Northern Maine - The Most Rural Area In The US #geography

[tbone]

What makes that area even more odd, is that you have this little pocket of "wilderness" right next to one of the most densely populated and major urban part of Canada.

[CC-puyu]

Resident of northern maine here, along the st john river. Aroostook county is larger than at least 5 US states, with a combined population that barely ads up to a small city. Its one of the last fronteirs of the US, and when you stumble across some of these parts off the beaten path, you know youre likely the first person to step there in a few hundred years. Ive come across ponds nobody knew existed, long forgotten cabins with no road in sight, trains in the middle of the woods. Its a beautiful place to leave everything behind

[FuneFox]

I live in northern Scotland and I found out the Scottish Highlands and Appalachians were once part of the same mountain range which is pretty interesting.

[deepstatethrombosis]

Commenting from Maine. It's such a strange state. I live in a busy little city, but I could drive about an hour in almost any direction but south and find myself in the middle of nowhere, where the dirt roads have names like "fire road № 783." But it's the best state. The people make it great, the beauty makes it home.

[boogerhaze]

As a Mainer for life, a tip for any tourists who think that's prime hiking material. There are basically only two seasons in Maine. Freeze to Death, and Consumed by Blackflies. You get about a month in between the two each year, if you're lucky.

Or maybe I'm just trying to scare you off because if you grow up in Maine you develop a hatred for tourists. Who knows?

[russianbear]

I knew a guy who lived in that area. He told me he was getting paid by the state to not farm potatoes.

[geisaune]

The emptiness combined with the New England climate kind of helps you understand where Stephen King gets the setting for many of his books

[dawsonhebert]

YESS! I am from Caribou and the life in Northern Maine is different! Thank you for the recognition it’s vastly different from the coast

[benphish]

The portion of the state your talking about is know locally in Maine as "the townships". I spent some time up there doing research on college, it was the only time I've ever seen the night sky with absolutely no light pollution. It's an incredible place.

[ColdWarSubSailor_-]

My cousin moved up there (still there) after the Vietnam War. When he returned, he was a bit nuts, and couldn't stand being around too many people (too many = not being able to keep an eye on everyone around him), so he sold all his stuff and moved from the coast south of Old Orchard up into the wilderness. He built himself a log cabin 19th century style and lives off the land.

[BackWoodsAngling]

Totaled my truck last January in the most remote part of that area of the state. No cell service and over a hundred miles to the nearest town. Fun stuff

[hydrogen]

My grandfather shares a lake house with his friends up there. It’s totally off the grid, no electricity or running water, you have to use propane lamps and outhouses. The last 2 hours of driving up there is all on dirt roads, and you definitely need a truck if you’re going to get there. It’s beautiful, but I could never live there

[grizzley]

It gets even more staggering if you divide it a little further. Northwest Aroostook county, an area larger than the state of delaware, has a population of 12. Thats 0.0045 residents per square mile. Incredibly low for the east coast. Beautiful country.

[EricLS]

I grew up in Alaska, and this seems so natural to me. Driving in the eastern half of the US is extremely bewildering to me as Alaska is entirely wild, and human settlements are tiny little ribbons along a few roads, or entirely off-road villages hundreds of miles from the road system.

[ChristsRighteousnessever]

I lived in Bethel area before, over 30 years ago. Drove up to Jackman and the Canadian border. Very remote. Having lived in Washington, Alaska & Oregon since then, I often compared northern Maine to a little Alaska .
Flew 170 miles in a small plane once in Alaska, saw only forest, islands, ocean, and a few boats, maybe some logging roads.... similar to driving up 201, and that's not even the furthest north part if Maine

[mellowyellow]

Maine’s wilderness is surprisingly brutal, and it’s the very start of the Appalachian Trail, too. That trail section is known as the “100 Mile Wilderness.” If you’re heading southbound it’s the first thing you encounter - it starts with climbing Katahdin, arguably the hardest climb in Maine, then bouldering, scrambling over cliff faces, crossing windy plateaus and then finishing off by entering the Mahoosuc Notch, a mile of boulders and cave squeezes. At the same time, as the name implies, it’s 100 miles without stopping at a town to resupply, the longest stretch without civilization on the trail. Even after that, as soon as you reach the southern end of the state you have a few days in the White Mountains. Maine’s terrain is so harsh that a lot of hikers choose to start in New Hampshire and skip Maine entirely.

[joermnyc]

I believe there’s so many small unincorporated towns in Maine they just get a code name like A17 or P45, something like that.

[JamesBondsLittleFinger]

The DMV had a map with a red dot for every moose-car collision. The bottom third was completely covered. The top two-thirds was white. I asked the clerk and she said that there are no roads in that area.

[ScottOuellette-pd]

I live and own 1200ACRES of hardwood woodlot property in rural western Maine up by the Canadian border. I have a small farm that grows and produces over 100 different products from maple syrup to ribeye roasts and steaks. From honey to pork lions and chops. From apples to blueberries. From eggs to homemade sourdough bread. From mushrooms to chestnuts.

[Rabittauren]

I lived in southern Maine my entire life but have never really been north of Augusta— this makes me want to go, it looks beautiful.