Baxter State Park

I spent just one day here. Actually, I have wanted to be at this state Park more days. But weather conditions: three days of strong wind and temperature on the peak just 36...40 F. I cant afford it. August is not the late October. Okay. So many beautiful ponds, nice pavement roads, too many campgrounds, where you stop in the cabin. Nice and careful park rangers. I was glad to climb on Baxter Peak. It was my first visit in Maine (bucket list was fulfilled with Acadia National Park, Portland area: City, Cape Everything). Next time I will bring more warm stuff and will climb South and Pamola Peaks. Certainly, I promise myself to take a sleep in the cabin next trip. Thank you, Rangers for Vacation like this.

A beautiful and awe-inspiring place. Katahdin is one of the best climbs in the Northeast, and the respect it commands draws a fascinating and diverse group of people to the park. On top of the spectacular views and hikes throughout, Baxter earns extra points for its staff, who are some of the friendliest and most dedicated employees I’ve encountered in any park in the US. Everyone should go here at least once. Thank you Baxter State Park for an excellent experience!P.S. - if you’ve never walked into an outhouse and thought “it smells great in here,” you’ve never been to Baxter. I don’t know how they do it, but it is astounding.

Great park! All dirt roads so take it slow. I damaged a tire going over a sharp rock too fast. Otherwise I had a lovely hike up the Hunt trail to Katahdin even with the rain, went paddle boarding on a couple of ponds, and definitely want to go back.

A beautiful park with various activities from hiking to mountain biking. If one is lucky, they will catch a glimpse of a moose (from a good, safe distance!)

Baxter is by far my favorite place in the great state of Maine. Such a magical place and I go as often as I can.

This is a most wonderful place to be. It is like heaven to me, and a place where people can be close to God! I climbed this mountain in 1996 and have yet to be able to get to the top again. I am hopeful that I will be acending the mountain soon...within the next month or so. In the meantime here is a bit of a tease from my recent Fathers day trip to the outskirts of Baxter State Park. One of the most amazing areas in Maine USA! GREAT THANKS to the Creator and former Governor Percival Baxter, rest his soul, for buying and giving this wonderful area to the people of Maine!!

A difficult day on the mountain, especially without any views at the top. However Hunt trail is by far my favorite. If you go down Abol trail, the walk on the road isnt half bad and it makes a loop.

An amazing day hiking. The park is majestic....truly God sent.

We had one day to explore Baxter and enjoy the beautiful weather. We took a canoe from Kidney Pond, paddled across to a landing where we hiked a short trail to Lily Pad Pond. There we took one of the locked canoes (we had gotten the key from the ranger at Kidney Pond) and paddled around Lily Pad Pond, enjoying the amazing mountain views! We found another place to leave the canoe while we hiked to Little and Big Niagra Falls and a beautiful trail to Windy Pitch Pond. We returned the same way, taking our time enjoying the views and loons, trying to capture it on our phone camera. Such a beautiful, relaxing way to spend the day! Looking forward to going back and staying longer.

Worth visiting for sure. The place is huge. We saw signs of moose everywhere and some great hikes and vista views. Need several days to explore this place at a minimum. Greatly enjoyed our time here.

A once-in-a-lifetime destination for those who appreciate monumental mountains. Rising from pine forests and countless lakes of north central Maine, Baxter Peak is the northern terminus of the fabled Appalachian Trail.

Truly Gods Country. The pictures are one thing ..in person its breathtaking. Truly a must see for anyone. The water and air are so clean..untouched.. its how our land should always be. Its FREE to residents of Maine.. kid friendly, adult kid friendly and must check out ledge falls but bring a bathing suit and slide like the kids!

We cant visit Baxter SP due to our height (12 with the truck camper in the bed). The park has a 9 max height restriction. Great park I am sure, if only I could visit.

Amazing views. If youre here in search for wildlife, the rangers advised that due to increased traffic, youre likely going to have a better chance to see more on the side roads and pullouts outside of the gates near the park.

