Baxter and KW&W turned out to be a wild adventure! During the summer of 2020 Dan and I packed our gear up and traded in our car for a Ford Transit campervan through Maine Campervan Rentals. This van had a bed, tons of storage and a pull out kitchen with a cooler. 

We booked a campsite at the New England Outdoor Center campground (this is different than the main area of the NEOC location). We had an epic view of Mt. Katahdin and were very close to one of the entrances of Baxter. 

We grabbed lunch and drinks at the main location of NEOC and headed back to our campsite for the night. We saw a moose as we drove between locations (it was the first moose I had ever seen in Maine)! 

We were up early the next day to go on a moose safari through NEOC up the road. We headed out on a pontoon boat after the sun came up and we immediately saw a moose deep in the water grabbing some breakfast. Our guide stayed far back from him to respect his space which was great. I'd definitely recommend a zoom lens on this trip so you can enjoy documenting your trip without jeopardizing the safety of yourself and the animals you encounter. We also saw a mama loon carrying her babies on her back and tons of bald eagles along the way. 

We headed to Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument after that. The cell service in this region can be spotty so it's important to either download the map from Google or pick up a paper map in town. We had an older gazetteer in the car but KW&W is so new that we paid for a map of it at NEOC. 

KW&W was stunning and filled with beautiful birds and wildlife and views of Katahdin but also is bare-bones as it's a newer monument. We took the loop road and stopped at an area with a picnic table and bathrooms for lunch. The park ranger came by and talked to us about the updates and improvements they'll be doing over the next few years to the park. 

Later that day we drove on the golden road at dusk to stop at a few ponds and look for moose but didn't have any luck. The golden road is a 90+-mile long mostly unpaved road used in the area and can be VERY bumpy so consider this when you are planning your trip. It takes A LOT longer driving on that road than Google will tell you FYI.

The next morning we set out to do some hiking. It was July and even though we were far north in the state it reached 80 by the late morning. We decided to pack a lunch and hike to the Blueberry Ledges in Baxter and after signing in at the checkpoint we were off. It is along the last section of the Appalachian Trail so we watched as thru-hikers embarked on the last final of their journey. The Blueberry Ledges is - you guessed it- filled with rock ledges and blueberry bushes so bring a container if you want to pick some to snack on when they are in season. We stopped once we found what we were looking for - a huge section of cascades to soak in! We had our bathing suits under our clothes and spent the afternoon soaking in the cold water and picnicking.

The next morning we set off to drive to Moosehead Lake (but that's another story for another time).