Fastest Winter Ride from the Past

Before you start the Maine State Parks GeoTour, pick up a Maine State Parks Passport at a Maine State Park or Historic Site - available during the summer season. At each official Maine State Park geocache, stamp your passport with the geocache stamp.

At this cache location you will take an extremely fast trip down the hill to learn some of Maine’s “First” State Park’s rich history. Take a moment to learn how folks got their thrills of speed; from a ride which once stretched down Quoggy Jo Mountain. Using the contents of the cache, stand at the top of the trail near the intersection, and look down the trail, enjoying the view of today from that of old. Listen carefully; you may just hear the screams and laughter from park visitor, reverberating off Echo Lake.

Park in the main day use area; get your passport book stamped at the hiking trail bulletin board and proceed to find the cache. The quickest way to get there is up the QuaQua Jo Nature trail, for those looking for an easier but longer walk, walk up the campground road to the North Peak trail head. Take the North Peak trail until you come to an intersection sign past the bridge. Start using the info you have to find the cache. Toilets are located in the parking lot area. Park entrance fees are charged, not a night or winter cache.

Aroostook State Park
Established 1938

Maine’s first state park, Aroostook State Park is located on Echo Lake, off U.S. Route 1 south of Presque Isle, in the heart of Maine’s potato country. Hiking on nearby Quaggy Jo Mountain and trout fishing on Echo Lake are popular activities. Campsites, showers, a camper kitchen shelter, canoe and kayak rentals are provided in season. Groomed cross-country ski and snowshoe trails are available in the winter. Groomed snowmobile trails also cross through the park. Telephone: (207) 768 8341

Those willing to take exploring Maine State Parks to a higher level are invited to participate in the Maine State Parks Geo Tour! Geocaching is an outdoor adventure game similar to a treasure hunt, but is played with a GPS device. The object is to locate containers (called caches) hidden at eight specified parks. There are over two million geocaches around the world, and now with the Maine State Parks Geo Tour you have “Another Way to Play at Maine State Parks & Historic Sites!”

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Obtain a Maine State Parks Passport from any Maine state park or historic site (or use your existing passport).
2. Go to www.geocaching.com to create your login.
3. Download the GPS coordinates to your GPS unit or mobile device for each of the 8 locations (listed below).
4. Using the coordinates, find as many Maine state parks geocaches (during normal park hours of 9 a.m. to sunset and between mid-May and Sept.) as you can! The hidden, water-tight containers will be clearly marked as official Maine State Parks Geocaches.
   Hint: caches are only located at the following Maine State Parks:
   • Allagash Wilderness Waterway
   • Aroostook State Park
   • Cobscook Bay State Park
   • Colburn House State Historic Site
   • Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site
   • Mount Blue State Park
   • Vaughan Woods State Park
   • Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park
5. Sign the logbook inside each container, and stamp your passport with the unique stamp from that park’s geocache.

Learn More about Maine State Parks and Historic Sites:

go to:

• Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
• Maine State Park GeoTour Page