Twenty years ago, a handful of boating enthusiasts from Maine launched a revolutionary idea. The group envisioned a virtual path through the water linking uninhabited islands into a coherent whole—a “water trail.” They called it the Maine Island Trail®. Since then, according to the American Canoe Association, 500 water trails have been developed nationwide. The concept of a water trail is now well known to almost any American who owns a boat. The first was the Maine Island Trail, which since 1988 has grown to include over 150 properties and 350 miles down the coast of Maine.

Watch for the MITA display and associated activities at the following events as we celebrate 20 years of the Maine Island Trail:

• Maine Boat Builders Show, Portland, March 14 – 16
• New Jersey Paddlesports Show, Somerset, NJ, March 28 - 30
• New England Paddlesports Show, Durham, NH, April 4 – 6
• L.L. Bean Paddlefest, Freeport, June 21 - 22
• The Woodenboat Show, Mystic, CT, June 27 – 29
• Boothbay Boat Builders Show, East Boothbay, August 3
• Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show, Rockland, August 8 – 10

MITA wishes to thank the corporate sponsors of our 20th anniversary: