Have you ever been to Baxter State Park? If so, more than likely, it's been just for a day hike. If you ever get a chance, well, you really should make it happen actually, just not wait for a chance....if you want to stay in August, you need to reserve a spot 4 months in advance. You cannot do it earlier than that, it's just the way Baxter does their reservations, don't ask me why! We wanted to stay a week at South Branch Campground which is in the northern part of the park so we wait til the first week of April to book the week; we wanted it from Saturday to Saturday, and we wanted a site right on the lake. Although we booked it as early as we could, and we did get one of the 8 sites on the lake, it was not with a lake view :(.....but that's okay, it was just a very short skip down and voila! (I've attached a photo of the lake).....We had a great week up there although it is rugged as there's no electricity, no running water and you have to take out whatever garbage you produce. And mind you, you need to store food properly so that you don't get a bear or any other wild creature poking around at nighttime! As you can see, we stayed in a lean-to which I'd advise doing...so much easier in a way than staying in a camp, although, yes, we did sleep in sleeping bags on air mattresses! We only got heavy rain during the night one night which was good, and the rest of the week, the weather was perfect! We went hiking, and swimming and spent lots of good time with our daughter, her husband and our two grandsons!
If we were to do it again, I'd make sure we got a lean-to with the view of the lake on the lake, and we also wouldn't bring as much meat as we brought. It's just a pain making sure to keep it all fresh and edible! There's a store 12 miles away and it takes about 30 minutes to get there on the dirt road, but it's good as you can take a shower there and get whatever provisions you may need. Plus, they make the absolute best egg sandwich in the morning which we discovered on our way out!
have fun!
