A Weekend at Moosehead Lake: 3-Day Itinerary

Moosehead Lake is the kind of place where you drive for hours, lose your cell signal, and feel like you finally got somewhere. Maine’s largest lake sits in the North Woods, about as far from the coast as you can get and still be in the state. Greenville, at the southern tip, is base camp for everything: hiking, paddling, moose watching, and sitting on a dock watching loons dive.

A weekend is not enough to see everything up here. But three days, planned right, give you a mountain summit, a boat ride across the lake, a waterfall gorge, and a very good chance of seeing a moose. You stay in your car and scan the bogs from the road, so a pair of 8x42 binoculars is the most useful thing to pack for the moose runs along Lily Bay Road.

Here is how to spend the three days: a Friday climb and moose run, Mount Kineo and the lake on Saturday, and a Sunday choice between Gulf Hagas and Lily Bay before the drive home.

1. Fri Day 1
   • Early afternoon Hike Borestone Mountain, 4.2 miles round trip Borestone Mountain, Elliotsville, 25 minutes south of Greenville
   • Dinnertime Dinner at Kelly's Landing or Stress Free Moose Pub Greenville
   • Dusk Slow moose run, staying in the car The first 10 miles of Lily Bay Road
2. Sat Day 2

   The signature hike of the Moosehead region

   • Morning Shuttle boat across, then hike Mount Kineo Kineo Public Dock, Rockwood, 20 miles west of Greenville
   • Afternoon SS Katahdin cruise or a floatplane ride Greenville and Greenville Junction
   • Evening Sunset over the lake East Cove, Greenville waterfront
3. Sun Day 3
   • Morning Gulf Hagas rim loop (leave Greenville by 7 a.m.) or an easy morning at Lily Bay State Park Gulf Hagas, about an hour east, or Lily Bay State Park, 9 miles north
   • Then Drive home About 90 minutes to I-95 via Route 15 and Dover-Foxcroft

Every stop sits on the map below, from Borestone in the south to Kineo up the lake. Tap a pin for its photo and page.

Before You Go

June through September is the window. Each part of it suits a different trip:

How to get there: From Portland, take I-95 to Newport, then Routes 7 and 6/15 north. From Bangor, take Route 15 through Dover-Foxcroft; the drive is scenic and mostly empty. Fill your gas tank before you leave Greenville. There is very little north of town.

Where to stay: four options from upscale to a campsite.

Day 1 (Friday): Arrive, Hike Borestone, Dusk Moose Run

Afternoon: Borestone Mountain

Arrive in Greenville by early afternoon, drop your bags, grab a sandwich at the general store, and drive 25 minutes south to Borestone Mountain in Elliotsville. It is a Maine Audubon sanctuary, and the hike is a real climb, but nothing technical.

The trail climbs through hardwood forest to Sunrise Pond, one of three ponds on the mountain, then steeply to two granite peaks. The west peak has the better views. On a clear day you can see Barren Mountain and the 100-Mile Wilderness stretching north.

Round trip

4.2 miles, about 1,900 feet of gain

Time

3 to 4 hours with time on top

Evening: Dinner and Moose

Back in Greenville by dinnertime, you have two solid options. Kelly’s Landing sits on the lake at the east end of town, with burgers, fried seafood and a deck over the water; muddy hiking boots don’t get a second glance. Stress Free Moose Pub on Pritham Avenue is the local bar, with decent pub food and a patio. It is not fancy. That is the point.

After dinner, drive Lily Bay Road north at dusk, slowly. The bogs and pond edges along the first 10 miles are where moose come to feed in the last light. Look for large, dark shapes standing in water or at the road shoulder, and bring binoculars. Bogs like Lazy Tom, pictured near Kokadjo, are the habitat to scan.

If you see one, pull over, stay in the car, and watch. Do not approach. A cow moose weighs 800 pounds and will not move out of your way.

Fall is different: the rut runs from late September into early October, and moose move from ponds and bogs into young forest, so roadside sightings are less predictable.

Where

Lily Bay Road and Kokadjo Road

Peak

Late June through mid-July, at dawn and dusk

Day 2 (Saturday): Mt Kineo and the Lake

Morning: Mt Kineo

Mount Kineo is the signature hike of the Moosehead region. It rises 700 feet straight out of the lake on a peninsula you can reach only by water.

