Our Only Mission: To provide each and every one of our guests with the best service possible and to exceed their expectations in every way.

1. 35 years of whitewater rafting experience in Maine, the most in the industry. We have been offering wilderness trips and eco tours since 1969 in Maine.

2. Facilities in four different locations, that can give you the most options for your outdoor or indoor experience here in Maine.

3. Registered professional guides, many with over ten years of experience in the Maine outdoors.

4.The best rafts, canoes and kayaks.

5. An unblemished safety record.

6. 11,000 acres or our own Maine wilderness on two lakes and a remote pond available for your enjoyment.

7. In house flying service to round out your wilderness adventure.

8. Fine dining and lodging at The Birches on Moosehead Lake.

9. Backcountry recreation and remote Yurts

10. We have fun on our trips and we guarantee that you will be satisfied

We're part of the Better Business Bureau Featured in the Mobil Travel Guide A member of the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce A member of the Bangor Area Chamber of Commerce We've won awards and are often featured in the Yankee Magazine of New England

The Birches Resort & Wilderness Expeditions are members of numerous regional chambers of commerce, including: Bangor, Greater Portland, Camden/Rockport and others.

The Birches Resort and Wilderness Expeditions has been acclaimed by various magazines such as Downeast Magazine.

We are a member of the Better Business Bureau and Mobil Travel Guide.

GUEST LETTERS

Dear "Birches"
I am writing on behalf of myself and husband, my sister and brother-in-law and our elderly parents. We just stayed for 2 nights in "Hello Dolly" and had a wonderful, memorable time as family together enjoying the beautiful lake, scenery and each other. The accommodations were great and we had such a good time. We got some birds, won 2 turkeys at the nearby turkey shoot, sat in front of the warm fireplace and enjoyed a nice dinner at the lodge. We want to thank you for providing a clean, reasonably priced cabin, and we hope to return someday.

Sincerely,
Wayne & Hazel Henderson
Betsy & Don Cannan
Hank & Betty Trueworthy

September 17, 2004

Thank you for getting our reservations for the whitewater rafting trip on the West Penobscot 9/4 squared away. We had a great time. Carey was our guide and she was super. Too bad we did not start doing this years ago. Lots of fun.

Depending upon our visitors schedule here in Camden, we would like to spend a few days in one of your one bedroom rustic cabins with our two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers next year. Needless to say, they are water dogs and it would be great if we could sit on the porch of "our" cabin and throw tennis balls into the water for them to retrieve. We will be in touch next spring as our schedule shapes up.

Again, thank you for all the extras.

Steve and Pam Ross

August 3, 2004

I would just like to say, that our stay at “Indian Summer” cabin last week was not only fun, but very relaxing. The food in the restaurant was wonderful as was the staff.
At The Birches was helpful and friendly. You can be sure we will make reservations for next year, and will wholeheartedly recommend it to our friends.

Thank you

Dennis Damon

July 31, 2004

Hello to everyone at Wilderness. I wanted to thank you all for a great weekend. We spent the weekend camping at the POC for my friend’s bachelorette party and rafted the Penobscot. The campsite was big and wooded and just perfect for us tenters. Kerri, our guide, was amazing and definitely made the whole trip. She was amazingly accommodating to everyone in the raft. She made it challenging to those of us who wanted a challenge, and accommodated those who didn’t (thanks Ben for taking them in). I have rafted many other companies in Maine before and Wilderness is definitely the best. The guides, the short trip to and from the river, and the POC.
The five of us had a great time and thank you all for making “Sarah’s last wild ride” unforgettable.

Thanks again and hope to see you all next summer!
Jill Chadbourne

June 30, 2004

Just a quick thank you for our trip this past weekend. Everyone was very courteous and helpful. From our bus driver to the lunch staff . A special thanks to our guide Carrie, who kept all my girls warm (even though I freaked a little, when all the medium wet suits were gone), alive and headache free... I have gone rafting with other companies and they have also done a great job...however... Carrie went above and beyond ...catering to make our trip extra special! "Two thumbs up"... I still can't figure out how she got the moose to cross the river at that precise moment....
Thanks again,
Jen Andrews and "The Girls"
P.S. You will be seeing us again...The older girls were planning another trip on the bus ride back home.

June 24, 2004

We just got home from our 5 day adventure in Maine - and what a blast!

Being at the Birches and staying in Rockwood was the best way I can think of to really enjoy "vacation land". We will definitely be back and we will definitely tell all of our friends and family about your place.

