The Birches Resort

What a wonderful, old – fashioned resort this place is! The cabins are genuine log cabins, many decades old. Not fancy — but the cabins have all the amenities you need for a pleasant stay: kitchen with refrigerator, stove, coffee maker, microwave, full bathroom, and heat either from a radiator, trusty Franklin stove or fireplace! This place is rustic with a capital R, but loaded with charm. The cabins are spaced just far enough from each other to give you a little elbow room, and they are THIS CLOSE to the lake’s shoreline. No TV or modern “distractions” to detract from the beauty of the location. Cell service can be spotty, but there is full Internet service /WiFi available in the main lodge. GREAT excuse to put the phone away.|We rented a motorboat for the week, and explored Mount Kineo, Pebble Beach, the Moose River, and other remote locations. The family hiked, fished with gear that we had brought, and if just for a week, unplugged and enjoyed a truly simpler life.|We had a few meals in our cabin, but we also treated ourselves to several breakfasts and dinners in the main lodge. There is even a pub in the lodge, which is well-stocked has good local draft beer.|I would recommend stocking up on groceries on the drive up through Greenville, which is at the south end of the lake.|There are many outdoor activities to enjoy in both the summer and even in winter. I even took a floatplane ride with the resort’s owner, John, a few years ago and had a blast!|And finally a note about the staff: everyone we encountered — from the front desk, to the dining room, to the marina, and all the support people in between where absolutely a pleasure to interact with.|The Birches is a great place for a wonderful vacation, and we will be back. Highly recommended!

We were looking for a place in Maine where we could rent a snowmobile for a week in February and stay in a cabin. An internet search brought us to the Birches so we took a chance and headed up North. We booked a 2 bedroom "Rustic Cabin" and a snowmobile rental through them. This was one of the best trips of our life. |The cabin was very rustic for sure. But the mattress was new and we slept like the dead after being outdoors in very cold, snowy weather all day. The cabins come stocked with unlimited wood and we used a bunch as we kept the fire going for the full 7 days. Kitchen and frig were enough for the 3 of us for the week. If you cannot handle a "rustic" experience this is not the place for you, but we loved our cabin and were sad to go. |Definitely stop in the supermarket in Greeneville on your way to the Birches. It has everything you could possibly need. It's about 30 minutes away. We typically would cook breakfast and lunch in the cabin and then eat dinner at their restaurant. The restaurant food is excellent and the staff were very helpful and friendly. We had some amazing Prime Rib, Turkey and Fish dinners and the beer was fresh from the tap to wash it down. I am sure breakfast and lunch are just as good there, we just didn't try it. Great food overall at fair prices. |Snowmobling was great, the trails are well maintained and endless. We also tried snowshoes and cross country skiing as well. Beautiful scenery. The entire staff were great and hardworking. Nice place, nice people. We are going back again next February.

We've been going to the Birches for almost 30 years...it's been absolutely our most favorite place to stay! This year we took a chance and brought our 8 year old grandson. His parents and others were worried that he would quickly get bored with all the outdoor things we do and want to come home....NOT A CHANCE!!! :) The moment that he saw our lakeside cabin with the view of Mount Kineo, he fell in love! We hiked, boated, canoed, fished and he even saw 7 moose. He's hooked and can't wait to come back next summer! If this place doesn't open the hearts, eyes and minds of young kids to the great outdoors...no place will. |We are so thankful to John, his wife Tanya and all the great staff for providing such a fantastic experience for us and our grandson and we hope to keep coming back for years to come. The Birches is THE BEST!!

