Camping in Baxter
Whether in a lean-to, cabin, bunkhouse, or tent, Baxter State Park is the best place to wake up. Reservations are required for all sites.
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Facilities
Baxter State Park offers their visitors five different styles of camping. Cabins, bunkhouses, tent sites, lean-tos, and group sites. Different campgrounds offer different camping styles. Find your perfect spot here.
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Reservations
*Note that all campers must be at the gate by 8:30 pm on the first night of their camping reservation.*
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Preparation
Baxter State Park offers its visitors a full wilderness camping experience that requires careful preparation. Whether at a campground or a backcountry campsite, there are items that visitors should and should not bring.
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Daicey Pond Cabin Repair Project
Follow the progress of the Daicey Pond project with updates from Baxter Stae park staff.
Know Before You Go
If you stay in a lean-to, bunkhouse, or cabin, your gear needs will likely be centered on eating and sleeping. With a lean-to or tent site, you can cook over a wood fire (except at Chimney Pond and David Pond), but a camp stove offers greater flexibility. At a bunkhouse or cabin, a stove and extra fuel are a necessity. You must supply all pots, pans, dishes, utensils, and a means of water purification. Sleeping bags, pads, or a mattress are needed except at Kidney and Daicey Ponds, where mattresses are provided. Tent sites near a car or boat allow a broader choice in the size of your tent: tent weight determines the limit when backpacking to remote locations. A rain fly or tarp is a welcome shelter over a cooking area during bad weather. The Park does not allow nails in trees or lean-tos.
Important
Hydration
Hydration is key whether hiking, camping, paddling, or just exploring. Baxter State Park has no potable water, but they have abundant water sources and minimal industrial pollution.
When Nature Calls
When visiting Baxter State Park, visitors can expect the full wilderness experience. No running water means no flushable toilets. Then what do you do when “nature is calling?” There are three options; use an outhouse, dig a cat-hole, or when above the tree line, rock hopping to find a suitable location.
When in The Park, it is important for all visitors to practice the Seven Leave No Trace principles. This set of outdoor ethics was created to promote outdoor conservation and is very important to keeping Baxter “Forever Wild.”
Campgrounds
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Katahdin Stream Campground
Roaring Brook, Abol, Katahdin Stream, South Branch Pond, Newowadnehunk, and Trout Brook campgrounds are drive-in facilities offering lean-tos, tenting, and in most cases, bunkhouse.
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Kidney and Daicey Ponds Campgrounds
Daicey Pond and Kidney Pond campgrounds offer private cabins with beds with mattresses, propane lanterns, and woodstoves. There are no cooking or bathing facilities.
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Backcountry Hike-in Campgrounds
Russell Pond and Chimney Pond campgrounds offer hike-in and backcountry camping in wild settings. Backcountry sites are scattered through the Park, allowing individual parties the opportunity to camp in isolated and primitive areas.
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Group Camping Sites
Group site reservations must be made by mail or in person at Park Headquarters in Millinocket. Sites for groups are located at Bear Brook, Foster Field, Nesowadnehunk Field, and Trout Brook Farm.