My husband and I wanted a vacation - a real vacation. No TV, no Playstation... our plan was playing board games, going on nature hike and taking boat rides in pontoon boats :). Hanging out as a family - and we got it.

Thanks again - and we will see you next year

Jenn Donohue

May 31, 2004

Hi Folks-
This Memorial Day Myself, and six other friends took a whitewater Rafting trip with your company, and I cannot speak highly enough about the experience. It was AWESOME!! What made the day so great was your unbelievable staff! My highest compliments to our Guides Brian T (in the raft) Ben Pratt (In the Kayak behind us picking up the bodies) as well as Dan "The video Man" Kerry, and all of the folk who's names escape me at the moment. (my apologies) everyone was key in making the day as exciting as it was! They had us "Pumped up" from the start, and kept the momentum going throughout the entire day! Most of us were first time rafters, and had no idea what to expect. In fact all of us were "first timers" except for the guy who planned our trip who had gone once before and had Brian as a guide on that trip as well. I am already starting to plan another trip with your company for this year and can't wait to do it again. I am going to request the same crew if they are available. A company is only as good as its employees, and judging by my experience your employees make your company a shining star! It made a 6 1/2 hour journey from Massachusetts WELL worth the while! Thanks again for such a great trip!!

Sincerely,
Chris Kearney

September 3, 1999

Dear Mr. Murphy,

I phoned you before my rafting trip because of concerns over safety. Now that I'm home, having taken up lots of your time and the friendly ladies that answered my calls, I wanted you to know how much fun we had. Seven of us in the Cook family took the Kennebec raft trip on Friday Aug 27. Yes, both of us fell in at Big Mama, but we lived to tell the tale! Everything was handled extremely well and I think much of the credit must go to our guide Tony. From the moment he greeted us at 8 AM until we left after lunch, to watch videos. Your company can't take the credit for the great weather, but you should take pride in your clean showers and restrooms and pool, fine food prepared by our driver, congenial and professional staff, etc. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend your company to friends! Please let Tony and his supervisors know how much we appreciate their help.

Sincerely,

Jerry Cook

Rafted the Kennebec Aug 28, 1999

Aug 29, 1999

Dear Wilderness,

Yesterday I had the experience of a lifetime. I was a member of the Wilderness expedition group that left from your Kennebec base. I have only great things to say about your staff and it's treatment of me and the members of my group. All of the guides were pleasant and helpful and very personable. They made you feel at ease and that they had the experience to deal with anything that came up.

I have to personally note that the video tape that was shown (and purchased) was totally awesome and that Ryan is to be complimented on her creativity and humor. She did an excellent job. Our guide was Joe and he was pleasant and funny and patient when we asked our many questions that I'm sure he had heard and answered hundreds of times before.

I want to thank all of the staff for making this experience a great one and to tell you that it was so good that we are already planning for next year's trip.

Nancy Shufelt

P.S.: Two suggestions--earlier coffee and maybe small signs/arrows to mark the tent sites so they can be seen easier when you arrive after dark and are unfamiliar with the layout.

Rafted the Penobscot River the weekend of August 15

August 25, 1999

Dear Mr. Willard

I was one of 20 members of the Belinda Party group on Saturday, August 15th which rafted down the Penobscot River. Over the years my wife and I have rafted all three rivers with different companies and different guides. I am writing because we were so impressed with the great day we had on the Penobscot with your people. companies. We all understand the sport is inherently dangerous, but the safety information can be conveyed in more than one way. We all liked your guides version, a stand up type of comedy routine that made it very clear we had to be careful, but it was delivered very well.

And in case you didn't know, all guides are not created equal. We had a great time last year with "Slide Show Bob" but had an even better time this year with Damon Peters. Damon not only made sure our group got exactly the ride we wanted, (excellent customer service) but he's also a fascinating resource. I loved hearing his thoughts on the industry and from my perspective, it pays to keep senior guides like Damon on your staff.

As a returning rafter, I'd also like to tell you, I've seen quite a few rafting videos and after a while they all look pretty much the same. So with some reservation, I sat down to watch the video Hutch Brown created on our trip. ( I shoot and write to video every day and can be a little cynical when it comes to hastily produced projects) By far that was the best video I've ever seen done in the limited time people have to create rafting videos. Hutch is very creative. I really enjoyed his video transitions, ad libs, skits and humor.

So to summarize, I hope you don't change a thing and please pass along the extra kudo's to Hutch and especially Damon, a valuable asset to your company.

See you next year,

Jeffery Hope