The area north of Millinocket is a vast sweep of forest, dotted with lakes and ledge, and cut by one of the most fabled rivers in Maine, the West Branch of the Penobscot. This is Thoreau country, the setting for the journeys described in Henry David Thoreau’s The Maine Woods. It is a land rich in human and natural history, and nowhere more so than at Big Eddy, where the Penobscot River finally slows after a 5-mile tumble through the rapids of Ripogenus Gorge.
Situated just outside Baxter State Park, Big Eddy is considered a world-class site for Landlocked Salmon and has been a destination for fishermen for at least 100 years. The road to Big Eddy is equally stirring.
Just beyond Millinocket, the grand Katahdin Range looms on the horizon, and the summits of Doubletop, The Owl, the Brothers, and Mt. O-J-I are all visible on a clear day. It is still possible to see more moose than cars on an early-morning drive on the Golden Road. Then there’s the river itself, a dark constant cutting through the region’s geology and culture.
Big Eddy remains one of those rare places that seem unchanged by time. Join us for an experience in one of the most spectacular places in New England.
Learn more
