| Baxter State Park, Maine |

Oh, Maine- let me first say this trip was EXTREMELY last minute. Like a week to plan and I didn’t have an exact return date- I just knew I was driving to Maine. Soo, we did just that to make sure the trip was super cheap ( remember college kid on a budget here). We camped almost every night after a week of sleeping on the ground- one night, we splurged and rented an Airbnb. Honestly, I truly needed to have one night where I didn’t have to put quarters into a bathhouse to shower for 5 minutes ( oh and hot water costed extra love that).

After a few days on coastal Maine, we began our drive inland to Baxter State Park ( which is HUGE). No electricity, no cell phone towers, the park has never been timbered, this is primitive camping, and I was super excited for the getaway during our trip.

After reading many and I mean MANY reviews, We chose South Branch Pond Campground, which has only ten sites but is said to be the prettiest spot for camping. I was excited about the $1 canoe rentals. The pond has two sections, so when you canoe to the end of the other, there is a small creek that connects the first lake to the back. Soo, we headed out one day ( when it wasn’t raining) and explored with the canoe. I’m not going to lie when I realized we had to carry the canoe while walking in the creek I questioned if seeing the back pond was really worth it, but we did it anyway. After hitting my shin off the canoe too many times to count I only came out of the entire experience with two bruises so I consider it a success.

On the second day and from the recommendation of the Park Ranger we decided to hit the Trails. He told us to make sure we brought a container to pick wild blueberries ( and I made sure we stopped for at least 30 minutes to pick blueberries so we could snack on them later that night).

Baxter state park was such a amazing experience from the Park Ranger to the other people who were camping there you could feel that everyone was respectful and passionate about the environment and natural world that we were apart of. There was a sense of calmness as each and everyone of us had no connection to the outside world during our time there- it was just us and nature.

If you are going to Maine- Baxter State Park is a MUST.