Preacher
Expert
garyw said:Live in upstate ny but go to maine at least 2 times a year to ride.Riding there is great and the food and the people are great.Going up this year for a week the last of feb into march.Staying at the northern door in ft. kent.Been going for 10 years now and always look forward to the trip.









Preacher
Expert
Bob, Katadin is the Mountain in Baxter state park. Jo mary is a mountain near south twin lake.. The President of the Jo mary ridders owns 5 Lakes lodge. I cant say enough about Rick and Debbie Lavasser. If you want to impress your wife plan a trip any time to 5 lakes lodge. If she rides you cant pick a better place for couples snowmobiling.
ApexSS
Extreme
Awesome thread since I have family driving from Upper Michigan (Marquette) and Green Bay, WI at the end of this month. We have reservation a Bishop Motel but have been second guessing myself of late. The things I've heard, which hasn't been much, was that Jackman area is beat up alot. Which is a better overall experience, Fort Kent area or Jackman, Greenville area? Plus any places to stay at Fort Kent area? I'll check out the Northern door, thanks Gary. Any other places to stay or eat/drink after a hard day of riding 
Thanks
Sean

Thanks
Sean
Preacher
Expert
Camel brook camps in Fort Kent is not fancy but very reasonable for price. They have 2 cabins for 6 people and 1 cabin that holds 12. Honestly , I would never take Greenville or Jackman over the St. John River Valley( Fort Kent, Frenchville, St. Agatha, Madawaska.) It is not even close.





vice108
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
I would stick with Jackman. When you hear about the "rough trails" they are talking about right in town. Once you get out of town it's great. Jackman is a great starting point because you could go to Rangeley, moosehead lake, rockwood, Quebec, etc...... The trails in the top of the state are indeed flat & fast, but the scenery is also flat and boring. The Western Mountains are much more scenic and a lot closer. Just my 2 cents.
vice108
vice108
ApexSS said:Awesome thread since I have family driving from Upper Michigan (Marquette) and Green Bay, WI at the end of this month. We have reservation a Bishop Motel but have been second guessing myself of late. The things I've heard, which hasn't been much, was that Jackman area is beat up alot. Which is a better overall experience, Fort Kent area or Jackman, Greenville area? Plus any places to stay at Fort Kent area? I'll check out the Northern door, thanks Gary. Any other places to stay or eat/drink after a hard day of riding
Thanks
Sean
schmeg
Expert
There are hundreds of miles of great trails in all the mentioned regions. 10 percent of the trails in any given area suck, but the rest is quite good. Maine is very large and expansive. If you took off from one end of the state and saddlebagged it, and made your way to the SJV and back, you could handily ty up a week with no problem. Yes Northern Door is a good stopover as is Bishops in JTown.
ApexSS
Extreme
wow, so far I am still completely undecided. From what it sounds on here it's a win win situation. Are the trails different? Vice108 said the trails are flat & fast up north, what's it like around Jackman, Moosehead Lake area? Some fast area's, snow windy trails?
schmeg said:There are hundreds of miles of great trails in all the mentioned regions. 10 percent of the trails in any given area suck, but the rest is quite good. Maine is very large and expansive. If you took off from one end of the state and saddlebagged it, and made your way to the SJV and back, you could handily ty up a week with no problem. Yes Northern Door is a good stopover as is Bishops in JTown.
Granted, I have not ridden there in years, but enough to feel where I am qualified to throw my 2 cents in...
I agree with this post. The trail system around Jackman/Greenville is extensive and well laid out. From there, you can easily get to the super-trails of the north in a day or two of riding (friends and I once rode from
Greenville to Portage in a day and back the next). I don't know if you want to keep one central location, though, so that may or may not be an option.
The trails around there are not bad if they get snow and if you go in the middle of the week. Like everywhere else, they do get rutted out around town during the weekend, and they are certainly not as wide as Quebec (they can get tight and twisty). But there are many, many trails to keep you busy for a week's time, without question. With the snow they've had this year, I would definitely recommend that area (Fort Kent/Caribou/Northern County trails are probably even better, though).
Enjoy and let us know how it went.

