Kennebec and Moose River Valley

Kennebec and Moose River Valley covers the north-central interior of Maine, running from the state capital at Augusta north along the Kennebec River drainage to Jackman and the Quebec border. The terrain shifts from rolling agricultural land in the southern Kennebec Valley up through forested hill country in central Somerset to the deep boreal forest and lake country at the Canadian border. Moose habitat dominates the northern half; the Kennebec, Sandy, and Moose rivers cut through the region. Kennebec and Somerset counties cover the region. Augusta (the state capital, with the State House, Maine State Museum, and Old Fort Western) and Waterville (with Colby College) anchor the south; Skowhegan holds the Skowhegan State Fair (the oldest continuously running agricultural fair in the country); Jackman sits at the northern edge near the Quebec border. The Belgrade Lakes handle the warm-weather lake recreation; Bingham anchors the upper Kennebec for whitewater rafting; the Bigelow Preserve carries the Appalachian Trail through Somerset. Most trips here run lake-and-outdoor focused. The Belgrade Lakes pull the summer cottage and family-vacation crowd; the upper Kennebec at Bingham and The Forks runs Maine’s premier whitewater (Class IV–V); Jackman and the Moose River draw paddlers and moose-watchers.