Visiting Baxter State Park and hiking up Mount Katahdin is an absolutely stunning experience that everyone should experience at one point or another in their lives. The park staff were very friendly and willing to help if needed. Facilities and the park itself were clean and pleasant.

We hiked to the top of Mt. Katahdin via Helon Taylor Trail, Knife Edge, and then down Saddle. Incredible experience. Baxter is rugged and wild. True to Maine spirit. Gorgeous views, but youll have to work for most of them. Come prepared and dont expect to have any cell service. Well worth a visit.

Super in love with Baxter State Park! They have done a good job in preserving this beautiful nature. Fall is a good time to visit with the beautiful colors of leaves exploding. As a bonus, i saw not a baby shark not a mama shark, but a baby moose and a mama moose!

It is absolutely beautiful! The natural rock slides were amazing with cold deep pools below. The rock cliffs at different levels to jump into the water from were so much fun! No bathrooms bc of Covid 19 is absolutely gross and irresponsible of the park rangers and staff. At the rangers station she was very rude. Told us everything was full. We drove in anyway because this was the 3rd time this summer my son was told it was full and it never was more than 2 people at either place we were going to. Other than that it was an awesome experience with my kids!

Love it. Everyone should visit Baxter State Park at least once a year if local or once in your lifetime if out of state/country. My favorite time for visiting is in the fall when the leaves are turning. There can be limited parking if you dont make reservations, and you may not be able to take the trail you intended, but you may find a new, beautiful sight/trail.

Stayed at Abol Campground in lean to site. Took Abol Trail to Katahdin summit next morning. Beware....there is a private campground called Abol Bridge Campground not in park and several miles down bad dirt roads. We accidentally went to that one first! Abol Campground is first left AFTER passing park entry booth. Campground great location for hiking that trail. Primitive pit toilets and no water so bring your own extra water. But clean, maintained campground. Day use parking just outside campground.Abol trail is beautiful. Nice views. Shorter than advertised in park (3.6 vs their posted 4.4). Middle mile is HARD! EXTREMELY STEEP boulder field. Follow blue blazes carefully. Scrambling required. Ended up in cloud at summit and got chilly so bring layers. Use caution if returning down same trail, which we did. Very steep and tricky backtracking through boulder section. Rewarding hike but tough elevation gain over relatively short distance.

What a park! I never imagined.If youre hiking the Mt. Katahdin trail, be at the ranger station before 6 am, most days. Have plenty of water and flashlights (and thats when the weather is great...).Hiking the loop is not for those out of shape or faint of heart. Some of the hikes make Mt Washington seem like a walk in the park.

The nature and wildlife is awesome, and the Katahdin hike had done if the best views Ive seen! The campgrounds were ok and the roads are a little dicey at times.

Awesome place to visit for a short while or to stay night after night. Option, range from tenting to leantoo, up to different sizes of small cabins. Little disappointed that only 2 vantage points were created to view the Mountain by driving around and both are viewing the easterly side.Took in most of the drivibal Road Ways. There is around 20 miles of open ways, soon to be more whence gated of section is reinstated to be safe and passable up to more sites people are able to use.Popped a few quality photos (Copyrighted material) for printing. Enjoy my photos, try to find the Duck (hint, floating, this requires H2O), ifin you can, please press the like button, thanks.People are so friendly, its like your on a different Planet than Earth, so laid back and sereen, I emmagen they could be hard butt if you break the rules, searosley.Not only sights there are plenty of places for people to go swimming on some nice Beaches even has accommodations, cabins, close by. There are a lot of areas that are grassed off and flat with accommodations to be used for daylight, dayusage. Some of these areas are Basecamp areas at Trail Heads to the Mountain.From inside the park there are a few places to view Kataden from the western vantage points, you need to exit your vehicle and walk a short distance, some even have off road parking, there is also taken into consideration people who are in Wealchair to enjoy the moment and opportunity, these areas are all around the park,The western Road is a bit winedly, take your time, hard to see around the corner even before folleyage is fully sprouted, cannot drive through, gated access, must return pass paperwork permit at the entrance when exiting. Safety first.I took in the area on opening day. Lowland areas are open and for usage and some are allready occupied. All trails to the highland are strictly Closed due to being dangerous. Some sections still have alot of Snow in the beginning of the Trail. Most of the upper parts (Highland) has alot of snow, footage.I would love to be able to climb just part way up to photograph from a higher advantage point, unfortunately disabled, hard times walking up Hill. The sights must be fanomanabil.Mr. P. Says, Jaw dropping. Awesome place

