We’ve been guiding whitewater rafting trips at Northern Outdoors in The Forks, Maine for over 40 years, but somehow Maine’s three rivers — the Kennebec River, the Dead River and the Penobscot River — are more fun every season! It must be you guys. Read your whitewater rafting trip reports, get some Maine travel tips, and meet our Registered Maine Whitewater Guides below. Post your rafting photos and other Maine adventures on Instagram with #NorthernOutdoors to be featured in our taproom.
Our crew of 6 and sometimes 8 have rafted all of the rivers that NO guides in Maine, a few times each, so we were excited to hit the Dead for an early, cold, high-water release. We arrived early Friday afternoon, moved into our cabin and immediately went up to the...
Nick Menounos really captured the intensity and the beauty of the Penobscot River on his trip this past spring with Northern Outdoors. If you want to see what the river "feels" like from an "in-the-boat" perspective, through some of the biggest rapids and most dramatic scenery, watch this! WOW! Thanks Nick...
My husband and I came up on Friday afternoon with another couple. Due to us booking late and limited availability, we stayed in a lakeside cabin for 12 people on Friday, then had to check out and into the Lodge on Saturday. This turned out great because we would never...
We have been up to Northern Outdoors three times now. We have done everything from camp with Tents, used our RV/Horse Trailer, and rented their beautiful Town Houses overlooking a private pond. The Facilities are as good as they get for a adventure-focused operation. The main lodge has a HUGE...
I want to take the time to thank Northern Outdoors and your staff. My family and I had a lot of fun and a great time. Your resort staff, guides, equipment, training, et. al., were just wonderful. My wife planned and scheduled the trip, and I reluctantly went along. But...
My daughter asked for a rafting trip to celebrate her 15th birthday, and we're all glad she did - our Northern Outdoors experience exceeded our expectations!We arrived the afternoon prior to our trip and thoroughly enjoyed the facilities (pool, hot tub, pub & brewery) before retiring for a restful evening...
The Penobscot River is a true class 4-5 Maine whitewater rafting gem, and Northern Outdoors is well known for running this river as a classic top-to-bottom river trip. The only interruption? A welcomed grilled riverside lunch between the upper and lower sections of the Penobscot River. (Not everyone runs the...
As a Maine whitewater rafting guide, there's nothing better than guiding a kid on the river for their first time. Even from the very beginning of the trip, things like teaching them how to hold our perfect kid sized paddles to how to sit in the raft are moments of...
In this week's Maine whitewater rafting video, we're honored to highlight soldiers of the Wounded Warrior Project as they take on the mighty Kennebec River. Project Odyssey Number 21 participated in three days of adventure at Northern Outdoors with the final day being a Kennebec River rafting trip. The Wounded Warrior...
A group of 9 of us went up to raft the Penobscot. Most of us were first timers but adventure seekers. Rod was our Guide and was fantastic. This trip blew all of our expectations through the roof. The staff was fantastic and the camping was great and quite. Very...
I have been coming to Northern Outdoors with a group of close friends for almost 9 years now. We rafted on The Kennebec the first couple of years, then rafted on the both the Kennebec and the Dead in the same weekend. Last year was our first year rafting on...
[vcYTClick2Play dataembed="0cBhS2eUTmk" gaclickevent="blog_post"] This past Memorial Weekend was sure one to remember for those that went Dead River rafting with Northern Outdoors. Originally, we were scheduled for Kennebec River rafting on Saturday and Dead River rafting on Sunday. But due to the extreme high water levels, from the previous night's rain,...
The flooding of the town of Flagstaff, in the fall of 1949, created Maine's largest man-made lake and contributed to turning the area into a destination for Maine adventure vacations. One of those well-known adventures is Dead River rafting with Northern Outdoors. Each year, we're lucky enough to have 8 releases...
Dead River rafting would not exist without the creation of Maine's largest man-made lake - Flagstaff Lake. In the fall of 1949, the Dead River was diverted, and as a consequence, the towns of Flagstaff and Dead River were flooded. The State of Maine believed that the flooding of the...
[vcYTClick2Play dataembed="2ATIVa7WbHs" gaclickevent="DeadRiverHistoryBlog"] Slaid Cleaves and Nicole St. Pierre, with photos contributed by the Dead River Area Historical Society, produced this song and video titled "Below" which chronicles the 1940's flooding of Flagstaff and Dead River in Maine. Maine whitewater rafting is a popular activity on the Dead, Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers. ...
Braving the rapids in the summer is quite a thrill, but spring rafting is truly an excellent time to catch exciting water levels in Maine. As the spring thaw begins, the rivers swell to levels higher than what we typically see in the summer. This makes your Maine whitewater rafting...