Had a great time in Baxter and Acadia parks

[Red River Falls]

Well, I was in Baxter State park on June 9-10 and hiked to Baxter Peak on Thursday, June 10. I did the Chimney Pond trail and the Saddle trail for an 11 mile round trip from the campground. I got on the trail at 5:45 am and got back around 1:45 pm for an 8-hour trip. The weather was great, a bit cool and breezy on top but good visibility. I saw a handful of other people on the ridgeline. Surprisingly, the ranger told me it would take 10 hours to make the trip. I am by no means a fit hiker, but I thought 10 hours seemed a bit excessive. When I suggested maybe it could be done in 6-8 hours, he replied that only AT thru-hikers would go up and back in 8 hours. Anyway, I may walk a little faster than the average person, and I knew I needed to meet my brother-in-law at Acadia in the late afternoon. I had a reason to get up and back. I guess if I had plenty of time, I might be a little more leisurely and yield a 10-hour trip.

I did not have time to attempt another route, but the Knife Edge is intriguing. By the way, I did see a moose in the park in the woods near a pond by the campground. It was probably 50-60 feet away. Good for me since I live in Virginia and am rarely in moose territory.

I then went down to Bar Harbor and met my brother-in-law to camp three nights in Acadia National Park. We hiked for two days covering about 13 miles in the park. Some seriously scenic hiking and beautiful terrain. Nothing too strenuous and the trails are very accessible.

Overall, I really enjoyed the visit to Maine. We were blessed with good weather and I saw two distinct parts of the state--mountains and sea. It is a bit comical to see "peaks" of less than 1000 feet--in the case of Flying Mountain, under 300 feet--termed mountains and given a sign at the summit with the elevation, but that is the case at Acadia National Park.

[trailangelbronco]

Sound slike you had a fun trip. I grew up in Maine and highly recommend Knife Edge route, just for fun and great pics. Acadia is beautiful.

[johnnybgood]

I'm getting plans together, similar to the OP , for a trip to Maine in October - the last week Baxter is open as a matter of fact. I want several opinions on which campground to reserve a tent site . I prefer to camp where the older, more mellow hikers are since my time will be limited and I want to get up early and make the most of the time I have.
Also , I assume there are ample places on tent sites to hammock if I choose to.

In Acadia Nat'l Park the Blackwoods campground is my only option.

[weary]

It is a bit comical to see "peaks" of less than 1000 feet--in the case of Flying Mountain, under 300 feet--termed mountains and given a sign at the summit with the elevation, but that is the case at Acadia National Park.

My coastal Maine town, a hundred miles or so south of Acadia, has an 180 foot "mountain" and a 220 foot "hill."

[sherrill]

My wife and I hiked the trail up the Cadillac Mountain trail, which was great. We were also looked upon as "hiker gods" by a couple of kids after they found out we had walked up there.

[sherrill]

Yes - the typos are are the typos intentional....not.

[DLANOIE]

Glad you enjoyed your time up here in Maine. Baxter State Park is an amazing place to explore. As is Acadia for that matter. Sounds like you got a quick but pleasant view of what we have to offer up here.

[Crotalus]

I really liked Baxter State Park and wished we would have stayed there longer, I think we are going back again next year. We had originally talked about hiking Katahdin but the night before we decided not to since we thought it would be too much for the kids. In hindsight I think they could have done it. But it was early in our trip and it would have sucked if they had gotten hurt or overdone it and ruined the rest of the trip. now i have this regret stuck in my craw that we didnt hike it, would have been a great way to start hiking the AT.

We spent several days in Acadia and Bar Harbor also. We hiked to the "peak" of Bar Island and hiked the North Ridge Trail to Cadillac. I felt that Acadia was too crowded and Bar Harbor was just ridiculous, but like i told me wife, if these people are here then they arent at Baxter.