Did not stay in a room, only ate at the restaurant. We were a party of 7. Went on a Friday night at about 7:00 p.m. We told the very nice gentleman at the front desk we were a party of 7 and he said to go to the bar and they would seat us either at bar area or in restaurant, which we didn't care which room we sat in. Unfortunately, the girl tending bar (long braided hair), was not so nice. She asked if we had a reservation, which we did not. She said she had nothing available in her area (there were plenty of empty seats), and with a rude attitude told us to go to the double doors and "maybe" we could get seated back there. She acted like we were bothering her and how dare we come in without a reservation, when the gentleman in the front didn't even hint it would be a problem getting a seat anywhere in the restaurant. Fortunately, the rest of the staff were very accommodating and a pleasure to deal with. The restaurant also had a lot of empty tables, so not sure what the big huff was all about. The atmosphere was beautiful and the food was really, really good. My husband and I both had the French onion soup, and we both thought it was the best we have ever tasted! The rest of our party seemed to really enjoy their meals and drinks. We would have given 5 stars, but the bartender is responsible for leaving off a star. I understand she was busy and maybe wasn't up to dealing with 7 more people in her area, but there is a much nicer way of going about telling us to go to the restaurant side instead. Would definitely go again despite her rudeness... and get that onion soup (and poutine)!! Addendum: I will add that star back due to the response from restaurant, as they are correct, they should not lose a star because of one bad interaction. Just to be clear, it was our first time to the area and we didn't realize reservations were required. Again, there is a polite way of letting people know. And those empty tables were the entire time we were there. :)

We went for a drink outside overlooking beautiful Moosehead Lake. Got drinks at the bar and sat outside to enjoy the last hour of daylight. Amazing view of lake. We decided to come back for dinner as there are only two options for a dinner restaurant in Rockwood Maine that we could find. The menu was very classical old resort options. Prime rib, baked stuffed haddock, a sautéed chicken, baked salmon, prime rib was on the menu as a special as well as baked scallops and filet minion. My wife had a nice thick bone in pork chop, I ordered the rib eye steak medium rare. I know meat prices are still very high, $31.95 isn’t a bad price for a nice steak. My gripe was they obviously took a 1 inch medium cooked cut of prime rib, quickly put some grill marks on both sides and I received a barely medium well undercooked on the outside. There is no way to overcook a rib eye steak like that unless they are grilling it for marked and then throwing it in the oven to finish. Very disappointing. The atmosphere is wonderful, the old 1930’s interior is amazing and the staff and service was great!

Came here for a pitstop while cruising Moosehead lake. Docks have more than enough room for multiple boats. Eat outside on the picnic tables or sit inside with plenty of room for large parties. Awesome place and must see!

The peace and quiet is remarkable The staff go out of their way to help you and their courtesy is worth mentioning. I have gone there for years so my observations have always been consistent Booked for next year to ensure my return

The food was amazing, Blake was a great server and very attentive even though they were super busy, can't beat the view. Can't wait to come back again.

This review is for dining only- not for any other of the services that the Birches offers. Up in the Moosehead Lake area, the options for dinner are few, and the Birches offers a peaceful location and view of the lake that can't be beat- five stars for that. The old lodge has a lot of charm and feels cozy and very "early 1900s" all around, so five stars for that also. The food itself is all over the place. My crab stuffed mushrooms were incredibly delicious and full of crab. I couldn't get enough. The chicken Caesar salad had chicken that was beyond overdone on it, and the chicken was quite hot on top of the salad so made for wilty greens and the croutons and dressing were not also not great. My friends and husband had similar results... some stuff fine, some not. I wouldn't say it was bad, or good... we'd probably return, but I'd just fill up on crab stuffed mushrooms and maybe try some dessert.

Really enjoyed our visit for lunch on NYE. They were packed and running around but seemed to handle everything well. We were well taken care of. Spanakopita and Jalapeño poppers to start. Reuben and quesadillas for lunch. Excellent beer menu and hot chocolate was great. Will be back for sure!

My friends and I went on an evening moose cruise. The captain was great. He guided the boat very slowly through the areas where the moose might be and we were lucky enough to see two!! We had a little trouble finding the boat and they were really helpful and patiently waited for us. I would highly recommend the cruise. We did a 4 hour van tour with another company and the cruise was absolutely a better experience!

