Baxter State Park - Maine

Address:64 Balsam Drive
Millinocket, Maine
Tel: (207) 723-5140

Baxter State Park is comprised of hundreds of thousands of acres of land, donated to the state of Maine by Percival Baxter, who dreamed of preserving Maine in its wild and natural state. Today, rangers keep the dream alive in a park brimming with wilderness and recreation nestled within mountain forests filled with spruce, birch and balsam. There are over 200 miles of primitive trails here with rocks and roots, boulders and stream crossings decorating the way, as well as woodchucks, bobcats and snowshoe hare which call Baxter State home. Don't forget to pop into the Baxter store, where there is a rich collection of nature books for sale. In addition, there are plenty of campgrounds available for visitors to enjoy; however, prior reservations are suggested at this busy and most vivacious park!

Baxter State Park can be simply described as over 200,000 acres of mountains, lakes streams and forest, all given in trust by one man, Percival Baxter, to the People of the State of Maine. The full story of the assembly and management of the Park is much more complicated. We won't try to tell you that story here (there are many excellent books on the subject, but we will try and mention several of the most important elements. The Park is the result of a lifelong dream of former Maine Governor Percival Baxter. Initially, he worked as a legislator, then as a Governor to convince the Maine legislature to act to preserve Katahdin as a public Park. These efforts were not successful, so after leaving public service, Percival Baxter determined that he would accomplish this work himself. His first gift, including Katahdin and surrounding lands, was realized on March 3, 1931. The next 32 years mark an extraordinary example in philanthropic effort, determination and vision. In June of 1962, Percival Baxter completed his dream, comprising 28 separate gifts and a total of 201,018 acres, of a great Park, given In Trust, to the People of Maine. Subsequent to Governor Baxter's death, the Baxter State Park Authority has purchased additional lands on the southern end of the Park to bring the current Park acreage to 204,733.