Exploring Baxter State Park

Baxter State Park is also home of the best fishing in New England. The park is real wilderness. There is no running water anywhere in the park. You have to bring your own water or filter if from lakes, ponds or streams. There is only one small dirt tote road that runs along the western side of the park. The rest of the park you have to access on foot.

Baxter State Park is located in the far north woods of Maine and is a 5-6 hour drive from our starting point. On our trip up we decided to visit a B52 Bomber site near Moosehead Lake. This small detour would take us a little out of our way but worth the side trip. So we decided to stay the night at Moosehead Family Campground in Greenville Maine and make our way up to Baxter the “back way”.  This was an adventure as most of the “roads” are all dirt and very bumpy. 

On our way many of these dirt roads split into logging roads and it can be hard to tell which is the correct (less bumpy) way to do. We stopped in the town of Kokadio to make sure we were still on the right path. The lady that owned the restaurant, campground head quarters, convience store, liquor store and gas station assured us we were on the right track. She also told us the gas pump was located out back. “be sure to remember how much gas you got” she said. 

Once we got to the park we headed to our first campsite at Kidney Pond. All the campsites here have cabins. The next day we went to Slide Dam. From here we walked up and fished the Nesowadnehunk River. The water was low but still moving well. 

After that we proceeded up to Trout Brook Farm Campground where we would spend the night at one of the group tent sites. After we set up we explored the northern park area and just out side the park for some fishing locations. We were also able to stock up on ice and some other creature comforts from a great campground store just outside the park. Most of the group sites  were in an open field. That evening a full moon rose over the mountains. It was beautiful. 

The next morning we broke down our site and headed up the road to hike the Five Ponds Trail and try our luck in some of the remote ponds along the way. Once we were done we headed down to Nesowadnehunk Field Campground. 

Once we arrived to Nesowadnehunk Field we when to check in but there was no ranger on duty for the next few days. So we made our way to our cabin and found it open and ready for us. We got some wood and got a fire going and in the morning we set out for a little fishing along the Nesowadnehunk River before packing up and heading out. On our way out of the park we stopped one more time at Slide Dam. 

Neither of us ended up catching any fish on this trip but we both had a blast trying. It was a lot of fun exploring the park. I’m already looking forward to my next trip back.