We have been here for the pub (which is great) but tonight was dinner and drinks. The service was excellent and the food was superb! Avocado deep fried crispy slices. Steak on our salads and great wine selection! I will be back for sure! I need to boat in this summer. Being on moose head lake is definitely a plus!

Good part: Wow what a neat old Lodge and great food. We had supper reservations here after a moose watching pontoon boat ride. Bad Part: despite them telling us we had supper reservations when we booked the boat ride, we were nowhere on the list when we arrived at the restaurant. Luckily some tables had just cleared out so we got a table (because it was late -7:15pm). Which brings me to the boat ride. It was a nice ride on the lake to see Mt.Kineo and the views and the captain was a nice man. But, with all of these moose tours, the tour guides know with pretty much certainty where the moose hang out every day and know their patterns. But when someone asked, can you almost guarantee we'll see some today, the captain shrugged and replied, "Wellllll. This summer has been hit or miss." Now, I know moose are generally elusive to the common Mainer or tourist but, if a tour guide would normally see them almost every day but has seen them once in the last two weeks (and that has been the case all summer) then you shouldn't be selling moose tours! They could have at least given us a discount at supper but laughed and laughed when we mentioned it. Jokes on us. We spent a lot of money for a tour that didn't have the things we went to see and then spent $80 more for supper. Skip the boat ride. Go for a great supper in a nostalgic and authenic Maine Lodge with a fantastic water view.

We visit the Birchs once a year when we come up for the annual Fly-In. We absolutely love sitting on their back dock taking in the gorgeous lake views. For us these are some of the best views in all of Maine. The wine and beer selection are good but the restaurant food is fantastic. Plus again you can't beat the views, even from inside the restaurant. The fireplace is just magnificent and will be lit, which adds to the overall warmth of the place. Service is always consistent and their wait staff go above and beyond. Please checkout the pictures of our trip from the weekend of Sept 10th. Can't wait to return to take in the foliage for our first time.

Living in Jackman, we have always intended to visit the Birches for dinner. We have heard mixed reviews from the locals, which kept us going to our usual haunts. Given the busy week, our regular favorites were sold out. We finally made it to The Birches! We had a later reservation, but we got here early and we walked the property. It's really nice. The bar area is nice too. We were seated right in the center of a very busy dining room. For the first few minutes, we exercised patience as waitstaff walked by us repeatedly without any greeting. After 15 minutes, it got far more frustrating when new parties arrived us, we're seated, given drink orders, appetizer orders and been served food. Honestly, nobody had greeted us at all. Now, if it was a corner or the room it would be understandable. When our frustration gave way, I had to excuse myself to find the host and ask for service. I have never felt so invisible in my life. We were like the ghosts in Beetlejuice who tried to scare away that new family. We could have stood on chairs and moonwalked across the table and nobody who worked there would have blinked! At least the food was redeeming. Steak was excellent. In the end, we were offered free desert for being the very last customers in the dining room, but to no surprise, everything we wanted had been sold out. Must have been sold to all of the customers seated after us....... Good food, but unfortunately the lack of service will forever be what we remember! At least we had a few laughs and a memory/story. Hard, hard pass from us. Try Greenville for great food and service!!

First time visit for an overnight. Honeymoon cottage -great location. On the water. VERY rustic interior. NO frills and very simple. That is the charm but be aware before you book. No vacancy the weekend of our visit. LONG wait for breakfast and very harried and rushed erratic dinner service. ( not unusual with summer help gone ) BUT we can not applaud the best employee of the entire place -Ashley. She does it all. With a smile and great service! Just amazing. She made our weekend and I think without her it would have been a very different first impression. Prime rib was excellent, baked scallops as well. Will return in the summer as the location and ambience is fabulous!

