Explore the Winter 2023-24 edition
Editor’s note
I love just about any time of year in Maine. But if pressed to choose, I’d say that winter is my favorite season. I start thinking about it and looking forward to it sometime around the end of August. When I’ve had my fill of sunny, lakeside days and toiling in the garden, my mind begins to wander. I look forward to exhilarating cross-country ski trips, snowy mountains, fat biking through a twinkling forest and, of course, reading on the couch in front of a warm, cozy fire.
Whether you’re with me in the “snow is fun” camp or just love the cozy indoor pursuits that cooler weather is perfect for, you’re in for a treat with this issue.
Looking for inspiration to fuel weekends indoors? You’ll want to check out Story sharing suppers, 10 museums you may have missed (but shouldn’t), and Beyond books: treasure troves at Maine’s public libraries.
If snow is more your jam, don’t miss Stories in the snow: tracking Maine wildlife in winter, Finding community in adaptive winter sports and Backcountry accommodations. Once you’ve explored in the snow and settled into one of Maine’s off-grid destinations, there’s not much better than warming up with a sweat in a sauna. Explore public saunas throughout the state at Unwind at a sauna this winter. Find all this and more in this issue.
As always, thank you for supporting our magazine with your subscriptions and gift subscriptions. If you like what you find here, please stay in touch by signing up for our monthly e-newsletter.
Heather Chandler
Editor & Publisher
On the cover: Judi steps out of a cabin in the 100-Mile Wilderness to fresh falling snow
Two of the three Appalachian Mountain Club’s Maine Wilderness Lodges are off the grid and accessible only by human-powered means amid 130,000 protected acres in the heart of the 100- Mile Wilderness. The Gorman Chairback (pictured) and Little Lyford locations both offer cozy log cabins, a central lodge, three hearty meals per day, hot showers and a wood-fired sauna. Miles of packed and tracked trails for skiing and snowshoeing connect the lodges with Long Pond, the West Branch of the Pleasant River and the slate canyons of Gulf Hagas.
Photo: Cait Bourgault