Drive 20 miles west to Rockwood and catch the shuttle boat from the Kineo Public Dock. No reservation is needed. Mount Kineo State Park charges its own day-use fee.

Shuttle boat

$15 round trip or $8 one way; 9 and under free

State park fee

$3 Maine resident, $4 nonresident

Once across, you have two trails to the top, and the views are the same from either.

Indian Trail is the direct route: steep, rocky and rewarding. It breaks onto exposed ledges with views in every direction, and peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs. The fire tower on top gives a 360-degree view of the lake, the mountains, and forest running unbroken to the horizon.

Bridle Trail is the easier, longer route, a gradual climb on the old resort road. It suits families or anyone who wants less vertical.

Most people go up the Indian Trail and down the Bridle Trail. Budget 3 to 4 hours for the loop, including the boat ride.

Indian Trail

1.6 miles to the summit, steep

Bridle Trail

2.8 miles to the summit, gradual

Afternoon: Choose Your Adventure

Two options, depending on your energy and interests.

Option A: SS Katahdin Steamboat Cruise

The SS Katahdin is a restored 1914 steamboat that has cruised Moosehead Lake for over a century. It sails from Greenville daily from late June through mid-October; check the operator’s schedule for this season’s dates. Every cruise shows you how big this lake really is, and on calm days you can see straight to the bottom in the shallows. Buy tickets online or at the ticket office on the day of the cruise.

Moose Island Cruise

2 hours, from $40

Mt. Kineo Cruise

5 hours, from $60

Founded

1982, in Greenville Junction

Flights

15 to 30 minutes; from $100 per person

Option B: Floatplane Ride

Currier’s Flying Service in Greenville Junction was founded in 1982 and flies over the Moosehead region. A scenic flight shows you the lake, Kineo, Katahdin on clear days, and the vast roadless forest north of Greenville. Flights run 15 to 30 minutes depending on the route, and scenic tours start at $100 per person. It is the fastest way to understand how much wilderness surrounds you up here.

Evening: Sunset from East Cove

Drive or walk to the east side of Greenville’s waterfront in the evening. The sun sets behind the hills on the western shore, and the lake turns from blue to gold to pink. Bring a chair or sit on the dock while the loons call. This is the version of Maine that doesn’t fit on Instagram but stays with you after you leave.

Day 3 (Sunday): Gulf Hagas or Lily Bay, Then Home

You have two options for Sunday morning, depending on how much hiking you want.

Option A: Gulf Hagas (Full Morning)

Gulf Hagas is called the “Grand Canyon of Maine”: a slate gorge on the West Branch of the Pleasant River, about an hour east of Greenville via the KI Road and a North Maine Woods checkpoint. The fee is the in-season KI Jo-Mary day-use fee.

The rim loop passes five major waterfalls: Screw Auger Falls, Hammond Street Pitch, Billings Falls, Buttermilk Falls, and the Head of the Gulf. The gorge is 130 feet deep in places, and on a summer morning the light through the hemlocks is worth every root you trip over. The trail is rugged: roots, rocks, mud and blowdowns are standard. This is not a groomed park path.

Rim loop

8 miles, 5 to 7 hours

Day-use fee

$13 Maine, $18 nonresident; under 18 and 70+ free; cash or check

Option B: Lily Bay State Park (Easy Morning)

If Gulf Hagas sounds like too much after two days of hiking, take a low-key morning instead.

Lily Bay State Park is 9 miles north of Greenville on Lily Bay Road. It has sandy beaches, picnic areas, and calm water for wading or swimming, if you can handle a lake that peaks in the low 60s in August. A 2-mile shoreline trail runs between the beach and the Rowell Cove campground.

Swim, read on the beach, watch for loons, and pack up at your own pace before heading south.

Day use

$4 Maine adults, $6 nonresident adults

Hours

9 a.m. to sunset, year-round

Heading Home

From Greenville, the drive south to I-95 takes about 90 minutes via Route 15 to Dover-Foxcroft. From there, Portland is about 2.5 hours south on the interstate, and Bangor is 45 minutes east. After Gulf Hagas, the Brownville route to I-95 saves a few minutes. Stop in Dover-Foxcroft for gas and a last look at civilization before the highway.

What to Bring

The Moosehead region is remote, and the weather can change fast.