Snowmobiles permitted on the Tote Road only. Speed limit in the Park is 20 mph unless stated otherwise. Snowmobilers must be mindful of skiers and hikers sharing the road.
News
Applications for our Visiting Artist & Visiting Writer Programs are now open for the 2026 season!
Throughout history, artists and writers have found inspiration in the wilds of the Katahdin region, and their works have in turn played a pivotal role in shaping the region’s culture. In honor of this important legacy, Baxter State Park annually invites one Visiting Artist from among a pool of applicants to follow in the footsteps of these creative giants. For two weeks in September, the BSP Visiting Artist is able to shed the burdens of daily life and focus on their art while camping in one of the Park’s rustic cabins.
This year, for the first time ever, BSP will also host a separate Visiting Writer for a week in early June! This program honors the work of writers and the influence they have had on the culture of both the Katahdin region and the conservation movement as a whole. Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry writers will all be considered, but all works should have an emphasis on nature and align with the wilderness preservation values of Baxter State Park. We encourage diverse voices to apply.
Learn more about the programs and how to apply here.
NOTICE OF CLOSURE
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Baxter State Park headquarters and reservations line will be closed on Monday, 1/19.
NOTICE OF CLOSURE
The Reservations Line and BSP Headquarters in Millinocket will be closed on Tuesday, January 13th, from 10:15 – 1 p.m.
BSP offices closed on Monday (12/29)
Baxter State Park’s Reservations Office and the reservation phone line are closed on Monday (12/29) due to a winter storm.
BSP Offices Closed on Wednesday, 12/24
All state offices, including Baxter State Park’s Reservations Office, are closed on Wednesday (12/24) due to a winter storm.
NOTICE OF CLOSURES
The Reservations Line and Park Headquarters in Millinocket will be closed on the following dates: Wednesday (12/24), Thursday (12/25), Friday (12/26), Monday (12/29), and Thursday (1/1/2026).
Honoring John H. Cashwell
We join the forestry community in mourning the passing of John H. Cashwell. As Director of the Maine Forest Service (1987-1992), John served as a member of the Baxter State Park Authority. His leadership was instrumental to the Park in many ways, including in the Park’s first land purchase following Governor Baxter’s gifts (the area around the Togue Ponds), and support of the steady management of the SFMA that has provided a basis for the work we continue there today. We honor his life and remember his contributions to this special wild place.
Making a Multi-night Camping Reservation Just Got Easier!
In 2026 and beyond, campers will be able to book 4 consecutive nights of camping at the same campsite online. Learn more about these changes below!
What Changes Are Being Made, and Why?
The changes to the online reservation portal aim to improve visitors’ experience in making reservations and to make access to camping at Baxter State Park more equitable. The addition of the capability to make a multi-night reservation online eliminates the need for campers to call our reservations office in order to extend their stay past one night, which could entail long waits on our phone lines. Shortening the extension window (from 14 nights to 4 nights at a time) will also minimize the extent to which campsites are already reserved at each daily opening of the 4-month rolling window.
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Visitors will be able to extend camping reservations online for up to four consecutive nights at the same campsite
Summer camping in Baxter State Park becomes available on a rolling 4-month basis, meaning that on January 15th, reservations become available for May 15th; on January 16th, they become available for May 16th; and so on.
Until now, when the 4-month rolling window opened for each day of camping, online reservations were limited to a single night, requiring visitors to call our reservation office for extensions beyond the 4-month rolling reservation window. Effective for our Summer 2026 season, visitors will be able to use the online reservation portal to reserve their initial night plus three (3) consecutive nights beyond the 4-month rolling window at the same campsite.
This adjustment does not alter the existing limitations of seven (7) consecutive nights at a single site or campground and fourteen (14) consecutive nights within the Park. Should a visitor wish to prolong their stay within the same campground beyond four consecutive nights or relocate to a different campsite on any night, they must wait for the four-month rolling window to reserve that location. This policy will also apply to in-person, mail-in, and call-in reservation requests, which will still be required for backcountry campgrounds/sites, bunkhouses, group areas, and accessible sites. An exception will allow for reserving multi-night backcountry trips that utilize multiple backcountry sites for up to the 14-night maximum, in order to facilitate the logistics of such trips.
This policy does not apply to trips longer than 4 nights in which all dates are already within the 4-month rolling window; for example, if it is June 1 and you wish to book an open campsite for June 13 – June 20, you may do so without having to make multiple reservations.
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The Online Reservation Portal will open at 6 AM
Beginning with the Summer 2026 season, the online reservation portal will be accessible at 6:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (instead of 12:01 AM). As before, access to reserve each camping day will become available exactly 4 months prior to that date (on a daily rolling basis).
These changes will be made effective starting January 15, 2026, for making reservations for the 2026 summer season.
Read more on our What’s New This Year page.
PARK ROADS CLOSURE
Park roads are closed to vehicular traffic for the season. All Park roads are closed to snowmobiles at this time, and approaches to the Park gates are not maintained (not plowed or sanded).