Hardcore Camping

FortyTwoBlades

FortyTwoBlades

Baryonyx walkeri
Dealer / Materials Provider
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Mar 8, 2008
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Anyone know some good places in New England (hopefully Maine, but nearby states are fine) where a fellow and his lady might be able to actually rough it? We're planning somewhat ahead since we plan on going next summer--but we don't know where to go! Pretty much everywhere there's a "camping" location it's for the lazy-ass RV or out-of-the-car kind. :jerkit:

Obviously there must still be places where you can hike into the woods and pitch tent, but where?
 
My friend has a cabin in a village up there that requires you to drive about 50 miles through the woods on a logging trail. Maine is pretty remote. In Maine, I would suggest either Baxter State Park or Acadia National Park. I am not sure of their rules and regs off the top of my head, but I would think you could camp there. You may need to reserve a site, but it would be remote with no one else around. Also, look into the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.

If you really want to rough it with no one else around and fewer rules, go to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The rules here are you can camp anywhere as long as its 150 feet from water or the trail. You also must camp below a certain elevation and can only take downed wood and that sort of thing. Probably too far out of your way, but if you ever make it down to New York, the Catskills and Adirondacks have these same regulations.

Keep in the mind how regulations work: Generally forests and wilderness areas are regulated least, then state parks, then national parks. Good luck finding a place, let us know what you pick.
 
Check out http://www.northmainewoods.org/
might be something for you. I also like Baxter - it is really nice in the summer.
Well, I don't care for Blackflies but that's what DEET is for.....
I might be heading to Baxter myself next year, but it will most likely be in September.
Have fun,
ilten
 
This company manages a large area of wilderness land in northern Maine. http://www.northmainewoods.org/.
They have a detailed map showing where all of the campsites are on the website. You have to pay some fees, but they're pretty reasonable IMO. They maintain primitive campsites. Many of the sites have an outhouse, fire ring, picnic table, and sometimes a tarp frame over the table/fire ring.

I've been to sites on Lobster Lake and Loon Lake. Lobster gets more traffic in peak times as it's less out of the way (only about an hour on logging roads from Millinocket). However, I took a trip there this fall and there was only one other group on the lake out of about 8 campsites.

Pic of our site at Lobster Lake. (not me in the pic)

2008-09-26 Campsite.jpg

When I camped on Loon Lake (quite a few years ago), we were the only ones there. Both Lobster and Loon are accessible by boat only as far as I can tell.


EDIT: ilten beat me to it ;)
 
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You might want to look into a plat book or atlas for your area. I was lucky enough to find an atlas for my area that lists all (or at least, a heck of a lot) of the camping sites, from RV to primitive, private and public, hunting/fishing areas, family-oriented tourist stuff, etc etc. I think it cost me $25 at Gander Mountain. I'm willing to bet there's one published for your area, go for it if/when you find one. Many times my lady and I threw our tent and bags and cooler in the car, fueled up and let the atlas lead us somewhere for a quiet weekend in the boonies. When hitting the road, I'd rather take my atlas than any survival book if I had to choose.
 
James_Terrio said:
You might want to look into a plat book or atlas for your area. I was lucky enough to find an atlas for my area that lists all (or at least, a heck of a lot) of the camping sites, from RV to primitive, private and public, hunting/fishing areas, family-oriented tourist stuff, etc etc. I think it cost me $25 at Gander Mountain. I'm willing to bet there's one published for your area, go for it if/when you find one. ...
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+1. We have the Maine Gazetteer by DeLorme. Sounds very similar to what you found. Includes recreation areas, canoe trips, and pretty detailed maps.
 
Yup, the Maine Gazetter is pretty good.
I can't wait to get back to Maine........
IMG_2967.jpg

ilten
 
If you're willing to cross into Canada--Maine (and NH and Vermont) borders Canada--there is northern Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador not too far away.

From the Maine border you could hit the sparsely populated parts of Quebec in a few hours drive). Or, if you're willing to fly, there is Newfoundland's Gros Morne area. I've wilderness backpacked there--it's VERY wild. Google 'Gros Morne' for photos and be stunned.

There is also Upstate New York's Adirondack Park region. It's the biggest park in the northeastern US, and surprisingly sparsely populated and wild-feeling.

Matt
 
Lawlor69 said:
There is also Upstate New York's Adirondack Park region. It's the biggest park in the northeastern US, and surprisingly sparsely populated and wild-feeling.

Matt
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Exactly. Accessible by car, lots of trails in the High Peaks area, parking at the trailheads. Once on the trail, there's nothing to stop you from bushwhacking off on your own.

Here's a link:
http://www.adk.org/trails/index.aspx


Don
 
My folks live on MDI and I grew up there so I can tell you that the park folks would not smile upon you bushwhacking out on your own, as tempting as it has always been. I'm looking primarily for ultra-primitive, i.e. little to nothing actually set up ahead of time. Find a nice place in the woods and set up. Survival-style but we would have more gear with us than you typically would--my fiancee would probably want the convenience of a tent etc. I have to please her! :D

Thanks for the suggestions so far!
 
My folks live on MDI and I grew up there so I can tell you that the park folks would not smile upon you bushwhacking out on your own, as tempting as it has always been.
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Not sure about Maine, but in most states' state parks you're required to camp in a designated area. Hiking off-trail may or may not be allowed, depending on how developed the park is. Some National Parks have designated backcountry campsites, but you need a reservation (often months in advance), and in National Parks you generally must hike only on trails.

