An existing 192-square-foot camp by the Carrabassett River can serve as a food-prep space and shelter from the rain. Courtesy of Fred J. Field Photography

Bowdoin College plans to build an outdoor education center in the Carrabassett Valley that will carry the name of a Bowdoin student who thrived in the wilderness and died in a kayaking accident.

The college announced last week that it had purchased 21 acres along the Carrabassett River in Kingfield that will become the Finnegan McCoul Woodruff Mountain Center. The Bowdoin Outing Club will use the space as a base of operations for its camping, skiing, mountain biking, hiking, fishing and other adventures.

Brunswick native Finnegan “Finn” Woodruff was the son of Bowdoin Outing Club Director Mike Woodruff and an avid lover of the outdoors. A Bowdoin senior, he died in a kayaking accident on the White Salmon River in Washington in November 2021. He was taking classes at Lewis and Clark University to finish out his Bowdoin College degree at the time.

Mike Woodruff said that the Outing Club has long sought a home base in the region and was honored that the donation made that dream a reality.

“The kindness and generosity of that gift is really amazing,” he said. “And for [the Fosters] to ask that it be named after Finnegan was just incredible.”

An unpaved driveway leads from the main road to the small camp building near the Carrabassett River at the future site of Bowdoin College’s new outdoors center. Courtesy of Fred J. Field Photography

Woodruff said the sale went through in the fall, and the cost of the property was roughly $250,000. The purchase was possible thanks to a donation from retired staff members Stephanie Foster and Tim Foster, dean of student affairs emeritus, according to the college’s announcement.

The college is accepting donations for construction projects to improve access to the land and add new facilities. Bunkhouses, a well and pump for running water, and additional outhouses and shelters are planned. As of Thursday morning, it had raised nearly $290,000.

The site currently has enough flat area for at least 40 students to camp in tents, the announcement said. The location is central to areas where the group already sends trips, including Sugarloaf and Saddleback ski areas, Flagstaff Lake, the Appalachian Trail, and the Bigelow Range.

“Maybe 90% of everything we do is within an hour [of the property],” Mike Woodruff said.

The Outing Club offers students more than 170 excursions a year and has roughly 1,600 members, making it one of the more popular student activities on campus, according to the college.

Outing Club directors said they’re planning on taking student groups up to the camp in the next few weeks.

“I think this place is going to be amazing to one, increase the access and opportunity to experiencing Maine outdoors,” Associate Director Anna Bastidas said. “But also just having a place away from campus where folks can unplug, they have time to connect in meaningful ways with their peers.”

Many Bowdoin students are familiar with Maine’s coast, but fewer know the western mountains, Mike Woodruff said.

“To have this place in the mountains … we’ll have the opportunity to give students the opportunity to have those community-building and creating experiences and really identifying with Maine and the outdoors,” he said.

Mike Woodruff said that the property also will be used by the college’s sports teams and religious organizations for retreats.

“That sense of community is often really strongly rooted in a sense of place,” he said.

The directors said they hope students can benefit from the outdoor space for years to come.

“You meet tons of new people signing up for any of our trips, and to have that extra time sitting around a campfire, cooking a meal together, is really special,” Bastidas said. “And so students will be able to create more memories, create more connections and really have that time to build community.”