Maine ATV Trail Guide
Maine ATV Trails
The Best Maine ATV Trails
When you’re in Maine, the largest of the New England states, ATV riding is a wonderful option for getting outdoors and exploring all the “Pine Tree State” has to offer—which includes rugged mountains, pine groves, lakes, bogs, streams, and waterfalls. An impressive network of ATV trails makes it possible for ATV riders to travel throughout much of Maine, but keep in mind that the majority of the hundreds of miles of ATV trails located throughout Maine are on private land and are maintained by local ATV clubs. Wondering where to ride ATVs in Maine? Want to find ATV trails near me when you’re in Maine? Looking for all the best Maine ATV trails? Here you go. Below is a list of a few of the most popular Maine off-road trails, compiled by the experts at Treadworld, with location information and websites where available.
Aroostook County Trails
Location: Aroostook County in the northern part of the state, along the Canada–U.S. border
Website: https://visitaroostook.com/story/atv-riding
With over 1,300 miles of the best Maine ATV trails, Aroostook County is ATV and UTV trail riding nirvana with its crushed rock and gravel terrain and its beautiful landscapes, farmland, open areas and deep woods. The Bangor & Aroostook Trail is a well-maintained, 63-mile railbed trail that’s divided into two sections that link to one another in Stockholm, ME. The first section travels through Mapleton, Washburn, and Stockholm, while the second section connects the Caribou to Stockholm, then continues to Van Buren. A subsection of this trail is the Houton to Phair Junction Trail, 37 miles of 4-wheeler riding fun through forest and pasture land—except when it rains because parts of the trail are closed during mud season. The 28.8-mile Aroostook Valley Trail, which features many remote streams, connects with the Bangor & Aroostook Trail in Washburn and is part of Maine’s Interconnected Trail System (ITS). It connects Presque Isle, Caribou, Washburn, Woodland, New Sweden, West Field and Wade. The 17-mile St. John Valley Heritage Trail traverses the banks of the Saint John River, tracing the former Fish River Railroad which opened in 1902, between Fort Kent and St. Francis, offering spectacular views of forests, farmland and wetlands dotted with lakes, rivers and ponds.
Balsam Woods Campground
Location: 112 Pond Road, Abbot, ME, 25 minutes south of Moosehead Lake
Website: https://campatbalsamwoods.com/
Perfectly positioned on a on a network of over 1,000 miles of ATV riding trails and UTV riding trails, Balsam Woods gives you the option to ride all the way to Greenville on Moosehead Lake (the largest lake in the state), Jackman, The Forks, Rockwood, Bingham, and Cambridge—and back again, passing any number of lakes and waterfalls.
Down East Sunrise Trail
Location: NE Coastal Maine, starts north of Bar Harbor, ME, 30 minutes north of Arcadia National Park
Website: https://sunrisetrail.org/
One of the most popular Maine off-road trails, this nearly 88-mile trail passes through the woods, marshlands, and coastal villages in Hancock and Washington counties. Many ATV riders and UTV riders choose to explore by one of the trail’s three segments—eastern, central or western. Originally a railroad corridor, 127 miles was purchased by the Maine DOT in 1987, and a segment of that primarily packed with gravel became the Sunrise Trail. Rated mostly moderate to easy, the trail passes through deep birch and pine forests, alongside marshes, over tree-lined streams and salmon rivers, and through coastal mountain areas, while also providing many ocean views. Keep an eye out for the plentiful wildlife in the area, and also for the legendary wild blueberries.
The Forks to Moosehead Lake/Greenville
Location: Located at the intersection of the Dead River and Kennebec River, Somerset County, central-eastern part of the state
Website: http://untamedmainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ATV-Trails-The-Forks.pdf
Here 4-wheeler riders will find more than 70 miles of dirt and gravel trails through primarily forested areas, which can offer mudding trails when the weather cooperates. The Forks is one of several popular outdoor destinations in Maine—but don’t count on getting gas or groceries there because it’s populated by only a handful of people. You may want to take ATV trails up to the 1963 crash site of a giant U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52C Stratofortress covering several forest acres on Elephant Mountain. It’s a tragic story worthy of a movie, so if you’ve got the time and the desire, read more about this B-52 crash site tragedy.
