Photo by Garrick Hoffman.
The wind’s blowing through your hair. Your water bottle’s half empty, and your shirt is sticking to your back. There’s the smell of pine and sunscreen, the scrape of tires on gravel. You crest the hill and turn to see the sweaty, happy faces of your friends—and beyond them, the sweeping green mountains of the 100-Mile Wilderness.
This feeling—this joy—is what we ride for.
“I really like rambling, exploring,” says Alejandro Strong, wilderness guide and founder of Packraft Maine. “You have a feeling that you’re in a place where there are woods hundreds of miles in all directions. I think what this weekend is about is just getting out. Someone else has done the work of coming up with the route and you just get to go and enjoy riding in the deep woods.”
Summer Gravel Weekend 2025
August 1-3, AMC is hosting a summer gravel biking event in Maine’s North Woods. The first of three gravel biking events in 2025, Summer Gravel Weekend—based out of Medawisla Lodge and Cabins–blends adventurous gravel bike routes with opportunities to cool off in remote ponds and soak in the wild beauty of the 100-Mile Wilderness. From free pack rafting excursions to live music and guided stargazing, it’s an opportunity to experience Maine’s famous woods, waters, and mountains in a new way and to connect with other cyclists of all levels, from experts to beginners.
Staying at any AMC Maine lodge supports the Maine Woods Initiative (MWI), AMC’s multi-use recreation and land conservation project, which has permanently protected more than 114,000 acres (and counting!) of critical forest habitat. But it’s extra sweet for cyclists: right outside your door, you’ll find 330 miles of historic logging roads to ride–all open to the public–nestled within New England’s first International Dark Sky Park.
Book Your Spot at AMC’s Summer Gravel Weekend
What to Expect
There’s something for everyone at every AMC’s Maine Gravel Cycling Weekends:
- Epic gravel rides from smooth paths to rugged trails, with routes designed to challenge and excite every level of cyclist.
- Insightful skill clinics on bikepacking, route planning, and essential maintenance. Whether you’re fixing a flat or mastering navigation, we’ve got you covered.
- A vibrant community of passionate gravel cyclists. Share tips and tricks, make new friends, and experience the thrill of the ride together.
This August, we’re thrilled to feature the following partner activities:
Loaded packraft with bike. Photo by Ian MacLellan.
Bike Packing with Alejandro Strong
For over two decades, the founder of Packraft Maine has been exploring Maine’s rivers and forests by bike and boat. Previously a guide for Hurricane Island Outward Bound, where he led canoeing and backpacking courses and trained staff in whitewater paddling and safety, Alejandro began packrafting to explore remote and inspiring places without the environmental imprint.
You’ll bike to a remote Maine pond, inflate a raft (supplied by Packraft Maine), and then strap your bike aboard and paddle to the next road. It’s an adventure that allows you to experience the Maine Woods in a totally new way. “When you’re doing both, you’re getting the experience in two paces,” says Alejandro. Bike packing, he says, is great for pairs or friend groups with varying cycling abilities or comfort levels. “[It’s] a really great equalizer.”
Immersive Live Music with Ben Cosgrove
Ben Cosgrove is a traveling composer, pianist, and multi-instrumentalist based in northern New England. He performs regularly all over the country, presenting a unique variety of original instrumental music that explores themes of landscape, geography, and environment while straddling a line between the folk and classical genres. “Geography is Cosgrove’s muse,” writes the Boston Globe. “Like a sonic plein-air painter, [he] uses his piano as a paintbrush — and he’s made a name for himself doing it.”
Throughout his career, the strongest forces guiding Ben’s composition and performances have been his deep and abiding interests in environment, place, and geography. As an artist, he’s fascinated and inspired by the different ways people understand and interact with the landscapes around them—which makes him the perfect musica guest for an AMC festival in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness.
Stargazing outside the AMC Medawisla Lodge and Cabins in the Maine Woods. Photo by Jamie Walter.
Guided Stargazing with John Meader
In 1987, John Meader founded Northern Stars Planetarium. He is a Fellow of both the International Planetarium Society and the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society, the Archivist/Historian of the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society, and a founding member of Dark Sky Maine, a non-profit that promotes Maine’s dark sky heritage through sensible lighting and education. He serves on the board of the Friends of the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, Maine and is a Registered Maine Guide.
