Things to Do in Moosehead Lake

Moosehead Lake as the name suggest resembles an antlered moose. And it’s just the beginning; it was named as such because the lake has been home for countless of moose since time immemorial. People would come to the lake just to take a glimpse of a moose and it will not go home disappointed. Every day people can take pictures of a moose, lots of them effortlessly without fail.

When Henry David Thoreau and his companions arrived at the are, they were amazed in the beauty of the lake and its surroundings. Thoreau even describes the lake as “a gleaming silver platter at the end of the table”. Considered as the largest lake in Maine, Moosehead lake sits between Longfellow Mountains with its water coming from the Kennebec River. The lake hides about 80 islands with Sugar Island as the largest. It’s part of the region that includes the West branch of Penobscot, the Pleasant, the Saint John rivers, and the Piscataquis. 

There are so many reasons why you need to see Moosehead Lake as there are a number of things to do in the lake for the whole family. But is seeing the great moose out of nowhere every single day isn’t enough for you then perhaps hiking and the fall foliage may get you going in this lovely place. Moosehead Lake boasts of activities of the great outdoors all year round. 

But the first thing you need to do when you arrive at Moosehead Lake is to find some moose, as you can’t go to the lake without looking for one. The lake is home to more than 70,000 moose in the state of Maine, so chances of finding one are super real. June has the most sightings of moose throughout the year and you may need to be extra careful driving especially at night when they are known to cross streets. To even have more fun in your moose sighting adventure, the lake offers a number of moose guide and tours. 

Hiking is a huge part of Moosehead Lake region and most that come here never miss the Moosehead Pinnacle Pursuit. Part of the challenge is hiking through the six mountains in the area namely, Borestone Mountain, Number Four Mountain, Mount Kineo, Whitecap Mountain, Eagle Rock, and Big Moose Mountain. These hikes can really challenging but are very doable and rewarding as the views on top are really amazing. The bonus part of the hike is during the winter season as you can collect the Winter or Winter Ultra badge for hiking these mountains. 

The Moosehead Lake really transform into a great picturesque beauty of nature, turning forest of luscious greenery into a work of art of varying colors. Fall foliage is a time when the autumn leaves are in their most colorful; imagine leaves of different colors like fiery red, orange, purple and yellow. Timing is everything if you want to see the trees in their finest; arrive too early and you may see mostly green leaves, arrive too late and the leaves may already wither and fall into the ground.