4 Best Hotels in The North Woods, Maine

Run by a fifth-generation Libby family member, this backcountry sporting camp on Millinocket Lake draws fishing and hunting enthusiasts as well as folks who want to unplug and relax in nature; well-kept log cabins have handmade quilts, wood stoves, gas lamps, modern baths, and coolers with lake-cut ice. A magnificent stone fireplace centers the airy lodge where dinner is served family-style, breakfast is made to order, and lunch is packed to go. Folks linger after the day's activities, chatting with other guests or gazing at the lake from inside or the porch. Looking toward forest-lined shores and the island that was its original home, Libby Camps sits on a point of land with a sand beach and ledges. Many guests arrive by seaplane in summer—some for fly-n-dine excursions (see Millinocket Activities). In winter, snowmobilers flock to the lodge for lunch, and five cabins are rented at off-season rates. All are close to the lodge, which has an Orvis Pro Shop.

Just 8 miles from Baxter State Park, Mt. Katahdin rises across Millinocket Lake from this 4,000-acre great outdoors resort, with a lakefront beach and courtesy canoes and kayaks. Older renovated log cabins and a few newer ones are scattered beneath tall pines on a nub of land that juts into the water, while spacious two- and three-bedroom upscale “green” lodges are set back from a cove, with River Drivers Restaurant between the lodging clusters. Lodgings sleep 4–14 (the most popular up to 8) and most have at least partial lake views and propane grills (otherwise available upon request); all have propane or wood-burning fireplaces, TVs, and kitchens. Mountain views appear on resort trails, and if it's not in use, guests are encouraged to drive up to the stunning, curve-walled event center perched above Millinocket Lake to take in the sweeping ones there. Off-site, NEOC has seasonal lodging options: two rustic pondside “forest cabins” and a few miles from Baxter, Penobscot Outdoor Center campground, with tent sites, canvas tents, and bunkhouses (sleep four or five). A circular fireplace anchors the open-plan lodge, where a towering window wall reveals glimpses of Pockwockamus Pond through the trees.