Welcome to Baxter State Park’s Website
Planning to Hike Katahdin?
We strongly suggest you purchase a Day Use Parking Reservation (DUPR) to guarantee your access to a Katahdin trailhead. Katahdin access trailhead parking is limited and the lots are often fully reserved. Reserve a Parking Spot online, or call the DUPR Reservation Line at (207) 723-3877(DUPR). On September 7 the cutoff time for using the day use reservation will 7:00. This change will be in effect for the remainder of the season.
Please Leave Your Firewood at Home!
Baxter State Park and the State of Maine are taking active measures to try and protect our forest resources from the serious ecological consequences posed by invasive exotic insects, particularly the Asian Longhorned Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer. These insects, not native to this continent, have killed tens of millions of trees in the US and Canada . In most cases, when these insects are discovered in an area, they have already been established for some number of years. Once these insects are discovered in an area, eradication efforts are drastic and have not yet been proven successful. In the remote wilderness of Baxter Park, eradication efforts would not be practical and the insects, once here, would begin to slowly change our forests.
One way these insects are transported from place to place is inside firewood. To protect the Park from the long-term damaging effects of these insects,
Baxter State Park is prohibiting the transport of firewood into Baxter State Park by Park visitors.
Driving to the Park? Tom Tom’s a No No!
Commercial navigation units are not effective for navigating to the Park. Visitors have had unpleasant, time-consuming and expensive experiences using gps units to navigate to the Park. Our Headquarters address is 64 Balsam Drive, Millinocket, Maine 04462. Headquarters is 18 miles from the South Park Entrance at Togue Pond Gate and over 60 miles from the North Entrance at Matagamon Gate. Need written directions?
Baxter Park opens Katahdin Lake Lean-tos
Two new 6-person leantos are now available for reservation at Katahdin Lake. South Katahdin Lake is located on the Katahdin Lake Trail 3.2 miles from trailhead parking at Avalanche Field on the Roaring Brook Road.
North Katahdin Lake is 4.5 miles from Avalanche Field on the recently completed North Katahdin Lake Trail which can be accessed from the Martin Pond Trail. Both lean-tos have canoes. Contact our reservation office for details.
Baxter Park Revises Rules and Regulations
The Rules and Regulations governing the use of Baxter Park have now been issued. Check our Rules page for the revised rules and format.
Upcoming Meetings and Events:
Listening Session Scheduled
Baxter State Park is preparing to begin work on a new management plan. We have scheduled several listening sessions to gather comments, concerns and feedback from campers, hikers and interested parties about the future of the Park.
Our next listening session is scheduled for Thursday, September 23 From 5:30 – 7:00 pm at the Turner Memorial Public Library in Presque Isle, Maine.
- September 15th – Kidney Pond 7pm – Theodore Roosevelt’s Connection to Katahdin and Conservation – In Joe Wiegand’s words "suspend disbelief" and enjoy an evening with Theodore Roosevelt. Joe will provide an amazing, poignant and humorous presentation of T.R. By evening’s end, you will feel as though you had a fireside chat with the "Rough Rider" himself.