Aroostook Valley Trail
The Aroostook Valley Trail is a 25-mile ATV and snowmobile corridor in Aroostook County in northern Maine, the largest county east of the Mississippi by area, threading through the agricultural flatlands and potato-farm country around Presque Isle and Caribou, approximately 200 miles north of Bangor near the New Brunswick border. The trail follows a former railroad grade of the Aroostook Valley Railroad, an early 20th-century branch line that served the potato farming communities of the St. John Valley. The converted corridor retains the characteristics of its railroad heritage: flat to gently rolling grades, consistent 15-20 foot treadway, and long sight lines that make it well-suited to ATVs and UTVs. Riding character is distinct from the wooded, technical trails of southern and western Maine: the Aroostook Valley Trail passes through open agricultural landscape (fields, farmsteads, potato storage facilities), with wooded sections between communities providing shade and wildlife habitat. The trail connects the communities of Van Buren, Caribou, Presque Isle, and Washburn, giving it genuine point-to-point utility for community members as well as recreation riders. ATVs and UTVs are permitted on the trail; snowmobiles dominate use in winter, when the Aroostook Valley connects to the vast ITS (Interconnected Trail System) network that covers most of rural Maine. A Maine ATV trail pass is required for out-of-state machines. The region is a practical base for extended multi-day rides into the New Brunswick trail network across the St. John River.