Big Reed Forest Reserve
Sign for Big Reed Forest Reserve.
Imagine stepping into a time machine and traveling back hundreds of years, long before cities, highways, or chainsaws existed. You are standing in the Big Reed Forest Reserve, a hidden gem tucked away deep in the wild North Maine Woods. Spanning nearly 5,000 acres, this spectacular sanctuary is the largest continuous piece of original, uncut "old-growth" forest in the eastern United States. It also makes up a whopping 75 percent of all the remaining old-growth forest left in the state of Maine.
In 1820, David Pingree, a wealthy shipping merchant, started buying vast tracts of land in Maine and began harvesting timber. Over the next 150 years, he and his family amassed nearly one million acres of forest land. At first the area that would eventually become Big Reed was passed over due to the lack of white pines, the most valuable tree in the 1800's. When the market changed and the demand for spruce spiked, Big Reed was again spared because no streams large enough to drive wood flowed nearby. At some point, the Pingree family realized that they were sitting on a rare piece of uncut forest and actively began protecting it from logging. Today, this reserve is managed by The Nature Conservancy.
Unlike modern parks, you won't find manicured paths or clearings here. These unlogged, multi-layered woodlands feature massive standing dead trees, heavy decay, and towering ancient trees. Instead, you will see nature ruling the land:
Towering Giants: Massive red spruces over 350 years old and gnarly Eastern hop hornbeams (often called "ironwood") that have been growing for four centuries along with white cedar, sugar maple, yellow birch and beech.
The Living Floor: The ground is covered in a messy, beautiful chaos of giant fallen logs, thick green moss, and wild fungi. When these giant trees finally tip over from old age, they leave behind huge mounds of soil and create sunny openings in the canopy where brand-new baby trees can grow.
Rare Wildlife: The reserve is a safe haven for native Maine species like moose, Canada lynx, and rare Artic char (more commonly known as "blueback trout") — an ancient, ice-age fish species swimming in the deep, chilly waters of Big Reed Pond.
Big Reed Forest Reserve serves as a precious, living reminder of Maine's deep-rooted natural history, showing us exactly what the pristine wilderness looked like centuries ago.