The AMC Maine Woods International Dark Sky Park of the North Maine Woods is an expanse of more than 14,000 square kilometers of largely uninhabited forest land that stretches from Monson, Maine, to the border of Canada. With John pointing out constellations, you’ll see shooting stars and sparkling constellations from one of the darkest places remaining on the East Coast.
Where You’ll Stay
Built on AMC conservation land, Medawisla Lodge and Cabins is an ideal spot for exploring Maine’s famous 100-Mile Wilderness. Stay in a private waterfront cabin or communal bunkhouse (home-cooked dinner, breakfast, and trail lunch are included!). Featuring saunas, water views, and grand fireplaces, AMC’s Maine lodges are a destination unto themselves–which makes our gravel cycling weekends truly accessible to bikers of any level.
Want a break from cycling? Explore Second Roach Pond in one of our complimentary canoes or kayaks, or go on a morning ride and relax at the lodge the rest of the day. Any level of cyclist can show up and feel like the weekend was designed for you.
Book Medawisla Lodge and Cabins
Photo by Dan Klempa.
Summer Gravel Weekend Itinerary
Friday, August 1
3:00 PM – Check-In
Guests are welcome to arrive earlier in the day to ride, relax, or explore the lodge grounds before check-in.
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM – Lodge Happy Hour
Unwind and connect with fellow riders as you settle in for the weekend.
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM – Dinner
Enjoy a hearty lodge meal to kick off the weekend.
7:00 PM – 7:20 PM – AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative Presentation
Learn about AMC’s conservation work in the 100-Mile Wilderness and beyond. From trail maintenance to land protection, this work is what makes adventures like our gravel festivals possible.
7:20 PM – 8:20 PM – Where the Bike Takes You: Stories of Adventure
Joyful tales of where two wheels can lead.
Saturday, August 2
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM – Breakfast
10:00 AM – Group Gravel Rides Depart – Open to the public!
Ride Maine’s scenic gravel roads with support from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and AMC guides.
Route Options
(elevation and terrain details to come)
Small: ~10 miles
Medium: ~30 miles
1:30 PM – Intro to Bike-Rafting with Packraft Maine
Experience multimodal travel in Maine’s wild waters with a guided, beginner-friendly bikerafting adventure led by Alejandro Strong.
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM – Lodge Happy Hour
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM – Dinner
7:15 PM – 8:15 PM – Live Music by Ben Cosgrove
An immersive performance blending sound, storytelling, and the landscapes that inspire us.
8:15 PM – 9:15 PM – Skill Sharing: Fix a Bike with Bicycle Coalition of Maine
From flat tires to quick tune-ups, learn the basics to keep your adventure rolling.
9:00 PM – Stargazing in an International Dark Sky Park
Look up and explore the universe with astronomer John Meader.
Sunday, August 3
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM – Breakfast
10:00 AM – Final Group Gravel Rides
Put your skills to the test with longer rides guided by Bicycle Coalition of Maine and AMC leaders.
Route Options
(elevation and terrain details to come)
Medium: ~20 miles
Large: ~40 miles
1:30 PM – Extended Bikerafting Excursion with Packraft Maine
For those who joined Saturday’s intro or experienced paddlers looking for more, explore a longer, scenic route with Packraft Maine.
Check-Out
While you’re encouraged to continue exploring throughout the day, please have your belongings out of your cabin by 11AM.
Biking in the Maine Woods. Photo by Corey David Photography.
Plan Your Ride–Anytime
Can’t make it for August? Catch one of our Fall Gravel Weekends, or come on your own. AMC makes it easy by taking care of the logistics so you don’t have to.
To learn more about bike rentals, gravel routes, or fun things to do in the surrounding area, check out AMC’s Gravel Biking in the Maine Woods FAQs, Gravel Adventure Field Guide, or Maine Outdoor Activity Guide.
One of the most remarkable things about gravel biking in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness is the fresh opportunity to explore trails and roads that for years have been off-limits to the public, but are once again open–thanks to AMC’s conservation efforts.
In the words of Steve Tatko, AMC Vice President of Land, Research, and Trails: “The goal at the end of day is that people have a new way to see themselves in this landscape. We have a fabulous world-class cycling network out there, and it’s already built.”