Grindstone Trail Scenic Byway (Route 159)

The Grindstone Scenic Byway is a working Byway, and also a path to times gone by, when hearty souls ventured into the great north woods to harvest timber in winter logging camps and drive the logs down river to mills in central Maine; where naturalists such as Henry David Thoreau came to commune with the unspoiled primeval forests, assisted by members of the native Penobscot tribe; and where adventurers came to traverse the rugged peaks and navigate the wild rivers and streams.  Travelers will find many stopping places filled with historic and cultural information, such as the Patten Lumberman’s Museum, as well as a bounty of recreational activities to be taken in and enjoyed, making the Grindstone Scenic Byway a great destination for those seeking a more nature-based experience.

The Byway is 59 miles long and comprised of three highway segments beginning at the intersection of Route 157 and Route 11 in Medway, north to the intersection of Route 159 in Patten, and west to Shin Pond. The final leg continues west on the Grand Lake Road from Shin Pond to the Matagamon Gate, which is the north entrance to Baxter State Park. The Byway offers miles of travel parallel to the East Branch of the Penobscot River, as well as breathtaking views of Mt. Katahdin and the Appalachian chain. The journey is enhanced by pastoral farms, meadows, recreational trails, and working forests filled with wildlife and significant natural areas such as the Thousand Acre Bog, the “Hurricane Deck”, and Shin Falls. This Byway is a living representation of Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken, which states

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.