baxter state park

There are many nature activities to take advantage of. A canoe trip on a lake or river is very romantic.

Four of us were lucky enough to book (5 months in advance), a cabin on Daicey Pond in Baxter State Park. It's a long way in the park, but a beautiful rugged drive gets you to a breathtaking spot right on Daicey Pond. After checking in with the ranger, we walked to our cabin located right on the water. There was a rustic outdoor campfire/grill area between the cabin and the pond. The cabin had a front porch with enough chairs for us, a small entryway and two bedrooms with two beds in each room...Beds are just wood structures...you will need to bring a campstove, cooking utensils, dishes, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, etc. There are wood stoves in the cabins and wood is available if it gets cold...and it can get cold even in the spring and summer. Available to all campers are canoes and row boats...which we used and were treated to thd most magnificent views of the pond and Mt. Katahdin. There is also a communal cabin near the ranger station...with books and games for everyone to use...either there one of the sofas or back at your cabin. Restrooms are very rustic and a bit of a hike from the cabins. No problems with that, except at night when you require a flashlight and care needs to be taken not to trip over any of the root systems on tbe trail. There are multiple hiking trails, including one of the trails to the summit of Katahdin. We didn't have time to reach the summit, but we did hike some of the shorter trails, which led to rushing waters, large flat rocks, gorgeous wooded scenery, and some very dense forests/woods. Absolutely amazing photo opportunities, so be sure to come prepared. We cooked a lot on the makeshift grill...salmon, which we had brought...the ranger stopped by and sat by the fire one evening...friendly and very knowledgeable...answered many questions for us. We cooked spaghetti on the Coleman stove another evening...something so great about dining understeer starry sky...it was magical. Washed the dishes in boiled pond water. All in all, this was a perfect three -day adventure in one of the most beautiful and unspoiled state parks. Reserve eary...like a phone call on January 1 right after midnight of the new year...it is so worth the effort. It will be an experience you will never forget.

So far the most beautiful place in Maine that I've been. Great for hiking, kayaking or just spend the day enjoying the view.

Wonderful unspoiled wilderness area. Many activities available. Hiking is fantastic. Access is controlled so a parking pass is required for daily use - see their website for details.

This is a fabulous park and many Mainers have never even been there. We love this park even more than Acadia. We go for photographing moose, although there have been fewer there these days than a few years ago, but the mountains are breathtaking. Bring your hiking shoes, flashlights, backpacks, cameras, food, plastic bags so you can take your garbage with you,, and water. Go hiking on some trails and ask the ranger at the office before the entrance which trails match your skill level.This is the most beautiful park I've ever been in and it's huge. You can spend days there and not see it all. Staying in a cabin overnight in October gets pretty cold though, so I wouldn't recommend that except to those who can withstand the cold.

Spent a stunning day meandering through Baxter State Park over Columbus Day weekend. Baxter State Park is near Millinocket -- pretty far north in Maine. The focus of the park is hiking with many folks tacking the really difficult climb up Mt. Katahdin.A little over 40 miles of dirt roads from one entry gate to the other -- maximum 20 miles per hour. Many side paths. Day fee for entry = $14 per car for non-Maine residents. Very beautiful drive, not at all crowded. The park is beautifully and quite naturally maintained. No running water, everything is carry in/carry out Many camping grounds, picnic areas, hiking pull off areas, convenient handy port-o-potties. Many hiking paths: from very easy to really difficult. We tried a couple of the shorter hikes to enjoy the natural beauty and serenity. The path for Rocky Pond was short but also quite rocky -- almost an obstacle course. Pond was just stunning. Be sure to wear good shoes/hiking boots and plenty of bottled drinking water. Enjoy!

This is a very beautiful, natural park. Trails are there for every degree of difficulty. You could spend a long time here.Very beautiful in the autumn.

Very helpful staff in main HQ in Millinocket and at main gates. Lovely scenery and opportunity to take side tips to campgrounds, and trails. Well signed just a shame the moose didn't want to come out to play on the day of our visit!

I went to Baxter State Park with my friend to get away from everything in my life. My husband had passed earlier in the year and getting away from people and communing with nature sounded like a great thing to do. It was absolutely perfect. We went canoeing at Daicey Pond, hiking to Little and Big Niagra,and seeing Roaring Brook and Chimney Pond. There are so many beautiful and peaceful places to go. And the night skies, Oh what can I say. Being a dark sky you can actually see the milky way clearly. Its breath taking. An added plus the outhouses are clean and do not smell. They make sure to keep this park pristine.

Brilliant day, starting with a lovely welcoming ranger on the gatehouse. Lovely slow ride through gorgeous scenery at the peak of the fall foliage colours. Stopped off many times for strolls to lakes. Fantastic day.

