Androscoggin River (Click for Map) Errol, NH through Hanover, ME, www.androscogginwatershed.org. The Androscoggin River’s headwaters originate in Rangeley, Parmachenee, and Aziscohos Lakes in ME, but the river assumes its name as it leaves Lake Umbagog in NH. It flows west into Errol, south to Gorham, and eventually back east through Gilead, Bethel, and Hanover, ME. Androscoggin means “curing place for fish”, “fish country in springtime” or “place of fish spearing”. The Androscoggin River Watershed Council has been active in cleaning up the river and promoting recreational use, including sponsoring a Source to the Sea canoe trek.

Androscoggin River Islands
(Click for Map)
Gilead and Bethel, 207-824-3806, www.mahoosuc.org/MLTIslands.html.
The Mahoosuc Land Trust owns several islands in the Androscoggin River that were donated by former owners. They provide water, shelter, and food for many species of birds and mammals, but are inhospitable to humans due to thick vegetation, including poison ivy.

Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire
History and Heritage Guide, www.aannh.org/heritage/index.php.
The Northern New Hampshire History and Heritage Guide provides information about New Hampshire’s Mahoosuc region. The website also includes information about scenic drives, local history (including books for sale), and a calendar of events and exhibits at www.aannh.org/artsnorth_calendar.php.

Artist’s Covered Bridge
(Click for Map)
Newry. Built in 1872, this 87-foot span across Sunday River is one of the most photographed and painted of Maine's historic and picturesque wooden bridges. Favorite swimming hole under the bridge. Follow signs on Sunday River Road.

Berlin and Gorham Pulp and Paper Mills
(Click for Map)
Berlin and Gorham, 603-342-2000.
In their heyday, the Brown Company’s Berlin and Gorham mills were the largest and most advanced pulp and paper mills in the world. The Brown Company organized the first industry forestry program in the country. It also began a research department responsible for many technological breakthroughs including Kodak paper, Bermico piping, Saran Wrap, and the cooking shortening Kream Krisp, forerunner of Crisco shortening. Berlin’s Burgess pulp mill was closed in 2006. The Cascade Paper Mill in Gorham is currently owned by Fraser of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Berlin City Heritage Tour
(Click for Map)
Berlin, 603-752-6060, www.northernwhitemtnchamber.org/heritage.html.
Berlin is known as “the city that trees built”. An elevation drop in the Androscoggin River provided water power for lumber and paper mills. Mill workers arriving from Quebec, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, and Russia contributed to a rich multi-cultural heritage. Visit community churches listed on the National Register of Historic Places and explore turn-of-the-century building façades. A driving tour with photos and historic background is available at the Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce office or on its website listed below.
 
Berlin Fish Hatchery
(Click for Map)
York Pond Rd. Milan, 603-449-3412, www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Inside_FandG/hatcheries_visitor_centers.htm. 
This state facility, located on White Mountain National Forest land, rears eastern brook, rainbow and brown trout. The hatchery maintains an education center open to visitors. Trailheads for many hiking routes in the Kilkenny Range are also located here. From Rt. 16, take Rt. 110 west and look on the left side for a brown sign with yellow letters to Berlin State Fish Hatchery. Hatchery is about 5 miles in.  Open 8 to 4 daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Bethel Historic District
(Click for Map)
www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/ME/Oxford/districts.html.
Bethel is an internationally renowned tourist destination that has hosted summer tourists since the mid 1800’s and has more recently developed a diversity of winter recreation offerings, from skiing to dogsledding. Mahoosuc Arts Council presents year-round programs in music, dance and theater. A historic district in Bethel village, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was established in 1977 and expanded in 1990. The district now includes Broad Street, the Common, and Church and Park Streets.

Boom Piers
(Click for Map)
Berlin, Milan. For many years two major paper companies, Brown Company and International Paper, split the Androscoggin River to float their trees to the mills. A series of booms (chains of logs linked end-to-end and anchored from pier to pier) allowed drivers to channel logs to the correct mill. Parking area and historic marker across from 10th St. on Rt. 16 in Berlin.

Chapel Arts New England
(Click for Map)
Gorham, 603-723-1849.
Chapel Arts New England displays and retails local and international artists in its Fine Arts Gallery and sponsors musical, theatrical and movement performances, May through October (check the website for a schedule). Located in the church on the southeast corner of Rts. 2 and 16 next to the Gorham Common.