One of the most beautiful places in the state and the entrance fee is free for day use for in-state residents!

Park was mostly closed due to a bad winter...for safety reasons...but the southern part was open....absolutely beautiful up there and well protected...sentinel mountain was amazing....will definitely ne back very soon

We hiked up to Chimney Pond to photograph an elopement. The hike is pretty challenging in that the footing is loose jagged rocks for quite a bit of the hike. Because of this the hike can be pretty tiring, both physically and mentally, be prepared if you haven’t been hiking in a while. The view was gorgeous, we got lucky at the pond to have a window with no other hikers to conduct the ceremony and get photos in isolation.

Great place to hike, camp, fish, picnic, etc. Very well maintained by staff members. Camp sites and day use parking are limited so make reservations. If no reservations it is first come first serve so arrive early (before 7am) There is a carry in carry out policy. Out of state annual pass is $40. Day pass is $15. Tote roads are narrow and speed limit is 10mph-20mph so it takes a while to get most places. Camp sites have out houses. Cabin fees are very reasonable, but completely unfurnished. Lean to sites are great for tenters. Plenty of wildlife to see while hiking and driving throughout the park.

For my 100th review, i decided to review the Baxter State Park because this is one of my absolute favorite places. I have been to thr park atleast 15 times and i still have more to discover. The trails are some of the best ones. Camp grounds are superb. One of the hidden gems of Maine

Pleasant and quite. Beautiful views. Great staff, a staff definitely a cut above. One ranger total jerk at South Branch, think Jeff was name. He was an abnormality; this is a pristine paradise.

June 22, 2019 - If youre up for a challenging hike, the Katahdin summit is ready for all ! 100% nature in its TRUEST form. . . No snack bars, no kiosks, no gift shops here in Baxter Park. Bring your bug spray, clean water, and power bars . . . Youll need them!Katahdin starts ( or ends) the Appalachian Trail . . . A mile high with several different trails to climb, each is moderate to difficult for most climbers. If youre in training with a mountain goat, dont sweat it, try scaling Cathedral, and top it off with Knifes Edge!For those who dont run marathons or compete in Crossfit tournaments, or showcase their talents on Ninja Warriors, you might stick to Saddle Trail, a long day of 11 miles over 11 hours of hiking. Saddle Trail was closed in June, due to snow! You must obtain parking passes months in advance from the Park rangers. No cost to enter the park, if a Maine resident. Check out the trails on line, please do your research on the trails you are considering. . . especially on line Go Pro clips of climbing specific trails. Very helpful in linking your skill level to the trail difficulty you wish to tackle. We tried Hamlin Trail. . . much too difficult for us.Awesome views in all vantage points, so bring your cell phone, or camera. You wont be sorry. Best wishes on your climb!

Beautiful wild area that fulfills its mission perfectly. Drove the entire park from South to North with numerous stops for hikes up to 11 miles. The mountains are stunningly beautiful. The trails relaxing and quiet. The mosquitoes are super friendly, following you everywhere and buzzing with excitement. Id rate this as one of the best state park experiences ever. Staff are amazingly friendly and helpful.