*Breakfast review only* Outside of Greenville it's tough to find new restaurants to eat at, especially around brunch time. After driving around exploring the area, we found signs leading to The Birches Resort and had our fingers crossed there'd be food. Birches is a cute place right on Moosehead Lake with cabins for rent and a restaurant. We weren't greeted when we walked into the main cabin/guest house. There was a lovely fountain to our right of the main lobby that I fell in love with. My friend found the bathroom while I walked around looking at photos and waiting to be noticed by someone. I strolled around and saw that people were eating in the main area of the restaurant, but still didn't spy a host or server. I finally went back to the main desk and asked a gentleman (I'm not sure if he worked there or not) and he instructed me to just seat myself. He was very funny and nice. The breakfast menu was the usual assortment you'd expect and I was starving. I ended up with the strawberry waffles (with AMAZING Maine maple syrup) and a side of eggs and bacon. My friend got an omelet and it was weird that they didn't mix the veggies in the omelet, they were just placed in between the folds of the eggs. But he ate it all up. Service was lacking personality but the food was great and you can't beat the views!

Beautiful view! Great drinks but the poutine was a bit odd, not sure about tossing the fries in gravy it made them too soggy. Great place to pull your boat up and get a drink!

The place was nice, I paid extra for their on the water campsite. Ten dollar extra charge for my dog. Internet at the restaurant/bar only, shabby rest rooms, beautiful lake view, OK food and beer, awesome est adirondack chants on porch. I just had a problem with the $92 total for one night camping.

Do not go there. It's a hang out for locals. No problem there. However, I do have a problem with the fact that many of them were so enebriated that they were lighting off firecrackers on the main porch. My dog was there. There are trees everywhere. Need I say more? People who were visiting the resort and enjoying the early evening had a different impression by 8 PM. The drunkenness we observed gave visitors such discomfort that they left. One of them said, "Take your dog and go. This place is not safe.". Also, my friend broke her leg, in large part due to the improper lighting and huge gaping holes in the ground on the way to our cabin. Not once did ANYONE stop by to ask how she was doing. It was stunning. I've never been made to feel less welcome or cared for by any place I have stayed.

I'm not sure where to start as there were a few challenges but I'll start with the critters... 1) There was a RAT under our table. I spotted it whilst looking for a part of the camera. It was big, furry, and recently dead with all four limbs spread out as if the death was a horrendous one. When I flagged it to a waiter, he said it "must be from the rat poison." That gave me reassurance that 1. There's a rat problem and 2. There's poison near food. 2) There were dogs in the dining room. A nice black one called Abby went under our table, sniffed my husband's privates and begged for steak. 3) numerous flies landed on my broccoli. Now that's enough critter talk.... Food: Crab stuffed mushrooms were greasy and needed herbs, salt snd pepper Mussels: plentiful, loads of them but the ones in the top half of the kettle were dry and rubbery. Rib eye: average Baked stuffed haddock: watery. It sat in a pool of water that was mildly flavoured with wine and lemon After I pointed out the rat and dogs, I was surprised to see no discount on our bill! I had asked the waiter to please take my main away with less than half eaten because my appetite was lost due to the rat. I went to the manager who took my haddock off the bill and she apologised and advised me that "in maine we have mice." It's a shame about rodent, dogs and flies because their Bloody Mary is awesome

Review of restaurant: Great rustic place to warm up by the fire after a cold day on the snowmobiles. I ordered the turkey club and it was huge, enough for 2 people, with real turkey, not sliced deli meat. Soup could have been a little hotter. Great view of the lake, We will be back.

Came in for lunch. The view of birch trees in front of the lake is incomparable. Tasty onion rings & reuben sandwich. So peaceful. Wish I could stay here some day.

Just found out that we were possibly exposed to Hepatitis A by a food prep person. It was just by chance a friend told me about the news spot on WABI. If not for them we would never have known. Shame on The Birches for not posting this information on their web page or on Facebook. Never going back there! Awaiting to hear from CDC on where to get vaccinated.

