Baxter State Park Day Hikers Parking Changes

While up in the park this past week, the rangers were handing out a notice that there would be a change in the day use parking rules for the three parking lots that are used to day hike Baxter for next year. Basically next year, all of the parking spaces will have to be reserved in advance. Maine residents will be given rights to reserve in advance, then it will be open to all. The cost will be $5 per day. The park will post the status of the parking for these lots online.

The handout was short on details as the park is in the process of finalizing the rules. It does bring up some interesting questions.

Will people staying in the park at any other location other than the three trailheads have to book a parking space to climb the mountain? Currently, this is the case, the folks staying in the park are competing with those at the gate for open spaces, they just have the advantage that they can grab a spot prior to the gat opening up.

Will the day use reservations be availlable on opening day?

Is this going to further concentrate usage at the three trailhead campgrounds rather than disperse the usage around the park?

Are folks going to "shotgun" the reservation system and pick multiple weekends to book a space in case of bad weather?

IMHO - I expect it will not be a major issue during the week or during the less used times of the year but it could get interesting during peak season. I wonder in terms of impact if it would be better to institute a shuttle bus for day use access rather than retaining the current method of everyone lining up at the gatehouse and then driving their cars all to the same location? At $5 per head paid in advance on busy weekends, it seems to me like a preferable alternative except that fast hikers may have to wait in the afternoon for their ride out.

Obviously the park is being responsive to trying to manage a constrained resource in a better method. Anyone that were on the trails this past weekend, no doubt would agree that the answer is not to open up more parking lots, as the trails were quite busy.

Your idea of a shuttle bus is terrific. You should pass it on to the Park.

Many parks we've been to have a shuttle service. I believe Yosemite even limits entry at times to just the bus. Visiting parks at high season suggests that could be a trend in more places.

A shutlle wouldn't need to be confined to the three most popular parking lots and it could run a schedule that would also enable end to end hikes. I expect it would need to be a net revenue generator. Perhaps there's a mini bus under utilized when school's out that could be rented by the park for the season.

Two issues to consider. The roads only allow smaller vehicles so the seating capacity would be limited. In addition, part of the capacity limitation is the number of people on trails, not just the number of cars in the park.

Stan said:

Your idea of a shuttle bus is terrific.

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IMO, busing is a mixed blessing for hikers who may want to start very early or finish late. Buses tend not to run such hours.

Been there, done that in a few parks.

Doug

DougPaul said:

IMO, busing is a mixed blessing for hikers who may want to start very early or finish late. Buses tend not to run such hours.

Been there, done that in a few parks.

Doug

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I agree with you, Doug. Bus solutions seem to work best to people needing only a few hours of access.

That five dollars is in addition to the regular entry fee?

That’s a 50% increase, isn’t it?

I have reserved parking spots in the past, both when staying inside and outside the park. I believe the current fee is $5 per vehicle per day, not per person.

LL Bean Outdoor Discovery School does take a bus (large van really) at least as far as Stump Pond for moose viewing opportunities. I presume it conforms to the park's vehicle size limitations (no more than 9' high, 7' wide, 22' length). But I would be surprised if the park ever instituted its own shuttle bus system.

Current parking policy is posted at http://baxterstateparkauthority.com/hiking/dulimits.html.

blaze said:

I have reserved parking spots in the past, both when staying inside and outside the park. I believe the current fee is $5 per vehicle per day, not per person.

LL Bean Outdoor Discovery School does take a bus (large van really) at least as far as Stump Pond for moose viewing opportunities. I presume it conforms to the park's vehicle size limitations (no more than 9' high, 7' wide, 22' length). But I would be surprised if the park ever instituted its own shuttle bus system.

Current parking policy is posted at http://baxterstateparkauthority.com/hiking/dulimits.html.

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Last time I was there, there were no lined parking spaces. Are they going to 'line' the unpaved lot? Ha! I doubt it!

But if this means we won't have to wait on line at 4:00, I might still be in favor of it...

Tom Rankin said:

Are they going to 'line' the unpaved lot?

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I have seen at least some reservable spots (for example at Abol) clearly marked (by signs, not lines). At Abol the reservable spots (to the right of the main road, as you head north) are not even in the same spot as the non-reservable ones (which are to the left).

I don't recall that the reservable spots are explicitly signed at Roaring Brook. But the rangers at the Togue Pond gatehouse know how many vehicles are in the day use lot.

I'm guessing the motive is for more $$$$$$. However, I'll support this.

FYI - the cutoff for Roaring Brook was 4:15am two days ago (Sunday before Labor Day). We arrived at 3:10am and we were 14th in line. This cutoff time seems to be getting earlier and earlier every year.

I heard rumors that at around 6:30am on Sunday, ALL parking lots were full in Baxter, and everybody was forced to literally turn around, at least for a few hours.

On Sunday (September 6) I arrived in line at 4 AM and was the 42nd car in line. By the time I got to the gate, Roaring Brook was full, so I parked at Abol.

Right now, Baxter State Park limits the number of people on the mountain by limiting the size of the parking areas. It's easy to build parking lots (usually). So, a shuttle to bring more people to the trailheads isn't the solution (and as previously posted, the hours usually don't work anyway).

I suspect that by reserving your parking spot is an attempt to eliminate the need to get to the gate very early in the morning. It's certainly worth a try.

