Enjoy backcountry hiking, fishing, and camping by clear ponds and rugged hills. The 21,871-acre Deboullie Public Lands offer remote campsites on crystal-clear trout ponds surrounded by low rugged mountains. These lands, encompassing 17 ponds ranging in size from 8 to 341 acres, lie in northernmost Maine, east of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and 30 miles from the Canadian border. The area has a reputation for outstanding fisheries, with native brook trout in many ponds and landlocked salmon and lake trout in Togue Pond. Several ponds have populations of blueback trout (landlocked arctic charr), an unusual variety that is the world's northernmost freshwater fish. A 12-mile trail network with several loop options leads to many remote ponds and to Deboullie Mountain (1,981 feet) where a former fire tower offers expansive views of the surrounding region. Hikers can enjoy mountaintop blueberries in August and still find "ice caves" in denser woods - narrow, shaded crevices where snow and ice can remain year-round (supporting unusual plants such as the arctic sandwort). Several small waterfalls offer attractive places to cool off during warm-weather hikes. During winter, snowmobilers frequently pass through Deboullie Public Lands, enjoying the scenic beauty of its remote ponds on their way between Eagle Lake and the Allagash. The only maintained trail is the primary public access road, which forms an important connector in the State's Interconnected Trail System (ITS). The ponds, streams, marshes and forests at Deboullie support an array of wildlife, and visitors may spot black bears, loons, moose and birds of prey. The wetland habitats support the rare northern bog lemming while upland forests offer shelter to the elusive Canada lynx. The Deboullie Public Lands incorporate a State Ecological Reserve, a 7,253-acre area that encompasses the shorelines and waters of 11 ponds. Its sensitive ecosystems (including old-growth spruce and mature hardwoods) will remain in their natural condition and be monitored over time.