Column: Follow Thoreau journey to Mount Kineo for one of Maine finest mountaintop vistas

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 8, 2026

The historic steamboat “Katahdin” cruises steadily northwest toward the unmistakable profile of Mount Kineo. I lean on the railing and drink in the glorious sight, one of many beautiful scenes to behold amid the sprawling waters of Moosehead Lake. Henry David Thoreau, the famed naturalist, essayist and philosopher, traveled this same route. In 1857, he and his companions negotiated the big lake in birch bark canoes and climbed Kineo. Mount Kineo State Park encompasses 800 acres on the peninsula, purchased in 1990 using funds from the Land for Maine’s Future program. The park, managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands, features four hiking trails and several primitive campsites. ~ Carey Kish