International Appalachian Trail

The new International Appalachian Trail begins at Baxter State Park, home of Mount Katahdin, in Maine.

Cap Gaspé is the northern terminus of the new International Appalachian Trail.

Caribou are a common sight on the International Appalachian Trail in the Chic Chocs mountains.

The International Appalachian Trail extends the 2,167-mile Appalachian Trail another 620 miles, from Mount Katahdin to Québec's Cap Gaspé, where the Appalachians plunge spectacularly into the sea.

The trail uses a combination of existing and new trails to connect the highest peaks in the region. The peaks include 5,267-foot Katahdin in Maine's Baxter State Park, New Brunswick's 2,690-foot Mount Carleton and in eastern Québec, the 4,160-foot Mount Jacques Cartier, as well as Cap Gaspé, where the Forillon Cliffs mark the dramatic end of the Appalachian Mountains.

From Mars Hill in Maine, the trail crosses the St. John's River at the Fort Fairfield, Maine-Perth Andover, New Brunswick border station. It runs northeast to Mount Carleton Provincial Park, and then north to Matapédia on the Québec border, about 170 miles.

The remaining 350 miles of trail run north through the rugged Québec wilderness, then turn east through the Chic Choc Mountains, where hikers find overnight shelter in a system of woodstove-heated cabins.

Hikers cross Mount Albert's rolling tundra on a unique wooded walkway built to protect the rare and fragile plants, often catching glimpses of the only caribou south of the St. Lawrence River.

Finally, the trail winds to an end at Forillon National Park, located at the farthest reach of the Gaspé Peninsula and known for its rock formations, colonies of seabirds and unusual arctic-alpine plants.

For more information, call the Mount Carleton Park in New Brunswick at 800-561-0123 or Parc de la Gaspesie in Quebec at 418-763-2288.