ApexSS said:wow, so far I am still completely undecided. From what it sounds on here it's a win win situation. Are the trails different? Vice108 said the trails are flat & fast up north, what's it like around Jackman, Moosehead Lake area? Some fast area's, snow windy trails?
There are many places to drop your thumb in that area without question. Are there slower windy trails? Oh yeah; we are not talking the UP or Quebec here. If you want railbeds and wide open throttle trips, you would probably be better off in the County. Overall though, the trail system is vast, fairly well maintained, and there are many, many beautiful sights to see. Mount Kineo, Kokadjo, the store in NE Carry (I think!) where they feed the deer, Mount Katahdin, Jackman...again, if they have the snowcover, you can't go wrong with either area.
ApexSS
Extreme
Great feedback guys and thanks. Sounds like it'll be fun where ever we go. Yeah we do plan on staying in a central location and ridig different trails from there starting on a Tuesday so we can hit some trails without too many people on them, we hope. Want to check out Canada (heard the trails are "like highways") so that's why we chose Jackman and was thinking about Fort Kent. Sounds like the hard part is choosing which one. I know that the trails can get jacked up around the town and that's expected, I was just curious about outsied. I think with this snow that we've had and continue to get, anywhere we go will be a blast. Since my family is driving 20 hours to ride with me, I want to give them the best possible experience and trails in Maine. Again, thanks for everyone's input and sorry Bob for jacking your thread.
Sean
Sean
JERSEYJOE
Expert
GOT TO THROW MY 2 CENTS IN
NEVER BEEN TO MAINE ON A SLED. I WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT QUEBEC. IT DOES SUCK THAT THE EXCHANGE RATE IS WHAT IT IS AND THE COSTS UP THERE ARE NOW IN THE EXPENSIVE RANGE. THE YEARLY PERMIT OF $250.00 IS A DISGRACE. BUT ALL IN ALL THERE ARE LOTS OF PLACES WE GO WHERE WE HAVE TOTALLY UNRESTRICTED RIDING WITH VIRTUALLY NO CROWDS. I RIDE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK AND QUEBEC IS 1000 TIMES BETTER.
NEVER BEEN TO MAINE ON A SLED. I WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT QUEBEC. IT DOES SUCK THAT THE EXCHANGE RATE IS WHAT IT IS AND THE COSTS UP THERE ARE NOW IN THE EXPENSIVE RANGE. THE YEARLY PERMIT OF $250.00 IS A DISGRACE. BUT ALL IN ALL THERE ARE LOTS OF PLACES WE GO WHERE WE HAVE TOTALLY UNRESTRICTED RIDING WITH VIRTUALLY NO CROWDS. I RIDE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK AND QUEBEC IS 1000 TIMES BETTER.
ApexSS said:Great feedback guys and thanks. Sounds like it'll be fun where ever we go. Yeah we do plan on staying in a central location and ridig different trails from there starting on a Tuesday so we can hit some trails without too many people on them, we hope. Want to check out Canada (heard the trails are "like highways") so that's why we chose Jackman and was thinking about Fort Kent. Sounds like the hard part is choosing which one. I know that the trails can get jacked up around the town and that's expected, I was just curious about outsied. I think with this snow that we've had and continue to get, anywhere we go will be a blast. Since my family is driving 20 hours to ride with me, I want to give them the best possible experience and trails in Maine. Again, thanks for everyone's input and sorry Bob for jacking your thread.
Sean
ApexSS, take a look at Hondo's mileage thread from last year - that will give you an idea of how big the trails are in the county. Again, I think you would have a good time in Greenville/Jackman as well; there is a lot to see around there and it is within range of some truly beautiful scenery. As it pertains to your location, the "best possible trails" are in the County/Quebec though, no question.
170plus
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
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- 2021 polaris assault 850,18 sidewinder ltx,14 nitro xtx,06 apex rtx,
snow here in northern maine is great,getting more tonight,i live in washburn which is between ashland and caribou,we went today and it was really good and it is just now the 1st of jan,if we keep the cold weather this is gonna be a stellar year,you can stay in caribou or presque isle area and make a different loop everyday from van buren area to madawaska,then the next day run to allagash and back,the next go to houlton ,over to oxbow then back thru ashland /squa pan area,lots of places to eat and stay and dealers and even a mall,if you need a tour guide i have every other sat sun and monday off,plan on riding a lot this season,just pm me if you need a trail update,i travel these roads every day for work and know the real world trail report,pic is today about 4 miles from my home in washburn
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Bob Miller
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I'll be heading up on Sunday Feb 11th and riding through Thursday,and leaving on Friday the 16th.
I did a price comparison, comparing Quebec and Maine with necessary fees.
Price comparison of necessary fees to snowmobile in Quebec or Maine.
Based on two trips, staying five days and nights on each.
Traveling 1600 miles on the snowmobile in 8 days of riding @ 15MPG.
Real Masse Quebec
Room $70 x 10= $700
Registration $69
Trail Pass $250
Gas $4.40 x107= $470
TOTAL $1489
Greenwood Motel
Room $50 x 10 = $500
Registration $69
Gas $3.20 x 107 = $342
TOTAL $911
Difference $1489- $911= $578
Can you say: HELLO MAINE???

I did a price comparison, comparing Quebec and Maine with necessary fees.
Price comparison of necessary fees to snowmobile in Quebec or Maine.
Based on two trips, staying five days and nights on each.
Traveling 1600 miles on the snowmobile in 8 days of riding @ 15MPG.
Real Masse Quebec
Room $70 x 10= $700
Registration $69
Trail Pass $250
Gas $4.40 x107= $470
TOTAL $1489
Greenwood Motel
Room $50 x 10 = $500
Registration $69
Gas $3.20 x 107 = $342
TOTAL $911
Difference $1489- $911= $578
Can you say: HELLO MAINE???








justinator
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- 2023 Arctic Cat Riot 9000
ApexSS said:Awesome thread since I have family driving from Upper Michigan (Marquette) and Green Bay, WI at the end of this month. We have reservation a Bishop Motel but have been second guessing myself of late. The things I've heard, which hasn't been much, was that Jackman area is beat up alot. Which is a better overall experience, Fort Kent area or Jackman, Greenville area? Plus any places to stay at Fort Kent area? I'll check out the Northern door, thanks Gary. Any other places to stay or eat/drink after a hard day of riding
Thanks
Sean
Tons of places to stay here in fort kent..........northern door inn, camel brookk camps, cross road cabins, track down kennells. Trails are ready to hammer. Lots of rr bed, logging roads so lots of high speed running. Easy to rack up some miles up here. If you need numbers for any of these places just shoot me a pm.
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