Yesterday on Asa’s World Tour of Maine, we took you to Mexico and Byron. While researching that area, I saw on the map that Berlin, Maine was nearby. However, with precious travel time ticking, rather than investigate further, I made the game day decision to find that town once we were in the vicinity. How difficult could it be, right? Armed with the coordinates that it is somewhere between Byron and Height of Land, we set off for our adventure. Spoiler Alert: We never found Berlin, Maine!
So after our farthest trip into the northwest section of the state, I came home and did a little more digging. Turns out Berlin, Maine, not to be confused with Berlin, New Hampshire, is an extinct town! Incorporated in 1824, the designation as a town was repealed in 1842! After reaching its peak population of 470 residents in 1837, this farming and logging community dwindled and became largely uninhabited. Today it is known simply as Township 6 North of Weld, which we did see a sign for on our journey. Therefore technically, I say this counts as a stop on Asa’s World Tour of Maine, even if we didn’t find a sign to pose near or wear our official plaid bandanas.
What we did find was the Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway! This approximately 52 miles scenic byway follows routes 4 and 17 from Madrid to Township E around Rangeley Lake. Yes, I do see now that Madrid should have been another stop on our tour that day. However, after driving hours to reach Berlin, and not finding it, we were running out of time and daylight to continue on our trip. We did make time though to park at the scenic overlook to gaze at the amazing views at Height of Land.
According to the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, Height of Land “provides one of the most stunning overlooks in New England,” and we wholeheartedly agree! From this rest stop, we marveled at the magnificent views of Mooselookmeguntic and Richardson Lakes, and the White Mountains. The Appalachian Trail also has a trail crossing nearby!
Intrigued by what more we could see, we drove a little further on the Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway, until we reached another scenic overlook. There we gazed out at Bald Mountain, and learned about the network of lakes and rivers that that Native Americans and early European settlers used to navigate this region. Today it is part of the 740 mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail. But this rest stop is where our adventure in western Maine ended. Being so far afield from home, it was time to head back and not explore further. However, we do hope to return someday to visit Madrid, Maine!
Although we climbed to the Height of Maine, and wanted to run through the fields, only to find Berlin, we still haven’t found what we were looking for. What we did find though on this stop on Asa’s World Tour of Maine was wonderful, and definitely worth the trip! The views from the Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway are awe inspiring!
