Mt. Katahdin - Maine

Explore one of the last remaining wildernesses in the eastern United States! This beautiful landscape is a popular destination for rock-climbers, hikers, campers, photographers and naturalists who all come to behold and enjoy this outdoor spectacle.

Called "the Greatest Mountain" by the Penobscot Indians, Katahdin has been glorified by Thoreau, whose climb was recorded in a well-known chapter of The Maine Woods, and and by Theodore Winthrop, who wrote of Katahdin in Life in the Open Air. The famous Appalachian Trail ends at an elevation of just over 5,200 feet atop Mount Katahdin, and the views here are spectacular! The Knife's Edge, as its name justly fits describes, is a somewhat perilous trail along Mount Katahdin. Visitors to Katahdin should enjoy Baxter Park by fishing and canoeing as well, and keep their eyes peeled for fauna such as black bears, deer and moose, and birds such as Bicknell's Thrush and various songbirds and raptors. The mountain has its own indigenous butterfly (related to an arctic type), and flora here include pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, beech, maple, birch, aspen and diapensia.

Most of the camping facilities in the park are primitive, and there are limits to the number of hikers allowed in the backcountry, so if you're planning to camp here be sure to make early arrangements and come prepared for fantastic rugged recreation. It is located in east central Piscataquis County, about 25 miles northwest of Millinocket. It divides the East and West Branches of the Peneboscot River.