ASHLAND, Maine — Over the last decade, fewer and fewer teenagers have been visiting the North Maine Woods, the 3.5 million acres of commercial forestlands that are also open to outdoor recreation.
Al Cowperthwaite, executive director of the North Maine Woods, said the organization decided this year to raise the minimum age for visitors who have to pay entrance fees, from 15 to 18. Teenagers younger than 18 can now take day trips to the NMW for free and can also camp for free, Cowperthwaite said.
“We don’t have a lot of people in that age group visit the North Maine Woods, Cowperthwaite said. “Many teens have their cell phones and other attractions.”
In 2007, 8,763 individuals 16 or younger visited the NMW, while only 5,609 did last year, according to the organization’s statistics.
Looking at those trends, Cowperthwaite said, the NMW decided to raise the minimum age for entrance fees in an effort to attract more youth.
“We feel like it would be better for more kids to be exposed to the outdoors and get away from all the television and Facebook and get some fresh air,” Cowperthwaite said.
“We don’t know if it’s going to make a difference. It can’t hurt.”
The NMW charges a day use fee of $10 per person for Maine residents and $15 per person per day for non-residents. Camping fees are $12 per person per night for residents and $15 for non-residents
The NMW originally set 15 as the minimum age required for entrance fees in the 1970s “because at that time, people could get a driver’s license at 15,” Cowperthwaite said.
While there are many public and private forest lands available for recreation in Aroostook County, the North Maine Woods also offers a host of unique backcountry experiences for camping, hiking, fishing and paddling.
Teenagers can visit the NMW themselves and don’t need to come with parents, Cowperthwaite said. For a good NMW day trip, he recommended visiting the Machias lakes, Aroostook River headwaters and Fish River Falls.
Another destination for a day trip or an extended visited is Deboullie Public Reserved Lands, which is owned by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and accessed through the NMW.
This year, the NMW and state decided to offer half-priced camping at Deboullie for all ages. Maine residents can camp there for $6 per person per night.
The 21,871-acre Deboullie parcel is home to 21 remote campsites, 30 miles of hiking trails around the Deoubillie mountains and 17 ponds, which feature brook and trout, landlocked salmon and arctic charr.
“The state put a lot of effort in the last 10 years into hiking trails in Deboullie,” Cowperthwaite said. “The state wanted more people to come see it and the NMW agreed to help them with that.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated that youth under the age of 18 need to pay camping fees. Both entrance and camping fees are being waived for youth under 18.
