St. John Valley Cultural/Fish River Byway

Story of the Byway

The St. John Valley Cultural Byway / Fish River Scenic Byway, sometimes known as the Parcours culturel de la Vallee, is a 134-mile roadway situated in the St. John Valley at the northeastern point of Maine alongside the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Québec. The byway is rich with Maine’s Acadian heritage and culture. Along the St. John Valley Cultural segment of the byway, travelers enjoy a captivating cultural journey in a pastoral river valley as they wind through small towns, fertile fields, and deep forests between Dickey and Hamlin. In this rural corner of the nation, the traveler is welcomed with kindness and a gentle pace of life. They will come to know “chez nous,” which means our home, as a genuine place of simple living and distinct culture, shaped over centuries in one of the last frontiers of wild, undivided forestland in the nation. Home to about 13,000 people mostly of French heritage, the byway’s unifying theme is culture; the international blend of French heritage as shaped by Acadian, French Canadian, and other cultural influences. In most parts of the byway, French is spoken in everyday affairs, in churches, restaurants, and on the street – an evolved blend from sixteenth century France, Acadian and French Canadian, Wabanaki, and English. Located throughout the byway are 29 bilingual wayside exhibits that tell the story about first inhabitants and early settlement; the social fabric of language, family, and faith; the borderland and “land in between”; and of centuries-old traditions that endure. Visitors should be sure to explore the villages that dot the route.

The people in this region have been described as spanning two cultures and two countries. This makes for a distinct and rich byway experience. Travelers are enchanted as they drive the winding roads of this byway at any time of the year. They meet descendants of first settlers, hear Acadian music, see dark skies and nature’s haunting beauty, taste the fusion of old and new French recipes, and touch centuries-old hand-hewn logs and early tools that shaped the land. Immersed in the historically based culture of the St. John Valley, travelers come to know intimately what it means to be of this place.

The Fish River portion of the byway traverses the rolling lands between the lake towns of Fort Kent and Portage. The landscape provides travelers with unparalleled views of wildflower meadows, Eagle Lake and Portage Lake. Much of the route is forested, and wildlife abounds, including eagles, moose, landlocked salmon, brook trout and beaver. Camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, and snowmobiling are popular activities, with wilderness camps lining the shores of the area's lakes. Along both stretches of the National Scenic Byway, visitors can enjoy outdoor recreation activities such as bicycling, boating, camping, fishing, foliage viewing, four-wheeling, hiking, and snowmobiling. Visitors can also enjoy the many historical sites along the way such as the Fort Kent Block House, the Allagash Historical Society Museum, and Acadian Village-Living History Site.