly, simply feeding beside the road. The region has launched the annual Moosemania, a month of moose-related activities in late spring. At least three shops convey a moose theme. This is the natural state of "the Maine you remember," as the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce touts it. Just you and the moose, and a few others who like to get away from the crowds. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places in New England, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2004. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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