Errol Town Hall and Errol Lock-Up
(Click for Map)
Errol, 603-482-3351.
The Errol/Umbagog area is steeped in the history of old-time logging. Local author, Richard Pinette, describes the area as "nature's playground" with a rich forest land heritage. The Umbagog Area Heritage Committee plans to restore the Errol Lock-Up and open it to the public as a local history museum displaying photos and artifacts of the logging era. Meanwhile, the committee displays photos of historic scenes from log drives to covered bridges at the Errol Town Hall at 33 Main St. next to L.L. Cote. Call ahead for hours.

Gorham Historical Society and RR Museum
(Click for Map)
Gorham, 603-466-5338 or 466-2085, www.gorhamnewhampshire.com/railroadmuseum.html.
The arrival of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence railroad in Gorham (as well as Bethel) in 1851 changed the entire region, as tourists from Boston and other cities arrived by train to visit the mountains. The Gorham Historical Society is housed in the 1907 railroad station on Railroad Street. The Railway Station Museum displays local historical artifacts, and there is a 1911 steam locomotive, several box cars, and a Conrail Caboose, adjacent to the museum. One box car contains a model railroad depicting Gorham and Berlin in the 1950's and another contains railroad memorabilia.

Intervale Gateway
(Click for Map)
Bethel. On the southeastern Rt. 26 approach to the village of Bethel, the Intervale Gateway offers a panoramic view across the Androscoggin River to the Mahoosuc Range. The Mahoosuc Land Trust preserved this historic vista by purchasing the land in the mid-1990's. At one time a part of the agricultural lands that stretched along the river, the 18-acre Gateway field is still cut for hay.

Mahoosuc Mountains (Click for Map) The spine of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern New Hampshire and western Maine follows the Mahoosuc Range from the northern edge of the Wildcat Ridge in the White Mountain National Forest all the way north to the high peaks of Moody Mountain and Old Blue Mountain near Andover, ME - a linear distance of roughly forty miles. This stretch of rugged country includes the "toughest mile on the Appalachian Trail" through Mahoosuc Notch, a stunning landscape of giant boulders that hold ice year round in its crevices and caves.

Maine Birding Trail - Maine Lakes and Mountains Section
(Click for Map)
Gilead, Newry, Grafton, Riley. The Maine Lakes and Mountains section of the Maine Birding Trail describes birds most often seen in the Evans Notch section of the White Mountain National Forest, and along Rt. 26 at Step Falls preserve and Grafton Notch State Park. Download a trail guide at www.mainebirdingtrail.com/Brochure.pdf and look for Map E.

Moffett House Museum
(Click for Map)
Coos County Historical Society, Berlin,
603-752-4590.
Local artifacts and books, including military memorabilia, photos and Brown Company bulletins. 119 High Street.

Moose Tours (Click for Map) Gorham, 800-877-986-6673 or 603-466-3103 www.gorhamnh.org/moosetours.html. View wildlife and discover the long history of people’s coexistence with nature in the Great North Woods. 97% success rate for spotting moose. Three-hour guided bus tours leave five evenings a week, late-May to mid-Oct., from the Gorham Information Booth on the Gorham Town Common. Early morning tours on Sundays during mid-summer. Call ahead for reservations. Moses Mason and O'Neil Robinson Houses (Click for Map) Bethel, 207-824-2908 or 800-824-2910, www.bethelhistorical.org. The Bethel Historical Society's Regional History Center is located in the former residence of one of Bethel’s most prominent citizens, Dr. Moses Mason (1789-1866). Dr. Mason’s house and the nearby O'Neil Robinson House contain a museum with period exhibits and a store. Mount Jasper (Click for Map) Berlin. Native Americans mined rhyolite at this site to make knives, scrapers, drills and projectile points. Mt. Jasper rhyolite has been found in many New England Native American archeological sites, proving widespread trade. Mt. Jasper can be reached by a path that leaves from the end of Willard St. There is a small exhibit of Mt. Jasper artifacts at the Berlin Public Library at 270 Main St.

Nansen Ski Jump
(Click for Map)
Berlin, 603-323-2087.
This 170’ steel frame, built in 1936, hosted several early Winter Olympics ski jumping trials. For 50 years it was the largest ski jump in the eastern U.S. The jump is still visible from Rt. 16.

