Baxter State Park

Baxter State Park, near Millinocket, was assembled and given to the state of Maine in a series of land purchases by former governor Percival Baxter between 1931 and 1962. At its heart is Mount Katahdin, Maine's highest peak and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, whose summit is marked as Baxter Peak. Baxter insisted the roughly 200,000-acre park remain 'forever wild,' so it has no paved roads, no motorized development, and strict limits on daily visitor numbers. The park draws hikers, hunters, and anglers into a landscape of remote ponds, dense forest, and moose habitat.