$5? Not really an unreasonable charge when you think about it.

Peaks said:

Right now, Baxter State Park limits the number of people on the mountain by limiting the size of the parking areas. It's easy to build parking lots (usually). So, a shuttle to bring more people to the trailheads isn't the solution (and as previously posted, the hours usually don't work anyway).

I suspect that by reserving your parking spot is an attempt to eliminate the need to get to the gate very early in the morning. It's certainly worth a try.

$5? Not really an unreasonable charge when you think about it.

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$5 parking + $13 out-of-state entrance fee = an $18 day hike. The only more expensive day hike I can think of is Calebra in Colorado ($100! ).

I do know that the Baxter officials do not want people camping in front of the gate, which many people do, especially on the weekends. Supposedly, they kick you out if you arrive late at night when they are still there. This may have been a factor in the change, not sure.

Alledgedly, the deeds of trust limits what the park can and cant build so that is a convenient way of restricting building bigger parking lots. I can attest that on Saturday, climbing Baxter was not a wilderness experience. It was similiar to a nice weekend on Mt Washington or Lafayette with a crowd on the summit and a line of people waiting to go through the tight spot on the Chimney.

We did run into someone who had slept in their car at the gate Friday night and at the end of the day went through the gate and got back into line, the park ranger chased them off at some point.

The rational for the shuttle is that it sets a strict limit on the number of folks who climb from a given trailhead rather than an approximate limit which depends on how many people there are per vehicle. I agree its impractical as everyone wants to be at the trailhead at the same time.

By the way, the togue pond gate opening time (per the employee at the gate) is moved ahead from 7 AM during the summer season to roughly approximate an arrival time at Roaring Brook where headlamps arent required.

So you'll have to reserve a spot online & pay by charge card or paypal? The process to hike Katahdin doesn't sound "Forever Wild"

Will there be a list on VFTT, Craigs list or elsewhere of Maine Residents looking for out-of staters to hike with. I'll place my ad now, CT resident willing to pay for gas from your home in Saco (fill in the blank town or quad #) to the park + breakfast & dinner.

Or will there be an a place to buy really warm ME license plates?????

I'm sure I can get my ME friends to get my spot reserved but when I get to the gate without what excuses work for why the ME resident is missing. He has Swine Flu, His pet ate his boots, His kids travelling soccer team had a make-up game.....

I do feel bad for the THOUSANDS of people who will show up to the gate who have no idea of this change. Baxter's a long way away to go and then be turned around.

Maybe they should do 50% reserve, 50% first-come-first-serve, like many popular campgrounds do.

FYI - If Baxter's ever full, head south to Gulf Hagas for an awesome 8.6-mile loop.

DougPaul said:

IMO, busing is a mixed blessing for hikers who may want to start very early or finish late. Buses tend not to run such hours.

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Except for the AMC shuttle, which works well for some hikes, I've never used one but that's a more appropriate model of service for Baxter Park. Having checked shuttle schedules in a few parks I agree, they often cater to tourists visiting "attractions" and shorter day hikes vs. hikers doing long day hikes but I have observed in Glacier NP and the Canadian Jasper NP that the shuttles are very popular with backpackers.

Stan said:

Except for the AMC shuttle, which works well for some hikes, I've never used one but that's a more appropriate model of service for Baxter Park. Having checked shuttle schedules in a few parks I agree, they often cater to tourists visiting "attractions" and shorter day hikes vs. hikers doing long day hikes but I have observed in Glacier NP and the Canadian Jasper NP that the shuttles are very popular with backpackers.

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I have used them in Zion and Grand Canyon and suffered significant delays in getting an early start on the trail in GC due to the bus schedule. It didn't happen to me, but others had been stranded at a distant trailhead overnight when they missed the last bus.

In Zion, the buses ran every 15 or so minutes during the daylight hours which was fine for me because I didn't attempt any early or late starts or finishes.

If the buses run frequently 7x24 (even if usually empty), fine. But I haven't seen them do it.

Doug

One thing to keep in mind, the parking limit applies to only THREE trailheads that access Katahdin. There are no parking limits for the Mt OJI trail, the Marston trail (which accesses North and South Brother plus Coe), the new Traveler trail and numerous other trails in the park. Therefore, all the people that may claim to be turned around at the gate, will be making a conscious decision to go home rather than checking out an alternate peak.

Granted it may be a disapointment for those who dont care to check out up to date information on the park, but some of the lesser used places are pretty special.

DougPaul said:

If the buses run frequently 7x24 (even if usually empty), fine. But I haven't seen them do it.

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Doug, you don't want a shuttle bus, you want a limousine.

peakbagger said:

One thing to keep in mind, the parking limit applies to only THREE trailheads that access Katahdin. There are no parking limits for the Mt OJI trail, the Marston trail (which accesses North and South Brother plus Coe), the new Traveler trail and numerous other trails in the park. Therefore, all the people that may claim to be turned around at the gate, will be making a conscious decision to go home rather than checking out an alternate peak.

Granted it may be a disapointment for those who dont care to check out up to date information on the park, but some of the lesser used places are pretty special.

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No, No - rumor was everybody was turned around after 6 or 7am on Sunday the 6th. This means every single car that showed up to the gate, no matter what they wanted to do or what parking area they wanted to go to. I heard this from two people while hiking at Gulf Hagas on Monday.