Archive for the ‘Baxter State Park’ Category

Burt’s Bees founder pushing for new national park

Monday, March 28th, 2011
Sometime within the next decade it's very possible that the Appalachian Trail's northern terminus could end in Maine Woods National Park instead of Baxter State Park. Mount Katahdin would still be the final destination for thru-hikers, but the mountain would lie in a new national park if one philanthropist has her way.

The multi-millionaire founder of Burt's Bees, Roxanne Quimby, is proposing to give more than 70,000 acres to the federal government, a tract that lies just east of Maine's Baxter State Park. Her vision is to combine her land with the state park in order to create a 280,000-acre Maine Woods National Park.

Quimby wants to time her donation in five years to the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service.

For more information on the Maine Woods National Park, you can read about the land donation proposal and the vision for the park.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Baxter State Park, Burt's Bees, Maine Woods National Park, Roxanne Quimby | Comments Off

The International Appalachian Trail is extended

Saturday, April 24th, 2010
The International Appalachian Trail that began in the State of Georgia in the 1920s is being extended on Newfoundland and Labrador’s west coast with support from the provincial government.

The $40,498 investment will lead to the extension of the trail by 90 kilometres (56 miles) and further strengthens the hiking and trail experience in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The investment brings the provincial government’s total commitment for the completion of the Newfoundland and Labrador portion of the International Appalachian Trail to more than $150,000.


“People travel far and wide to experience the province’s unique terrain, ocean vistas, and history,” said Shawn Skinner, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

“With continued developments and greater usage come new opportunities for entrepreneurs and existing businesses as they deliver the appropriate services and amenities.”

Scheduled for completion in fall 2010, trail development includes two geographical areas — 50 kilometres to connect the Blow Me Down and Lewis Hills trails linking Benoit’s Cove and Stephenville, and 40 kilometres of the Devil’s Bite Trail that loops around the fiords of the Parsons Pond watershed. The International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland and Labrador (IATNL), through its volunteers, will construct the trail and erect signage along the trails.

Beyond Mount Katahdin in Maine's Baxter State Park, the International Appalachian Trail extends for 1900 miles to Crow Head in Newfoundland/Labrador. The trails takes hikers past breathtaking mountain scenery, pastoral countrysides, boreal forests and rugged coastlines.

For more information on the International Appalachian Trail, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Baxter State Park, International Appalachian Trail, Labrador, Maine, Mount Katahdin, Newfoundland | Comments Off