One place on the map of Maine that strikes me as a possibility, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. It might be worthwhile to do some research into their regulations.

Not a single National Forest in Maine?!? National Forests generally allow no-trace backcountry camping.

How 'bout the National Wildlife Refuges in Maine? I would look into those too.
 
Even though I've lived in Maine all my life, I was simply unsure of where to look, and figured you knowledgeable folks would know a few places. The North Maine Woods place sounds pretty good on their fire permit sites. Thanks!
 
Hey FortyTwo,

Pick up a Gazetter and check out "The County"....Aroostook County that is.
You'll need the Gazetter and the Internet to pick out the area you want to go to. The paper companies own a ton of the remote woods, and generally are friendly to public use. There are some beautiful lakes up there.
Piscataquis County is nice too. I recieved an invite to fly in to a lake there for some icefishing last winter. There are no roads to it.....hike or fly is your only option.
There is no shortage of nice lakes in Northern Maine.

If you have never been up north then you should at least take a drive up there. If your life has been MDI/Ellsworth area then you are in for a treat. Northern Maine is the backwoods. You'll have little difficulty avoiding people....there are very few there.
 
Lawlor69 said:
There is also Upstate New York's Adirondack Park region. It's the biggest park in the northeastern US, and surprisingly sparsely populated and wild-feeling.

Matt
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Seconded. The adirondack park is gigantic, and one can certainly find areas that are close to deserted for 10+ miles in every direction.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
My folks live on MDI and I grew up there so I can tell you that the park folks would not smile upon you bushwhacking out on your own, as tempting as it has always been. I'm looking primarily for ultra-primitive, i.e. little to nothing actually set up ahead of time. Find a nice place in the woods and set up. Survival-style but we would have more gear with us than you typically would--my fiancee would probably want the convenience of a tent etc. I have to please her! :D

Thanks for the suggestions so far!
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Well, of course, the park folks aren't going to smile on us doing anything that is outside of their control. If you think you need permission to do something, then that is what you will have to deal with.

I live in the middle of the Adirondack Park and I have no problem with going off trail, whenever and wherever...but I follow the principles of no-trace camping and "carry in - carry out." The park folks and rangers aren't going to go bushwhacking in after me to chase me out, they're spread too thin. Besides, they're not trackers and they wouldn't have a clue of where to look. Besides that, they don't care...if I go off trail, I'm out of their area of responsibility. Not their job, I went off into the deep dark woods.

Back in the day, my wife and I packed into Baxter State Park, the Allagash Wilderness, the White Mountains, and the Adirondacks. They are all great and beautiful areas for exploring, hiking and camping. As always, take the basics, compass and good topo map. :)
 
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Baxter State Park 100%! While it is a state run park, I think its the biggest state park in the lower 48, 204,733 acres. I was there for 10 days in the park back in 91 by myself. It was a great experience and most of the time I would see like one other person just passing when I was within the interior of the park. The great thing is they are very strict about how many people can be in the park and you need to make advanced reservations for camping, you cannot just show up and get into the isolated camping areas. While it may seem cheesy at first, as a system reservations work out very well and gives you much privacy. You get a pretty wild experience in a beautiful place minus the hassle of crossing private property or dealing with idiots by yourself.

http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/index.html

http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/aboutus/history.html


Baxter is a place I would like to make it back to someday but there is great hiking on the Appalachian Trail throughout New England. The White Mountains I understand have a great hut system like the Euro style mountain huts that you can reserve. There are many great adventures to be found in Maine, I was only there for a short time long ago but I have fond memories.
 
Bubbanumber1 said:
Baxter State Park 100%! While it is a state run park, I think its the biggest state park in the lower 48, 204,733 acres. I was there for 10 days in the park back in 91 by myself. It was a great experience and most of the time I would see like one other person just passing when I was within the interior of the park. The great thing is they are very strict about how many people can be in the park and you need to make advanced reservations for camping, you cannot just show up and get into the isolated camping areas. While it may seem cheesy at first, as a system reservations work out very well and gives you much privacy. You get a pretty wild experience in a beautiful place minus the hassle of crossing private property or dealing with idiots by yourself.
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I agree completely, they were doing that over 30 years ago. One of the big problems in our parks nowadays is overuse. There are many mountain trails today in the Adirondacks that are eroding from overuse, they're just a wash of boulders and tree roots...the soil is gone. Because the ADKs are an open park of wilderness and small communities, we can't control who comes and goes. This is a very popular area for people who want to get their first "wilderness experience".

At Baxter, I think the only way you can get in is through Millinocket (? spelling) It's pretty well controlled. I didn't mind paying a use fee back in the early 70's.
 
Look up the Telos region near Baxter State Park - it's basically land owned and managed by the paper companies, so it's a mix of everything from clearcuts to late stage regrowth. There are dirt roads but it is much less "touristy" than Baxter and, if you know where to look, has some of the best natural scenery in the area.

Other than that, BSP is your best bet if you're not familiar with the area but you're supposed to camp in their designated sites only.

If you want to go south some, look up the White Mountains in southern New Hampshire. Many great trails there (check out the AMC White Mountain guide). I'm not sure what the rules are in terms of designated camping areas, etc. but "commando camping" is possible as long as you practice LNT/low-impact.

I'm jealous! Have fun!
 
When you're ready to go to Maine for some good camping, let me know and I'll show you around. I love the Millinocket area and have been there for a dozen or so trips.
 
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