Day 2: Visit Moosehead Lake, Drive along National Scenic Byway – Old Canada Road or Route 201
On day 2, we headed towards the Moosehead Lake via Dexter. The drive was scenic and we got to see a good display of fall foliage on the way. We stopped by a beautiful creek and then some pull outs to click some pictures.
When we googled Moosehead, it showed us a different route via Beaver Cove instead of taking us straight via the Moosehead village. Hence after reaching Greenville, we decided to take a detour towards Beaver Cove via Lily Bay road as shown in the map in order to explore the place. We definitely got to see fall foliage on this route at the cost of few extra hours.
First Roach Pond:
We stopped by the First Roach Pond located in Kokadjo, Maine. This pond is part of the Roach River and is located between the Second Roach Pond and Moosehead Lake on the Roach River flow sequence. It is the largest of the Roach Ponds. The view of the pond and its surrounding was magnificent especially with fall colors, and was worth visiting. There was a shop/restaurant opposite to the pond with several food options available such as French fries, sandwiches and ice-cream etc.
Moosehead Lake:
We continued further towards the Moosehead Lake as shown by the GPS which led to an unpaved road. After driving for a few miles on this unpaved road and seeing no vehicle traffic or evidences of the lake, we decided to drive back to Greenville and then take the Moosehead village route which is state road 6 towards Jackman. On our way from Greenville to Moosehead village we made few stops to take photos of the lake along with fall colors.
Kennebec River:
We also stopped at Kennebec River East Outlet point which was another beautiful river with fall display on both sides of the river.
We continued on state road 6 from Moosehead to Jackman town which is almost near to the Canada Border and is located to the north-west part of Maine. This would also take us to the Old Canada road or the route 201 which is one of the National Scenic Byways in Maine. This byway is well known for some beautiful fall foliage display along the road sides.
Route 201:
We drove from Jackman to Skowhegan on route 201 which was an hour and half drive. We witnessed absolutely breathtaking colorful display of fall foliage along the route. But as we were running late and had around 4 hour drive to our hotel, we couldn’t make multiple stops.
Attean View: Looking Northwest into Canada
There is another overlook one should not miss. It is few miles south of Jackman on old route 201. The overlook is known as “Attean View: Looking Northwest into Canada”. The view is spectacular and looks more amazing during fall season. There is a turnout where you can park your vehicle to enjoy the view of Attean Pond, mountains and surroundings.
After reaching Skowhegan, we took a detour towards Farmington, Maine which was on the way to our accommodation at Northern Peaks Motor Inn hotel located in Gorham, New Hampshire. This hotel was near to the Mount Washington which was part our day 3 plan. Due to the long drive, we could not get much time to make a stop for dinner. So after reaching the hotel, we ordered some food from nearby Dominos.
Suggestion: There are other scenic byways and places that we found while we were planning but we couldn’t accommodate everything in our itinerary due to time restriction. But if you want to include them, here are they:
- Grafton Notch State Park & Byway
- Dixville Notch State Park
- Rangeley Lakes Park & Byway
- Baxter State Park
- Portland Head Lighthouse
- Route 1 (Most of this is by the coast)
- State Route 27
Links to related posts :
Main Post : Fall Trip to Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont
Day#1 : Acadia National Park, Maine
Day#3 : Mount Washington and White Mountains National Forest in New Hampshire
Day#4 : Lake Winnipesaukee & Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire, and Hogback Mountain in Vermont