Northern Forest Heritage Park
(Click for Map)
Berlin, 603-752-7202, www.northernforestheritage.org.
Interprets the history of the working forest and celebrates the multi-cultural heritage of the Great North Woods Region. Enjoy a scenic river ride along the beautiful and historical Androscoggin River, Tuesday - Saturday 2pm & 5pm. Boats leave from the docks at Northern Forest Heritage Park and the tour generally lasts 90 minutes up the river and back. Enjoy a narrated ride describing the significance of the river, its culture and history. The park is a three acre site with waterfront access and walkways and a full-size replica logging camp comprised of cookhouse, bunkhouse, working blacksmith shop, etc. A Museum and Artisan Gift Shop in the historic Brown Company house at 961 Main St. in Berlin, is open year round and the Heritage Park is open May through October - call ahead to be sure it's open the day you'd like to visit.

Old Man of the Valley
(Click for Map)
Rt. 2, Shelburne. This glacial erratic boulder greets visitors from Maine as they enter New Hampshire on Rt. 2. The boulder was present when Stephen Messer arrived in 1772; the profile appeared to be looking upstream along the Androscoggin River, so Messer took that as a good omen and settled nearby. Marked by a sign on Rt. 2 a few hundred yards from the state border; park on Conner Road, and follow a short path to the site.

The Overlook
(Click for Map)
Rt. 26, Errol. Two miles south of Errol on Rt. 26, the view opens up to the south and on a good day you can see Mt. Washington. (Cell phones also work here.) A wide breakdown lane allows cars to pull off the main highway.

Saint Kieran Community Center for the Arts
(Click for Map)
Berlin, 603-752-1028, www.stkieranarts.org.
Founded in 2000, this community non-profit is located in the late-nineteenth century baroque-style St. Kieran Church at 155 Emery St. in Berlin. The Center offers art exhibits and performances in a space that seats 400 and boasts an 1898 pipe organ. See events schedule on the website.

Scenic Overlook
(Click for Map)
Rt. 2, Shelburne. An overlook on the north side of U.S. Rt. 2 just east of the Shelburne village center, provides dramatic views of the Androscoggin River and the southern Mahoosuc Mountain Range. From this viewpoint, it is easy to imagine how the Androscoggin Glacier carved out this narrow river valley between two steep mountain ranges.

Shelburne Birches
(Click for Map)
Shelburne, www.shelburnenh.com.
A stretch of Rt. 2 in Shelburne is lined with beautiful white birches on land donated to the town of Shelburne by the Brown Company. Beginning in 1998, some areas have been thinned to encourage growth of more birch trees.

Stone Fish
(Click for Map)
Shelburne, www.shelburnenh.com.
This stone figure was created by local stone mason George Emery in the early 1900’s on the estate of New York financier K.W. Aston. The “Stone Fish” is unmarked, but can be observed on the south side of U.S. Route 2 approximately 1/2 mile east of the AT and 1/2 mile west of the Shelburne visitor center.

Thirteen Mile Woods Wildlife Viewing Area
(Click for Map)
Errol, Dummer, www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Outdoor_Recreation/wildlife_watching.htm.
This area has been designated a Watchable Wildlife corridor by the state of New Hampshire. Interpretive signs are posted at the entrance to Mollidgewock State Park and Androscoggin Wayside in Errol, and at the Paul Bofinger Conservation area and the Pontook Dam site in Dummer. New Hampshire’s Wildlife Viewing Guide is available for purchase at http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Shop/shop_books.htm.

Tourmaline Mines
(Click for Map)
Newry, www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/minerals/index.htm .
Tourmaline was declared the official Maine state mineral in 1971. This gem forms long crystals in varying shades of pink, red, green, blue, yellow and brown. The world’s largest deposit of gem tourmaline was discovered in Newry in 1972. Several old mines that produced a variety of gemstones are scattered around Plumbago Mountain.

Whaleback
(Click for Map)
Shelburne. Glaciers advancing from the northwest scoured the northerly sides of ridges and plucked rock from the south faces leaving a distinct profile. Shelburne’s whaleback lies in the center of the cleared natural gas pipeline on the north side of the North Road just west of the unmarked Maine border.