Amazing place to visit!! If you love the outdoors, then you will love this place. Hikers paradise. Strenuous hike to get to the top, but worth the effort!

Beautiful place to visit. So many places to stop and explore the beauty of Northern Maine.

Great place to spend an OFF the grid vacation. Good shoes and swimming shorts are a most, as there are many great mountain streams you hike past. Backpackers paradise !! Be ready before you go

If youre looking for a short and kid-friendly walk, try the Sandy Stream hike to Big Rock. Breathtaking views and a very easy hike, mostly fairly flat and lots on boardwalk. Not accessible for all hikers, but definitely more flat than rocky. A bit expensive for a casual hiker day pass out of state, but a season pass is worthwhile if youre there more than a couple times. And seriously, cant stress how beautiful it is.

First Mount that Ive climbed and it was a great experience

Such a beautiful place. The hike up South Turner Mountain was wonderful. Love the views and the almost untouched nature that surrounds you.

Great treasure in the State if you havent been there you need to go.

Fantastic wilderness area. Many great day hikes and areas to camp or picnic. I love the scenery. This is a very highly respected park. Mount Katahdin is its most famous peak for hikers but there are lots of other hikes with varying degrees of difficulty.I recommend making a weekend trip. This gives you time to hike more than one trail or just soak in the views of the mountains.

Spent the day in Baxter State Park and could have easily spent the week there. So much to do and see. Beautiful mountains and Hiking trails for any skill set. Unfortunately lack of sunlight prevented me from reaching Knifes Edge but I will be back to try again.

Very limited parking inside park. We showed up 2hrs before opening to get in line & was the 4th car. Waste of time as tickets were alrdy sold out. If you don’t get a parking ticket reserved just turn around & go back home, for us, home was a 5 hour flight back. We were told only 10 car passes/day for the entire east side of park. Won’t return ever again

The goal of Baxter is resource preservation which is not easy to understand unless you really study that. What is the quality of the resource because of the staff and those that contribute money? Excellent, thank you. Great Job! We had the time of our lives summer 2019

Once youve hiked you know.

Would have been a 5 if we had seen a moose but was a nice day overall. Beautiful weather.

My husband and I went here for our anniversary/my birthday. We were not prepared for the type of camping we booked ourselves for, but a quick trip into the nearest town fixed that and we enjoyed our weekend. I highly suggest researching this place before coming and if you intend to do backcountry camping plan for backpacking yourself in. The trails, even the easiest and the shorter ones, are difficult especially if you are not used to hiking. We used trekking poles and I dont think we would have been able to complete the weekend without them. There is no potable water. Be prepared for a real nature experience.

Great place for trekking. You can get there through the car with your tent, have a cool relaxing atmosphere and then next day go on one of the mountains. It is safe place, with limited number of tourists, so no crowds expected.

They dont allow pets. They closed access to Katahdin after one hour of the park being open. They charge you for access to the park, but dont maintain it. Once I go back and climb Katahdin I will never step foot into a Maine state park again.

Wonderful views. Awesome trail maintenance.

It truly is an amazing place.

Awesome beauty! Lots of hiking trails. Enjoyed our time here

Maybe the most beautiful place in Maine.

Tie those shoes and climb to the top of Mt. Katahdin!!

The roads are long but everything is just so relaxing the views and the camping areas and katahdin isnt that far away

Only did one day to hike kahtahdin...a truly rigorous hike. Make sure you reserve your parking space and arrive early (or camp at one of the trail heads). Spray down with big spray before you even get there because the mosquitoes are incredibly tenacious (they will find any deet free spot, for me it was in between my fingers and inside of my elbows)No part of this trail is easy...even the chimney pond trail which is only a gradual incline is difficult because the whole three miles is littered with rocks and obstructed by small to large boulders you have to walk around and over (which normally wouldnt be a big deal but after summitting it felt like I had two peg legs). Staying at the chimney pond campgrounds might not be he worst idea because it would significantly reduce the amount of hiking you have to do in one day. The knifes edge would be off the table but you could still do cathedral which seems like itd be cool.Not sure if I would ever do it again but Im proud I did it!

