Steaming on Moosehead Lake

That would have been a nice trip, but one that's no longer possible now as the steamboats that once operated on the largest lake in Maine are gone. Only one remains and is now diesel-powered. So, of course, we went on a road trip.

Cruising on a vessel that's the last-of-its kind and still cruising on the largest lake in Maine was a good reason to drive to Greenville, Maine, home of the Katahdin II. And, it also meant cruising on another largest state lake in New England. Recently, we toured the Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in NH on a mailboat cruise.

Weather was overcast for most of our tour, thankfully no downpours

Moosehead Lake is very big — not only is it the largest in the Maine, but the largest completely within New England, it's the second-largest in New England after Lake Champlain and the largest mountain lake in the eastern U.S.

Vintage Steamboat advertisement

Years ago, before roads provided easy access and transport, Moosehead Lake relied on numerous steamboats to travel its very wide expanse. Speed wasn't a factor years ago.

Vintage steamboat loading  (Moosehead Historical Society)

Steamboat travel on Moosehead Lake dates to 1836 when as many as 50 boats worked on the lake carrying passengers, livestock, mail, supplies, equipment and even vehicles. These steamboats were the only means of transportation to large resorts, like the Mt Kineo hotel and to hunting camps and villages around the lake. 

Katahdin I steamboat (Moosehead Historical Society)

The first Katahdin was an 111-foot wooden-hulled steamboat built in 1896 for the Coburn Steamboat Company/ The vessel caught fire while towing a boom of logs, ran aground and burned in 1913. It was replaced by the steel-hulled Katahdin II (referred to as the "Kate") built in 1914 at Bath Iron Works in Maine and shipped in pieces by rail to Greenville, where it was reassembled. Both vessels were named after Mount Katahdin, the state's highest mountain derived from the Penobscot Indian word for The Greatest Mountain.

Katahdin II at dock in Greenville, ME

Katahdin II was converted to diesel power in the 1940s as diesel engines offered higher fuel efficiency, required smaller crews, and freed up cargo space. For the next 30 or so years, the ship hauled large timber booms (rafts) across the lake for paper companies. In 1975, it participated in the nation's last major log drive, afterwards it was in danger of being scrapped..  

Moosehead Marine Museum, Greenville, ME

And, it might well have met that fate, if not for a local citizens group who founded the non-profit Moosehead Marine Museum in 1977. Not only was the Katahdin spared but in 1978 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places (Being on the National Register of Historic Places means a building, site, structure, district, or object is officially recognized by the U.S. government as worthy of preservation for its historical, architectural, or archaeological significance.) 

Exhibits in Moosehead Marine Museum

The building that houses the Moosehead Marine Museum was built in 1904 and functioned as a Universalist Chapel before becoming a museum. It's open seven days a week late June to mid-October and houses maritime exhibits. It's also the ticket office for Katahdin cruises. The museum raised funds from federal grants and donations to keep up with the boat's maintenance and repairs.

The proginal plan was to use Katahdin II as a floating museum. However, after a marine inspection proved that, with repairs, the ship could be made seaworthy, extensive restorations were undertaken in the 1990s. As the last surviving steamer on Moosehead Lake, the Kate provides scenic tours and dining cruises during summer months for up to 225 passengers from its Greenville, ME base.

How did the lake get its unusual name? No one person gets that credit. The name evolved from early European settlers who used the descriptive term since, on a map, the lake's shape resembled the head and antlers of a moose. It seems appropriate that the state's largest lake was named after the second-largest land animal in North America. Not only that but Maine has the largest moose population in the lower 48 U.S. states. There's plenty of roadway signs cautioning motorists to watch for moose. Yet, as carefully as we've watched, we've never seen a moose.

Mount Kineo, Moosehead Lake, on a very overcast day

Moosehead Lake has over 80 islands in the lake, the largest are Sugar Island and Deer Island. The lake's most prominent geological feature is Mount Kineo located on a 1,150-acre peninsula that extends from the easterly shore of the lake, famous for being the largest mass of rhyolite volcanic rock in North America. With 700-foot cliffs that rise straight up from the water, it's the central feature of Mount Kineo State Park, a protected area of 800 acres managed by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. 

Fellow passengers on Katahdin cruise

Unfortunately, we were only able to glimpse this mountain through overcast skies. It must bea very impressive sight on a clear day. While the weather was not perfect on the day of our Moosehead Lake cruise, it was still an enjoyable experience.

Soon, we’re considering a visit to another of New England's largest lakes — Lake Champlain in Vermont. Thabkfully, this road trip would be half the distance (3 hours) compared to the nearly 6 hour trip to Moosehead Lake..