ARRIVING: Bangor is located just off the Maine Turnpike. Take I-395 east, exit at Main Street (Route 1A), and follow signs for downtown. Bangor International Airport (BGR) ( tel. 207/992-4600) mostly connects via Boston to other major cities, but there are four carriers and direct routes to New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington D.C., and multiple Florida locations. It’s sometimes as cheap or cheaper to fly into Bangor as Portland, and it could be a time-saver if your destination is Acadia or the Downeast coast. Concord Coach (www.concordcoachlines.com; tel. 800/639-3317) and Greyhound (www.greyhound.com; tel. 800/231-2222) offer bus service to Bangor from Portland and Boston—from Boston, it’s a 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-hour ride costing $35 to $50 one-way.

VISITOR INFORMATION: You can stop by the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, year-round, at 2 Hammond St. (tel. 207/947-0307), from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. The Greater Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau at 6 State St. ( tel. 800/916-6673 or 207/947-5205) maintains listings of local accommodations, businesses, and dining options.

Baxter State Park provides maps and information from its park headquarters at 64 Balsam Drive in Millinocket (tel. 207/723-5140). Note that no pets are allowed into the park, and all trash you generate must be brought back out. Same rules apply at the monument. Find maps and info at the National Park Service welcome centers in Millinocket, at 200 Penobscot Avenue (tel. 207/456-6001), and, in summer only, at the Patten Lumbermen’s Museum, at 61 Shin Pond Road in Patten (tel. 207/528-2650).

For information on canoeing and camping outside of Baxter State Park or Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, contact North Maine Woods, Inc. (tel. 207/435-6213), the consortium of paper companies, other landowners, and concerned individuals that controls and manages recreational access to private parcels of the Maine woods.

For help in finding cottages, rentals, and tour outfitters in the region, contact the Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce, 1029 Central St., Millinocket (tel. 207/723-4443), open weekdays 9am to 1pm. You'll also find listings on Airbnb, VRBO and other sites.

 

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.