Incredible wilderness. Katahdin is the finest alpine experience East of the rockies. Park can be difficult to get reservations but worth it. A land of inspiration with hidden gems all over the park. World class rock and ice climbing as well as hiking.

Tough hike but what a day..start early..it took 10 hours..did Pamola to Baxter and down the shoot. Wear good hiking shoes..you are walking on rocks all day.

One of my favorite places in all of my travels. Great hiking, beautiful views. I keep going back.

First time at Baxter; loved it. Will definitely be visiting again

Bring your supplies, and be ready for some VERY challenging trails. Some just straight up boulders. So cool, but be careful, and have a buddy, or better yet a group

Such an amazing place. Katahdin Knifes Edge trail is the best hiking in the east.

Outstanding and epic 50 mile southbound tour of Baxter State Park. Camping facilities at Mt. Aldo were pristine and beautiful on roaring brook. Short on time so did not hike Kathadin, next time! THANKS!~

Beautiful Park. Remote. Hiked hunt trail from Katahdin stream campground.

Beautiful place, very peaceful and nice to camp in.

Incredible trails and sights. Peaceful.

Beautiful, pristine forest and field.

Worth the wait list if you go in season. If you go out of season there shouldnt be a wait. I went July 2nd and 3rd, it was still a little early in the season and not all trails were open for katahdin. I stayed at the abol campground and had such a great weekend. It was very clean and well maintained. Awesome people to talk to and very informative park rangers. Can not wait to get back to check out some of the over 2,000 acres.

Such a beautiful part of your country! A must drive through, or hike...whichever you prefer.. but get up there...so pretty!

Best hiking in Maine! The rangers are friendly and knowledgeable.

Knifes edge begins, gets very narrow after this point. Amazing hike

Beautiful park to visit. Last miles of the Appalachian trail up to mt. Katahdin. Full of beautiful views and hiking.

Wonderful views from cabins on daisy pond

This was a last minute trip. I planned it about a week in advance. We took the Cabin Creek Route to Shuttle to the Summit. A great route for beginners ....still brutal. Make sure you have hiking books, Camelback 2 Liter, and wind breakers / rain gear. That is the must have items for the trip. Bring Camera!!!!!! Go to Sawmill Bar for a cold one.

Wonderful views of Katahdin

My favorite place on Earth!

This is a trip we make every year and never disappoints. Definitely need to book the 4 months in advance on the rolling 4 month schedule but worth the hassle. Great camping and amazing hiking on katadin and surround mountains. Lots to see and do. If your up for it knifes edge is amazing and very doable if prepared and only if the weather ris right.

Deep inside the woods, without any gadgets, talking with friends and driving in my fav car, showed me the true colors of nature. Well maintained state park... Fall colors were awesome.

My favorite place in Maine! The Rangers are pretty strict, but for the purpose of making sure everyones safe. This park is Sooo much more than just Baxter Peak & summitting Katahdin

I love this place every ranger I have met was really nice and informative. Bring some bug sprayyyyy!!!

Driving through for an afternoon visit and the secluded drive was exactly what we needed. The visitor center gave great information or quick hikes to do. I will definitely be back to do canoe camping for the week and enjoy the scenery. We did the Katahdin Stream hike - gave a quick burst of a workout during the 2mile round trip hike. Definitely worth it!

By far the best hiking trails around. Cathedral and Knifes edge are a must do.