Kennebec Valley Trail
Location: Kennebec County in the south-central part of the state
Website: https://www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/doc/parksearch/details.pl?park_id=74
Though not the longest trail for ATV riding in Maine, this course offers 14.5 miles of ATV and UTV trails through forest lands and meadows, curving back and forth with the mighty Kennebec River while offering forested riverbank and mountain views. This area includes the “Arnold Trail,” the path of Benedict Arnold and his troops on their ill-fated sojourn to capture Quebec in 1775 during the Revolutionary War. The trail is mostly a hard gravel surface and is suitable for all levels of ATV riding experience. Keep your eyes peeled for secluded waterfalls, moose habitats or the abandoned den of a bear, and your ears open for the haunting call of a loon.
Moose Loop Trail
Location: Northern Franklin County in the southern-eastern part of the state
Website: http://www.mooseloop.com/
One of the best ATV trails in Maine, this 138-mile ATV riding trail takes riders through beautiful scenic views of forests, lakes, ponds and streams, terrains that offer challenging adventures, and many opportunities to view wildlife. At the same time, it’s part of what is essentially a 520-mile ATV tour through Franklin County that takes riders through the business districts of 16 Maine communities including Stratton-Eustis, Rangeley, Kingfield, Avon, Salem, Strong, Phillips, and Madrid. Expect mostly hard pack with some rock-climbing segments that require navigation, and a few very serious mud bogs mixed in. Generally, it’s suitable for riders of all experience levels, but there are definitely some areas that more demanding. Keep an eye open for moose, deer, eagles and other wildlife.
Mount Blue Lake State Park Multi-Use Trail
Location: Weld, ME, in Franklin County in the middle western part of the state
Website: https://www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/doc/parksearch/details.pl?park_id=18
This area offers you ATV and UTV riding over 20+ miles of old, unimproved roads weaving through forested land, and the nearly 8,000-acre Mount Blue State Park, the largest state park in Maine. There are two loops, one 20-miles long and one 4-miles long, that provide spectacular views of Mt. Blue and other mountains in the area. Pretty easy to intermediate in difficulty, the area is home to moose, deer, black bear, turkey and more.
Penobscot/Piscataquis Counties
Location: In the central part of the state
When it comes to off-roading in Maine, these two side-by-side counties provide some excellent options with the Four Seasons Adventure Trail and the Lagrange to Medford Trail. The nearly 30-mile Four Seasons Trail is an old Dexter and Newport Railroad rail-trail offering 4-wheeler riders easy-riding paths of crushed stone, dirt and sand through areas with spectacular scenery and a wide variety of terrains, from forests to farmlands. The trail connects the communities of Newport, Corinna, Dexter, Sangerville and Dover-Foxcroft, while providing occasional views of the 4,000-acre Sebasticook Lake and crossing the Piscataquis River. The 12-mile Lagrange to Medford Trail provides ATV and UTV riders with a remote trail experience through heavily wooded areas, with glimpses of farmland, and crossing a 100-year-old railroad trestle across the Piscataquis River. Keep on the lookout for beaver, moose, waterfowl, and other wildlife often seen in the area.
Whistle Stop Rail Trail
Location: Franklin County southern central part of the state
Website: https://www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/doc/parksearch/details.pl?park_id=76
Formerly a railroad line, this trail has been converted into 14 miles of 4-wheeler trails that connect the Maine towns of Jay, Wilton and Farmington. Riders get unforgettable views of the countryside and fields dotted with beautiful wildflowers while traversing several trestles spanning tree-lined streams and rivers, and following gentle curves and slopes through the scenic foothills, rolling hills and forested Western Maine wetlands—all with something of a rural farmland flavor. The trail is mostly gravel with some sections of sand and dirt.
That’s Just a Few
One of the things ATV riders really appreciate about Maine is the attitude that’s typically friendly to off-roaders. The state is in the process of developing plans to create the biggest trail system and network in the Northeast, and possibly all of the country, and a trail connecting Aroostook to Penobscot is also currently in the works. Beautiful country and wonderful ATV trails make this state a positive for riders.
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Whether you’re ATV and UTV trail riding in Maine or anywhere else in the U.S., you can count on us to provide you with the dependable, high performance Master ATV and UTV Tires you want. Here at Treadworld, we have the right ATV tires for every type of adventure riding, in every part of the country. The ATV tires we provide you with offer the finest in top quality, long-lasting, never-let-you-down reliability, manufactured with strict tolerances from top rubber compounds, triple-tested for quality before being X-rayed to be sure they’re perfect, then covered by our Ultimate Advantage Lifetime Warranty. Don’t hesitate to contact our tire experts via live chat or email with any questions you may have regarding how to choose the best ATV tires—or trailer tires, or ag tires, or lawn and garden tires, or any specialty tires you want.
