If you are coming to visit during the summer,
please plan to spend some time at some of
our many museums. They are unique and
educational. Run by volunteers, the museums
are a source of endless information about the
objects they contain and the people who used
them.
County. Larger markets with attendants can also
be found. Many local stores carry local produce
when available and restaurants use local produce.
If you like to swim, there are several opportunities
in our local rivers and lakes with public beaches.
If you are staying at a cottage on a lake, you will
have your own access to all the water activities.
No trip to Aroostook County would be complete Some communities have outdoor pools. Indoor
without a stop at the State of Maine’s first State pools are open for public use for a fee at
Park, Aroostook State Park. Open from 9:00 University of Maine at Presque Isle(UMPI) and
am to dusk, the park offers easy walking paths, area hotels.
boating opportunities, bird watching galore,
picnic sites, and more strenuous hiking trails. The quiet morning sunrise at 4:40 am provides
If you are interested in camping at Aroostook an opportunity to listen to the birds start their
State Park, sites can be reserved in advance at day with a cheerful song. The wind is usually at
www.campwithme.com. We have many more its lowest speed at this time as well, the bugs are
camping opportunities with more services than not awake yet, so it is a great time for a walk,
the park. There are cabins, hotels, lodges, and bike ride or just watching the world wake up.
B&Bs spread throughout the region. Visit www.
centralaroostookchamber.com for a complete There is an ever-changing vista in Aroostook
list of our accommodation members.
County in the spring and summer. Crops star
out of the ground green, grains ripen to a golden
Oh, and eating! We have some of the best places hue in late summer and early fall, potatoes
to eat in Maine if not the entire country. They blossom at different times in July, with different
are too numerous to list, but you will definitely color blossoms depending on the variety. Hay
find something fabulous to eat.
grows up with clover interspersed, changing
Bring canoes, kayaks, bikes and fishing rods, color slightly as the seed heads ripen. After the
there are many miles of water and trails to explore first cutting, the hay grows again and you go
in the region. Local vendors that can provide through the color changes again, though not so
rental equipment if needed. Don’t forget your vividly.
insect repellent. We have mosquitos, black flies,
midges and if you are really unlucky horseflies. Flowering plants, of course, have different
The bite of a horsefly is painful and may swell flowering times, and the natural plants plus
for a few hours.
the cultivated ones, keep the gardens and fields
constantly changing. Wildflowers along the
The beautiful night skies visible throughout roads provide color from late spring to snowfall.
most of “The County” are mesmerizing no
matter how many nights you gaze up at them. Lupins, daisies, blackeyed susans, and asters
The lack of light pollution allows one to see are just some of the plants that provide color at
so much more. You will undoubtedly see a different times.
satellite, many constellations and probably some
international air flights indicated by blinking red Come for a week, stay for a lifetime. Aroostook
lights whisking across the sky. If you are a star County people will treat you like friends as soon
watcher, you will want to pack your binoculars as they meet you.
or telescope.
Life is easy in Aroostook County all year round;
As summer proceeds, local vegetable stands and the summer provides longer days to enjoy
farmer’s markets will open. I don’t think there it. Speaking of longer days, you will need to
are many other places where producers still leave check your watch if you are planning on doing
their produce out by the road with a container something at a specific time because the days
to place your money in. They can be found really are longer here than just a bit farther
along Route 1, Route 1A and Route 11. The south. We have about 30 minutes more sunlight
trust system is still alive and well in Aroostook on the Summer Solstice than in Portland.
SUMMER 2018
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