Southern & Central Aroostook
New Limerick is small, but it is not isolated. Houlton is seven minutes away, the Katahdin region is under an hour north, and the woods, lakes and working farms of Aroostook County start at the town line.
Distances are approximate road distances from New Limerick. Drive times vary with weather and season.
The lake
Nickerson Lake is shared between New Limerick and Linneus, and it is the reason so many people know this town at all. It was once called New Limerick Lake — the name appears that way in an 1880 act of the Maine Legislature protecting landlocked salmon in these waters.
The lake is long and mostly undeveloped, ringed with summer homes, cabins and boat launches. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife describes the water quality and lake characteristics as ideal for lake trout, though the lake is unusually small for a viable togue fishery.
It also sits at the very head of the Meduxnekeag watershed. Water that falls on Nickerson Lake runs through Mill Stream to Meduxnekeag Lake, then down the Meduxnekeag River through Houlton and across the border into New Brunswick, eventually reaching the St. John River.
Best reached via Drews Lake Road and Crescent Park Road
The public launch off Aspen Lane is the most commonly used access to the south shore. Most of the lake’s remaining shoreline is private seasonal property, so respect posted land.
Snowshoe or ski to Crescent Mountain in winter
The Crescent Mountain trailhead sits on the south shore and is normally reached by boat. In winter, when the ice is safe, it can also be reached on snowshoes or skis across the lake.
Maine IFW lake survey
Nickerson Lake is managed for lake trout, and it also holds togue. Anglers should follow current IFW regulations, and note that the lake is small enough that limits are meaningful.
Trails
A 233-acre preserve on the mostly undeveloped south shore of Nickerson Lake, with two marked loops totalling roughly 3.2 miles.
Gradually climbs to the low summit of Crescent Mountain. Along the way you pass Secret Cave, a small boulder cave near the top, and Pine Tree Perch — a rickety ladder-and-platform climb partway up a white pine with views north and west.
One side of the loop climbs a hillside above the water; the other runs along the shore. There are good views across the lake, including a spot with a pair of Adirondack chairs, and a cold spring for refilling bottles.
From the New Limerick town office, head east on Drews Lake Road. In 2.8 miles turn right onto Crescent Park Road, then bear right onto Aspen Lane. The boat launch is on your right after about 0.6 mile.
The towns around
Southern Aroostook is a patchwork of small towns, unorganized townships and working farms. Here is what each neighbouring community is known for.
The “Shiretown” of Aroostook County and the closest thing to a city nearby. Houlton was a boomtown at the turn of the 20th century, and the historic downtown still shows it. The Meduxnekeag River runs through town; the Aroostook County courthouse sits on the square; and the Maine Solar System model — the world’s largest scale model of the solar system, strung along 40 miles of Route 1 — ends with a tiny Pluto in Houlton.
Home of MSAD #70, the school district New Limerick shares. Hodgdon Middle/High School serves grades 7–12 and Mill Pond School serves Pre-K through grade 6; the district superintendent’s office is on Hodgdon Mills Road. The town also runs a community market and sits on the Meduxnekeag River.
The town on the far side of Nickerson Lake, and the other half of the lake’s shoreline. Linneus was named for the Swedish-born naturalist Carl Linnaeus, and it shares MSAD #70 with New Limerick, sending students to Hodgdon.
Small agricultural towns that, together with Hodgdon, Linneus and New Limerick, make up MSAD #70. Ludlow sits just south of here along the Mill Brook and Meduxnekeag headwaters; Amity and Haynesville are farming communities on the western side of the district.
Incorporated in 1839, Smyrna describes itself as a family-oriented, welcoming town of open fields — and it is one of the few places in northern Maine with a long-established old-order Amish community. Off I‑95 on Route 2, it is a quick detour for travellers between here and Presque Isle.
