Living Here

Millinocket, Maine, is a great place to live, work, and experience 4-seasons of outdoor recreation.

Millinocket has something special for you. Big recreation, big woods, big trails, big adventure, big opportunity, big community, big history – all here, in our small frontier town on the edge of Maine’s vast forest. Millinocket is investment-ready, development-ready, and open for business – and, it happens to be a spectacular place to work, play and visit. Millinocket is the gateway to Mount Katahdin, voted World’s Best Hike by National Geographic and home to the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Millinocket sits astride the famed Golden Road, the North Maine Woods, the West Branch of the Penobscot River, Baxter State Park, and a vast network of lakes, trails systems, day-hikes, conservation land, and 4-season recreational opportunities.

Millinocket is located in Penobscot County and is within an hour of Maine’s 3rd largest City of Bangor. It is a wonderful community in which to live, work, and play, and a great region appealing to anyone who loves the great outdoors.

VITAL STATS: Millinocket has a population of 4,100, with 44 full-time municipal staff and 40 part-time staff. Its annual budget, excluding schools, is $6.9 million, and it has a separate Enterprise Wastewater Budget of $2.5 million. It operates under a Town charter with a 7-member Town Council/Town Manager form of government. Councilors are elected for 3-year staggered terms.

Community

Millinocket is a great community to raise a family, start a new business, or retire. The community benefits from resources and services available at the Millinocket Memorial Library – both social time for younger children and accessing the symmetrical 1G/1G fiber broadband connection. Thrive Penobscot is a robust coalition that helps residents age in place. The Age Friendly committee at the Town works closely with Thrive Penobscot and recently was awarded the age-friendly community designation. Residents in town and throughout the region are well-served by the independent Millinocket Regional Hospital and by Katahdin Valley Health Center.

There are many, many collaborations happening around town between businesses, municipal leaders, nonprofit organizations and institutions, working together to create economic opportunities and create a vibrant community that supports people of all ages in Millinocket.

Adventure

Millinocket is on the frontier of hundreds of thousands of acres of conserved land, and organizations and businesses are building front-country experiences to provide wild thrills and quiet spots for watching the sunset. There are endless outdoor adventure opportunities that make Millinocket a fantastic place to work, play and live.

Things to do:

  • Get wet! Go rafting down the world class West Branch of the Penobscot River, over rapids from class I to class 5, or swimming from one of several beaches around the region, paddling on the rivers or lakes, or fish the day away.
  • Drive around the newly designated Katahdin Woods & Waters National Scenic Byway…see the varied small towns that make up our region, each with its own charm and identity, or find a trail head and embark on an afternoon adventure.
  • Take a wildlife tour for a chance to see a moose, an eagle, a bobcat, a bear, or a variety of birds.
  • Take a sightseeing tour by plane…fly over Katahdin and the North Maine Woods to see the region from a new angle.
  • Get some history: check out the Patten Lumberman’s Museum or the Millinocket Historical Society.
  • Bike around the region, or on some of the newly created bike trails–and take the time to view what’s around you.
  • Come to one of our celebrations…Winterfest, Fiddles & Fiddleheads, July 4th, Patten Pioneer Days, Sherman Old Home Days, Riverfest in Medway, or Trails End Festival in Millinocket.
  • Hit the trails!!! Go ATVing in the spring, summer and fall, or snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross country skiing or dog sledding in winter.
  • Drive around the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument–look for wildlife, scenery, hiking trails, paddling routes, and wilderness.
  • Camp in Baxter State Park, climb Katahdin (plan ahead), or one of the many other hikes in the park, such as South Branch Pond, up North or South Turner, or to see Big & Little Niagara. Grab an adventurers pack for the kids and go exploring.

From cross country skiing, to single track mountain biking, to hiking, to kayaking – Millinocket is one of the premier four-season outdoor adventure destinations in the Northeast.