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Caribou, Maine Attractions

Aroostook County is widely known by sports enthusiasts for its well-groomed extensive snowmobile trail system; Caribou maintain 170 miles of the County’s 1600-mile snowmobile trail system. Snowmobilers can venture out every day, choose a variety of routes and with the number of loop trails never cross the same trail twice. Many county communities are located on the Canadian border, making international travel by snowmobile convenient. Running through the heart of Aroostook County is the Northeast Snowmobile Trail (NEST), and International Snowmobile Trail System linking Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the Province of Quebec. The County also offers downhill skiing and over 100 miles of groomed cross county ski trails, ice fishing, snowshoeing, and ice-skating. The Maine Winter Sports Center is a non-profit economic development corporation established in 1999 upon receiving grant funding from The Libra Foundation of Portland, Maine. MWSC was incorporated in April of 1999 with a mission to reawaken the rich outdoor tradition of our past and re-establish skiing as the dominant winter lifestyle in Maine. The original model included working with local volunteers to build cross-country ski trails at all the schools in Aroostook County where it all began over 130 years ago. Now through the generous support of the Dead River Company and the continued support of the Libra Foundation, the program has been taken statewide. The Corporation owns four skiing facilities throughout the state, two of which are in Aroostook. The 10th Mountain Center in Fort Kent was home to the most successful Biathlon world cup in North American history in 2004; athletes from around the world participated in this event. In 2005, Fort Kent hosted the Paralympic Nordic World Championships and in 2006, The Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle was awarded the World Junior Championships for Biathlon. MWSC is also affiliated with Big Rock Ski Resort in Mars Hill and Quoggy Jo in Presque Isle. The facilities offer Alpine Skiing, Biathlon and Cross Country Skiing. For more information visit their website at www.mainewsc.org or call 207-846-5300. Aroostook offers more than 2,000 lakes, streams, and rivers, with plenty of opportunities for camping, hiking, biking, golfing, canoeing, fishing, and white water rafting during spring runoff. Aroostook County is larger in area than the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. Dotted with farmlands that produce $101,761,000 in cash sales of potatoes annually, the countryside is covered each July with white and pink potato blossoms. Caribou Parks and Recreation Department is one of the most active recreation programs in The County offering a wide array of activities for the community's youth. Many activities are free or a nominal fee is assessed. Scheduled activities include swimming lessons, softball teams, and tennis lessons for both children and adults. Summer activities include backpacking, mountain biking, basketball leagues, karate lessons, kayaking, paddle sport combo, canoeing, and arts and crafts. If you are interested in riding ATVs, Caribou’s trail system covers 71.5 miles. Trail maps are available at the Caribou Parks and Recreation Department or the Caribou Chamber of Commerce & Industry. For more information regarding dates and fees contact the Caribou Parks and Recreation Center at www.caribourec.org.

Museums, Galleries and Historical Places

CARIBOU PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Director Virginia White, vwhite@caribouschools.org Telephone: (207) 493-4278 Caribou Performing Arts Center is an 800-seat facility attached to the Caribou High School. CHS Drama students and the surrounding community use the Performing Arts Center. Performances vary from small high school plays to large musical acts. For more information on upcoming events call (207) 493-4278 or view the calendar of events at http://www.caribou.k12.me.us/PAC/PAC.html. THE NYLANDER MUSEUM 393 Main Street Caribou, Maine 04736 Telephone: (207) 493-4209 On the Web: www.nylandermuseum.org Located in Caribou, Maine, the Nylander Museum was dedicated in 1939 by Maine Governor Lewis Barrows. The museum was originally designed to house the collections of Olof O. Nylander, a self-taught naturalist from Oremolla, Skifvarps, Sweden. Born in 1864, Mr. Nylander became interested in natural history as a youth. His spare time was spent collecting fossils and mineral specimens. Besides his geology and paleontology skills, Olof was very knowledgeable of the flora and fauna, and the mollusca of Aroostook County, Maine and the adjoining areas in Canada. Some mollusk shell specimens he collected are as small as the head of a pin, and can be viewed by the public in our museum. He also wrote numerous scientific papers and booklets. Recognizing his years of service, the University of Maine at Orono awarded Mr. Nylander an Honorary Master of Science degree in 1938. In correspondence to Mr. Nylander, he was frequently addressed as professor or doctor. The following year, in 1939, the Nylander Museum was dedicated in Caribou, Maine. AROOSTOOK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 97 Refuge Road Limestone, ME 04750 Telephone: (207) 328-4634 Visit the Refuge's Web Site: http://refuges.fws.gov/profiles/index.cfm?id=53630 Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge is located on part of the former Loring Air Force Base, in Limestone, Maine. It was established in 1998, when 4,700 acres were transferred from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Refuge also administers some 2400 acres of wetland conservation easements throughout Aroostook County. In a portion of Maine where the landscape is dominated by agricultural crops such as potatoes and broccoli, Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge protects valuable wildlife habitat. The variety of habitat types attracts a diversity of wildlife species. Resident species such as black bear and moose can be seen on the Refuge. River otters, mink, fishers, beavers, and snowshoe hares are a few of the smaller, less conspicuous species that are found here.

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