After reading the reviews, settled on hiking Owl Mtn. Excellent work-out, 5 hours round trip. Saw no one else on trail. Basically a very nice walk through the woods until you scramble up rocks to the summit. We also hiked around Elbow & Grassy Pond. Only wildlife seen was 3 birds, a few chipmunks & squirrels. For a remote park, disappointed no big wildlife. Made me appreciate Acadia that much more.

We found a place where we didn't see another person for several days. Fantastic! The trail to up the mountain is well used and full of rocks as well as people.

The park is serious about keeping it pristine. There is no running water in the park, you bring in your own. Otherwise, it's a great place to hike, lost of different trails. There are campgrounds and cabins for rent, also several lakes have canoes/kayaks to rent very reasonable. They also have some cabins designated as libraries, some right on the lake, with a porch and rocking chairs - doesn't get any better than that!]Make sure you bring plenty of water when you come and explore the trails. We didn't see anything while we were there, bummer, but maybe we were too noisy?

Hiking to the top of Mt. Katahdin in Baxter St. Park is no joke. I did a minimal amount of research and listened to opinions of friends so I was surprised by the difficulty of the climb. I knew to expect much more than a walk in the park but I'm not sure this experience is one that can really be explained unless you have pretty extensive hiking knowledge. You just won't quite get it until you are there. I would call this a bucket list type of adventure for myself. I'm a 44 year old male who does not work out and is not heavily into the outdoor experience. I do enjoy the outdoors, I'm not overweight, and my job is not sedentary. These are the only things about my physical ability that allowed me to make the climb and back on my first attempt. This hike (up the hunt trail) is 10.5 miles round trip. I doubt more than a few hundred yards of the entire trip was flat....and even those areas were strewn with rocks. Almost every step is over, around, between, or on rocks or boulders. I can't express the importance of having the correct equipment. If you don't have a good pack with lots of caloric snacks and at least 3L or water and the correct shoes and clothing you will regret not doing so. You MUST bring a headlamp. Not a hand held flashlight because you will need your hands for climbing. I maintained a pretty good pace heading up the trail at around .8-.9 miles an hour. We left camp at the base at 630am and made summit at 1130am. There are several false peaks for the unaware climber to agony over but the experience of breaking the tree line, mastering the car size boulders, and making the flatland plateau are exhilarating and feed your adrenaline the whole way up. From the flatlands you can see the summit and it would be very hard indeed to turn back from there even though some hard climbing is left. Can you say stairmaster ? We did not stay at the summit long. It felt like the temp dropped 10-15 degrees in the last 500ft. Not to mention the thrill of making the summit is quickly quenched by the idea of the 5.2 mile hike back. There is a wonderful feeling of belonging to a small group of special people when you summit. I knew that most people would never experience such a thrill and that in itself made the moment very special. Unfortunately I did not eat enough calories on the way up and I began to run out of energy shortly into the trip back. Again, this is a point I can't stress enough for the more casual climber. You WILL need more energy and calories than you think and when you run out its kinda too late. I rolled my ankle just below the tree line on the hike back. This was only about halfway back down and a very scary moment. I slid down a boulder on my butt and misjudged the landing. My foot hit the edge of a rock and rolled under. I knew what this meant immediately. I could be in a VERY bad place where scores of people were needed to haul me off the mountain. I did not stop moving and just continued on a pace about 1/3 of what I had been managing. I insisted the group I was with move ahead as I knew I would make it down I just needed to be VERY careful about foot placement the rest of the way. I made it down about 45 min after my group and I was completely depleted. Almost a walking zombie. My ankle was swollen for days afterword. I say this trip was life changing for several reasons. The smallest of which is the simple majesty of the experience on that mountain. Breathtaking views ( we had good weather ) and beautiful scenery is a given. For me it was more the mind over matter experience. The fact that I actually did it despite my self doubt. And most importantly the perspective it gave me on my own life.You see, there were people running up the mountain, there were people in sandals, there were people who were beginning an entire trip on the AT at that spot. There were people who made it up 1.5hrs faster than me, there were people almost twice my age and even some under their teens. There were people who had the fortitude to go on and do the knifes edge after the accomplishment of the summit. There were even groups of people racing each other up and down and some that simple appeared as if this was just a walk in the park for them. I have gained a new understanding about myself and how I feel about my efforts as a man against the world. It seems I am not all I thought I was, and even the thrill and triumph of the summit can't eclipse the thought that I can always try harder. I can always better myself. What may seem hard to me may be both impossible and easy to others at the same time. I have decided that I need to get out in the world a little more, push myself a little harder, and by all means try harder at everything I do. It's worth it.

Went to Baxter State park this summer. They have amazing hiking trails with beautiful views; and different trails based on everyone's experience. Some nice lakes as well. All trails are marked well and you would be hard pressed to get lost. The main Katahdin mountain trail was closed when we visited due to snow; but we still had a great time on other trails. Not too many people; so it remained nice and quiet.