Terra Incognita

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine

- Ryan Wichelns

We welcomed the Northeast’s most pristine watershed to the national park system last August with itchy feet. Now go see what the fuss is about. Hint: old-growth forests, craggy peaks, hidden waterfalls, and A-list wildlife.

The insider 

What is now a national monument was until last fall Lucas St. Clair’s backyard. “I spent my childhood canoeing, hunting, and fishing here,” says the lifelong Mainer. His mother, Burt’s Bee’s founder Roxanne Quimby, donated it to the federal government last year. In 2011, St. Clair took responsibility for the campaign to turn it into a park and spent his days showing it to congress people, National Park Service reps, school groups, and more. In the process, he’s hiked, skied, and biked every inch of the park’s 150 miles of trail “and then some.”

Cascade hike