March weekend getaway: Lodge at Moosehead Lake

Whether you’re not quite ready to let go of winter or simply want to get away from it all without giving it all up, the The Lodge at Moosehead Lake is the answer. Steal away to this oasis of elegance, a not-so-rustic lodge set on a hillside overlooking Moosehead Lake, just outside of Greenville  in the northern Maine woods. The Cozy Winter Weekend package, available through March, includes two nights lodging in a lake-view room, including daily two-course breakfast and pub supper; rates begin at $599 per room, exclusive of tax, gratuity, and alcohol.

The lodge combines rustic craft with chic sophistication, a woodsy Maine experience without sacrificing either the securities or amenities of civilization. Expect fancy linens and soft robes, inroom gas fireplaces and whirlpool baths, Wifi and more than 500 movie titles. Now add expansive living rooms, a pub with pool table and English darts, a guest pantry stocked with 24-hour snacks and beverages, and jaw-dropping sunset views from almost every room.

It’s easy to hole up inside for the weekend, but the outdoor world beckons with seasonal adventures, including snowshoeing, dog sledding, and snowmobiling, when the weather cooperates. Even if March Mudness prevails, the inn’s a place to escape it and the rest of the world, if only for the weekend.

Foliage Faves: Blair Hill Inn

Vermont gets all the press—but it also gets gazillions of leaf peepers. Here’s a place where you can enjoy the colors without the crowds. (The first in my leaf-peeper foliage faves postings)

Native Mainah

No it’s not easy to get to, but that’s what makes it so worth the effort. Greenville edges Moosehead Lake, that giant blue Rorschach blot in the wilds of northern Maine. It’s the frontier town before tar gives way to dirt, civilization to wilderness. Shops sell all manor of moosey merchandise, fishing and hunting are big biz. Set high on a hillside, just outside of town is a genteel country inn, the splurge-worthy Blair Hill Inn, an oasis of comfort, with excellent service and fabulous breakfasts.

And the views? Stupendous, especially during peak foliage, when the color-dappled mountains surrounding the 40-mile-long lake are reflected in its waters. This is God’s Country, and if you don’t believe me, mosey up to Kokadjo (population, not many) where a giant sign proclaims just that.

The region is laced with hiking trails and with opportunities for boating and paddling and moose spotting. Treat yourself to a cruise on the Katahdin, a retrofitted, early 20th-century boat that was previously used in in the lumbering industry. Or take a foliage flight with Currier’s Flying Service, a great way to view the cliffs of Kineo. Or book a moose safari or other adventure with Northwoods Outfitters.

Maynard's in Maine lodge

Now, if the Blair Hill Inn is out of range budget wise, not to worry, Greenville has plenty of wallet-friendly spots, too. Chalet Moosehead is a motel that’s right on the lakefront; the Pleasant Street Inn is a B&B that’s walkable to everything intown, including the lake; in nearby Rockwood is Maynard’s in Maine, an old-time classic—very rustic (in the Maine sense of the word, not the New York sense) lodge and cabins, with a restaurant (see photo) It’s not for everybody, but I love this place, and it’s pet friendly.

Shadowing Thoreau

If you have any plans to visit Baxter State Park or Greenville, to climb Katahdin or to paddle the myriad lakes, rivers and streams lacing Maine’s northern woods wilderness together, do yourself a favor and read The Wildest Country: Exploring Thoreau’s Maine, by J. Parker Huber. The second edition, published by the Appalachian Mountain Club is now available.

Huber first published the book in 1981, and although he acknowledges in the introduction that he hasn’t returned to the region since July 1995, he says: “I still dwell there spiritually: paddling Moosehead Lake, climbing Kineo and Katahdin, watching moose, listening to loons.”

Huber shares that magic, integrating Thoreau’s journeys with his own, recommending itineraries and sharing insights about the area’s flora and fauna, history and heritage. It’s all beautifully illustrated with maps and photos by Bridget Besaw.

I’ve only skimmed the book but already I’m hungry to return to the woods and follow these footsteps and canoe routes (okay, after the black flies calm down). I’m eager to read in detail and expand my knowledge of, as the sign welcoming folks to Kokadjo so aptly puts it: “God’s Country.”