Great North Woods

This is the northern end of the state, north of the White Mountains. Berlin sits on the Androscoggin River, Gorham lies just south at the Route 2 and Route 16 junction, and Lancaster is the Coos County seat on the Connecticut River.

North of them, Northumberland, Stratford, Columbia, Colebrook, Stewartstown, Clarksville and Pittsburg follow the Connecticut River to the Canadian border, with Milan, Dummer, Errol, Stark, Randolph, Shelburne and Dalton across the forest between the two river valleys.

Geography

The Connecticut River runs the western boundary north to its headwater lakes in Pittsburg, the largest town by area in the state. The Androscoggin River leaves Umbagog Lake at Errol and runs south through Dummer, Milan, Berlin and Gorham into Maine.

Landmarks and open space

The northern Presidential Range rises above Randolph and Shelburne. The Connecticut Lakes lie in Pittsburg, Umbagog Lake at Errol, and the Kilkenny and Nash Stream forests fill the country between the two river valleys.

Transportation and access

Route 16 runs north from Gorham through Berlin, Milan and Dummer to Errol. Route 3 follows the Connecticut valley from Lancaster through Northumberland, Stratford and Colebrook to Pittsburg and the Canadian border, and Route 2 crosses east to west through Shelburne, Gorham, Randolph, Jefferson and Lancaster.