PDA

View Full Version : Summer Opening Day



peakbagger
01-14-2017, 21:16
BSP has an annual tradition that for one day a year anyone who shows up at the door of the headquarters in Millinocket on this one day in January can reserve any site in the park for the summer season. I usually head up there every other year. I headed up the night before after work and stayed in Bangor then got up early and drove up to be there at 5 AM. There is a long term tradition that folks camp out in the parking lot to be first in line. Not sure about this year but in years past folks have camped out for several nights. It was fairly "balmy" for Millinocket Maine when I got, 6 degrees F. The overnight folks have an informal list of their arrival time and then around 1 hour before the building opened, everyone got in line for an hour as more folks showed up. The park director opened up the door at 7 AM and they started processing reservations at 8 AM. The park director had a few announcements, the prices for the park have gone up for the first time in 6 years, the park has opened up a new remote camping area and there is no bunkhouse at Nesowadnehunk and Dudley trail remains closed and will be until next year. The new camping area is north of the mountain up the perimeter road. Not particularly convenient for folks who want to climb Katahdin but probably the most remote drive in set of cabins in the park. Due to the location I expect its best used by groups that might typically bother the neighbors but given the location there are no neighbors to bother.

Opening day used to be much a bigger deal but the reservations system was revised to the current rolling reservations system which seems to work quite well. Many folks want to reserve the same exact cabin or campsite they have used for years so they show up at opening day to make sire they get it. I waited a couple of hours for my turn and as expected I got my first choice and then after a bit of socializing I headed back home to the Whites. Always a nice thing to do to look forward to another warm summer.

Water Rat
01-14-2017, 21:50
There were some tents on Thursday, but I don't know if people arrived before that day.

The "new" (previously used for retreats and admin purposes) bunkhouses sound awesome - might be good to reserve if anyone is planning to spend some time in Baxter with a larger family, or with friends. The bunkhouses look nice (Baxter State Park has pictures of them on their Facebook page). The price is for the entire site per night.

Per Baxter State Park:

The North Branch Camps are located about 1 mile east of the Burnt Mountain Picnic Area and trailhead. These camps have been used for volunteers and other administrative use, but we have decided to open them up to rental for groups.

The camps consist of two cabins, one set up as a sleeping facility with gas lights, a wood stove and bunks for eight, and a second cabin set up as a gathering and eating facility with gas lights, a wood stove, a picnic table and a countertop and cupboard space. The facility includes a dedicated vault toilet, a fire ring and ample tenting space.

We have set the site capacity at 30 and will assign an enticing initial rental fee of $75/night. This site would provide an attractive opportunity for scout, school and other organized groups who are self-contained and willing to travel to reach major trailheads in exchange for a private setting.