Why choose Baxter state park? For 101 reasons, the first being that if you need a getaway that provides a place of utter peace and tranquility so close to home, Baxter State Park is definitely an option you need to consider. Governor Baxter deemed the park a place to reconnect with nature and get back to the things that really matter all around us, fall is one of the best times to visit, as the colors pop and the views are amazing. After climbing many, many, hills in New Brunswick this is the next step thats is so close to home, from Woodstock you can be in the northern part of Baxter State park from Woodstock, NB in around an hour and a half. We spend the first night at the park relaxing around a warm campfire and the temperatures stayed right around 2°c at the lowest, snow on top of the mountains made for an exciting climb aswell. I recommend talking with the Ranger and planning out your hike in accordance with the weather. Baxter state park is like a breath of fresh air in a such a busy world! 10/10 recommend spending a weekend or more there!

Can anyone find anything bad to say about this glorious gift Governor Baxter made to the people of Maine many years ago? Answer: no

Really enjoyed my time here. The park rangers were all very kind. I had forgotten my flashlight and one of the Rangers let me borrow a headlamp. The day I went was very cloudy, but it was a lot of fun.

This is one of the greatest parks in Maine. It is also the end of the Appalachian trail. It features mount Katadin the tallest peak in maine at one mile high. The park has lots of easy nature trails also or just cruise the roughly 50 mile dirt road around the mountains and stop at many small ponds along the way. Early summer is the best time to see moose grazing in these ponds.

I was amazed by the beautiful foilage and the Katahdin Mount view by the ponds! :)

Big shoutout to Ranger Jen at Chimney Pond Campground for making our experience special! She was incredibly knowledgeable about our route, looked after our belongings while we were out, and made sure we had a safe arrival back in camp. We need more rangers like her!

Amazing people and an even greater trail up to mount katahdin

The hike we did was just over 10 miles of a technical mixture of above and below tree line. The reward for your work and effort were breathtaking views!

(This isnt a review about the park, just the park services).I spent a month planning, reserved my parking spot 2 weeks ahead of time, drove 2 and a half hours, and all it took was 5 minutes past my reservation time (which I was late to because of the 15 minute line) to fill my spot. Had to go to another lot to hike a different trail that I was provided little to no details about. And they let 2 out of staters cut ahead of the line with no explanation? And of course, no refunds...

This is a very rural park and that makes it great. The views are gorgeous, there’s a hike for every level, the staff is friendly and helpful. It’s a wonderful park.

One of the best hikes in New England. If you have not done nights edge you need to put that on your to-do list. The views are breathtaking and the mountain will make you appreciate them with its demanding trails.

If your looking to unplug, look no further. I have made numerous trips to the park thought the years. There is not a better place in Maine to ditch your phone and enjoy nature. I have enjoyed climbing Mt. Katahdin, North Traveler and several other peaks throughout the years. Katahdin offers several paths to the summit, all with unique challenges. Try them all! Also I have enjoyed hiking the numerous trails thought the park. The views and wildlife you will see are outstanding, and the cool places to fish off the beaten path are plentiful! All that said my favorite spot in the park is South Branch Pond. The hiking, fishing, views, camping, canoeing, jumping off the cliffs, etc. make it the highlight of my time spent in the park!

Fantastic wilderness park.

Baxters scenery rivals national parks without the crowds... Cannot put into words how much I loved my trip. Rangers are incredibly helpful, amazing x50 scenery. Expect to be active though, if you want a leisurely trip youll be disappointed 10/5

Where else can you see and feel such beauty? Looking and driving through the huge park is a surprise package around every turn & hill! Wish I could hike!

Rugged. Spectacular views. Challenging trails. Very nice campsites and lean tos

Loved it here. Came when foliage was at peak. Not overcrowded, friendly, helpful staffThe views are beautiful!

Very beautiful park everwhere you look, and the hike up double top was something Ill never forget. My only complaint being that the park rangers which we requested help and directions from were quite rude, which did put a bit of a damper on the whole experience.

The top of Maine is truly spectacular. The glacier made cliffs are some of the most dramatic in the Eastern United States. A hike to the top is hardly for the faint of heart.

I will go back again. So many trails of all levels. And great camping at Roaring Brook Campground.