Cary is unorganized territory rather than a town, but it is a real part of the district — MSAD #70 sends students from Cary Plantation to Hodgdon schools, and the Carys Mills section of the Meduxnekeag is a well-known landmark in the watershed.
Medway, Millinocket, Patten, Sherman and Island Falls sit along the 89-mile Katahdin Woods & Waters National Scenic Byway (Route 11), which runs from the south entrance of Baxter State Park north to Grand Lake Matagamon. Mount Katahdin — 5,269 feet, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail — is in Baxter State Park, roughly 50 miles from New Limerick.
The “Star City” and the largest city in Aroostook County. Presque Isle is home to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Presque Isle International Airport (PQI), Aroostook State Park on Echo Lake and Quaggy Jo Mountain, and the Northern Maine Fair — one of the state’s biggest agricultural fairs.
Home of the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1998 on land transferred from the former Loring Air Force Base. The refuge has more than 13 miles of walking trails through northern hardwood forest, spruce and wetlands, and is open year-round from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.
New Limerick is one town of sixty-six. The independent Aroostook.ME travel guide covers the entire county — every town, plus county-wide maps, places to eat and places to go — and the county events calendar has everything happening across Aroostook County in one place. Neither is a government service; for county government, see aroostook.me.us.
The big woods
North of the farm country, the land changes character. Aroostook County contains one of the largest remaining tracts of unorganized, unlogged land in the lower 48 states east of the Rockies — a place with no town government, no road grid and very few permanent residents.
It is not far from New Limerick. The Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument lies about an hour north, protecting the East Branch of the Penobscot River and the Seboeis and Wassataquoik river systems; the Amazeen Bog nature trail — a raised boardwalk out over a sphagnum bog in the classic northern Maine landscape — is farther still.
For most visitors, the North Woods is experienced through the national monument, Baxter State Park and the long gravel logging roads that thread between them. Plan fuel, water and offline maps before you go.
Outdoors
Aroostook County has long, hard winters and warm, green summers. Both are good reasons to come.
Deep snow, groomed local trails, cross-country skiing on Cochran Lake and a frozen Nickerson Lake you can cross on skis or snowshoes.
Maple season in the villages, mud season on the roads, and loon calls on the lakes as the ice pulls back.
Swimming, boating and fishing on Nickerson Lake, hay and potato fields, and long light until nearly ten in the evening.
The maples and birches turn first in the north woods, and Aroostook potato harvest fills the fields with machinery from late summer into October.
| Attraction | Town | Why it’s worth the drive | Official site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge13 miles of foot trails | Limestone | Former Loring Air Force Base woods, wetlands and spruce forest. Open year-round. | fws.gov ↗ |
| Baxter State ParkMount Katahdin, 5,269 ft | Millinocket | Maine’s highest peak and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. | baxterstatepark.org ↗ |
| Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument89-mile scenic byway | Patten / Sherman | The East Branch of the Penobscot, rafting, dark-sky skies and an International Dark Sky Sanctuary. | nps.gov ↗ |
| Aroostook State ParkEcho Lake & Quaggy Jo | Presque Isle | Maine’s original state park — camping, picnic areas, swimming and boating. | maine.gov/dacf/parks ↗ |
| Maine Solar System Model40 miles along Route 1 | Presque Isle → Houlton | The world’s largest scale model of the solar system, built and maintained by volunteers. | mainesolarsystem.com ↗ |
| Houlton Community Golf Course9 or 18 holes | New Limerick | Early-1900s lakeside layout with a driving range, rentals and clubhouse. | houltongolf.com ↗ |
| Nickerson Lake Wilderness233 protected acres | New Limerick | Crescent Mountain trail network, reached by boat or across the ice. | mynickersonlake.com ↗ |
| Smyrna town centreAmish country | Smyrna | A well-kept small town with a distinct old-order Amish community. | smyrna.aroostook.me.us ↗ |
On the map
The town sits on the eastern side of the lake. Open the full map for driving directions and to save areas offline.