Ever been to those desolate gas stations in the middle of the desert that charge five times as much because if you don't buy from there you'll die? The Birches Resort is just that except in the middle of the Maine wilderness. It is the only real renter of atv/water craft/snowmobiles in the area. The nearest competition is in Jackman which is nearly an hour away....and this "resort" uses it to their advantage. So, the rental fees are outrageous. They wanted to charge us $60 for a full day for a canoe. When we told them that we only wanted a half day and they charged us $50 (and that was after we told them we had bought three tickets for the expensive moose expedition tour via pontoon boat). Later that evening we went on the moose sight seeing tour via pontoon boat and it was amazing. A bit long if you have small kids, but we got to see moose up close and personal (probably got to within 15 feet). This tour was their only saving grace. We bought a "package" which included dinner afterwards which you would think was a deal, right? Nope. the extra expense to each ticket was $30 and it only included an entree per ticket. Now considering the most expensive item on the menu is the prime rib at $26 it seems like a blatant fleecing, but we shut up and paid it because it wasn't worth the hassle. Too boot, the prime rib was atrocious. Even my five year old was disgusted at the amount of gristle on the steak. They even botched my child's spaghetti by over cooking it and we were forced to send it back. WHo ruins a kid's meal?! Although, an item they did very well was the poutine. Unfortunately, we ate that as our meal because everything else was atrocious. We left the restaurant highly disappointed. We didn't stay there so I can't comment on the rooms/cabins. My suggestion is to bypass Rockwood altogether and drive the extra distance to Jackman where the prices are more reasonable.

This place is incredible. The staff is top notch and the food is spectacular, and I'm a serious food snob! Bethany makes a daily refreshing cocktail that is different everyday and like nothing I've ever had. Their chef Paul is a rockstar in the kitchen, and Marsha is like a ray of sunshine every morning! Thanks for the memories!

Gorgeous views can be found here! The sunsets are incredible. Phenomenal waiting staff and friendly front desk! Very laid back, dog FRIENDLY! The dock on Moosehead is huge and there are many ways to get there, via boat, plane, or car. Very relaxing atmosphere. The eggplant Parmesan is absolutely to die for. Lots of vegetarian options. Always see moose on the drive from Jackman to Rockwood! Definitely recommend this place if you find yourselves in the area. Don't let the other reviews fool you, this place is a dime!

We had a fabulous getaway weekend at the Birches! It is such a special place. Peaceful, relaxing and so much fun! We took long walks, enjoyed the hot tub outside, and relaxed in the bar. The restaurant service was over the top and the food was excellent from breakfast thru dinner. I especially liked hanging out in the Lodge by the fire playing games with friends while laughing our heads off. Highly recommend it!!!

My sister always stopped by there and told me that I should she passed away before I did and wish I had when she was with us the people and food is amazing My whole family stop's by for breakfast lunch and dinner all the time I'm great friends with the owner now and I know my Sis is looking down on US every time where there and they always have a great for my little dog Rocky which is good friends with Sochi and Jack this place is awesome year round boating Snowmobiling float plane rides cross country skiing Jeep tours Moose cruises log cabins tent site's rv parking this is my #1vacation spot now if you have never been there before please consider this your next stop up north

The cabin water makes you gag, smell like a septic tank. They claim to have the water tested monthly but I wouldn't brush my teeth with that tap water. The maintenance man tried to flush out everything with bleach but that didn't help so they know about the disgusting smell. Way overpriced and beware of the large spiders living in the cabin after seeing one you won't be able to sleep. It just wasn't our cabin we went to others and they were the same. Maybe a hunter that didn't want to take a shower would like this place but modern day civilization beware. Definitely not a recommendation.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!! the atmosphere food, recreation and staff are awesome! This is why we call Maine "vacationland". It's "the way life should be"