Nesowadnehunk Field Campground questions

[marty]

Hi all,

I am part of a group that takes an annual trip to Baxter State Park and we decided to try Nesowadnehunk Field Campground this year. Am hoping that some of you can help me with following questions before we make reservations:

1. We stay in lean-tos. Are there any recommendations for which lean-to numbers are optimal? My initial inclination is to go for those closest to Little Nesowadnehunk Stream for easy water gathering, but if there are other considerations, such as views or privacy, I would appreciate your input.
2. Are you able to walk west past the campground to the log roads outside the park without crazy bushwhacking? I believe there used to be a park entrance right near the campground.
3. Similarly, are you able to walk to Nesowadnehunk Lake Wilderness Campground just west of the park?

Thanks everyone!

Marty

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I have only been there in winter (3 weeks ago, in fact) and can offer the following observations

The best views from the campground are standing on the bridge over the stream, looking towards The Brothers and Coe, especially at sunrise:

Mullen from the middle of the field

Brothers from the bridge

You can leave by crossing the bridge, up through the trailhead area for Doubletop, and continue out a ski trail which joins Williams Pond Road. This is the winter ingress route of choice for many when the roads are plowed (i.e., they are logging) and snow is not in the forecast.

Map of our route, with Williams Pond Road leaving to the west. You can see a network of logging roads along the 3.5 mile length shown here, including a very short detour to Williams Pond itself.

Campground

We stayed in the (brand new) cabin so I cannot comment on lean-tos but in the satellite photo above there is a spot specifically for getting water without falling in.


North-Brother-Fort-South-Brother-Coe-March-6-2017

Tim

 

[peakbagger]

I don't have direct experience. I have been told that folks do drive up the park road to the intersection and walk the old road over to the campground. I think the park may have a support building along the old road to the dam

My day hiking observations is that sites 20 through 16 are in the woods but do get a lot of day hiker traffic walking by as the trail to double top goes right down the campsite access. I expect the ones on the other side of the stream get far less traffic, my guess would be 6 and 7 are probably the best with 4 5 and 8 second choices. The last time I stayed there was a long time ago in an old group site (long since closed) so I cannot comment on which lean tos have been upgraded to the newer larger designs. A general observation is the older style may list that they sleep 4 but its a very tight fit, even with three they are crowded. There are wet areas along the stream and in general that campground is generally regarded as one of the buggier spots in the park.

There doesn't seem to be a rule yet for walking out of the park or walking in. The park effectively manages the number of people in the park via the two road gates and register stations at the trails that enter and exit the park (there are not many). Camp Phoenix owners and visitors can either drive up the park road or take a boat from the campground you referenced. The big control point is that anyone staying overnight in the park has to have a reservation for a specific spot. No backcountry camping allowed unless its at a registered site which is controlled by a park ranger. There are remote official sites which are in very special places but they require reservations. I expect for now the park will not be stressed if you elect to walk out for the day but would get real upset if you left overnight and did not tell the ranger assigned to watch over your campsite.

Note I used "yet" regarding park access by foot. As of this year the park has put in thru hiker permit system which effectively caps the number of walk in hikers through the AT, once the permit limit is reached that access is officially closed and thru hikers will need to enter the park through Togue Pond gate. The system is in place but a lot of the details are yet to be established. The big question is if someone has registrations in the park, can they still enter the park via the AT even though the registration limit is reached?. The other potential impact on the horizon is the National Monument. To date the trail network in the monument has one direct connection to the park via the IAT which is also used to service the private lodge on Katahdin Lake, another trail that goes to viewpoint to a unnamed peak with ledges whose summit is about 1.5 miles from Norway falls which is reached from a dead end trail inside BSP and an old logging road shown on some monument maps that accesses a long abandoned trail to South Turner Pond from the BSP Pogy Notch trail with possibly a few other connections in the north end of the park. I expect at some point that folks in the monument will be tempted to visit the park via one of these connections and at that point I expect BSP will establish some regulation about general walk in access.

 

[ChrisB]

Hi all,

I am part of a group that takes an annual trip to Baxter State Park and we decided to try Nesowadnehunk Field Campground this year. Am hoping that some of you can help me with following questions before we make reservations:.....

One of my favorite locales in the park cause it's so wide open and scenic. And moose like it too.

I think most of the leantos along the stream-side of the Doubletop trail have been relocated away from the bank due to erosion issues. One or two remain on the right side of the trail, but I believe they are group sites. It's a long gear schlep from the bridge to these sites.

There is a spring just before the bridge over the stream with wonderful cold water. Look for a path that leads down to the right to a cistern-like pipe coming out of the ground (Do not go all the way to the stream). We did not filter this source as it was sub-surface. Bring a 10 gallon container to minimize trips to the hole. (You can drive right up to it)

Most of the leantos in the field are nicely situated to provide views of the mountains. Some more private than others. For most privacy reserve one on the south edge of the field facing down stream.

Swimming: Drive North on the tote road to the road that leads to Camp Phoenix. Take first left off the Phoenix road and park. Find a beautiful beach on the lake 150 yds down the road.

I have parked at the old West entrance and walked out to the dam. There is a marina and campground there.

Footnote: Last summer we tried the Doubletop trail from the Nesowadnehunk side thinking it was an easy stroll compared to the Kidney Pond route. NOT!! After the first mile it became a very steep and rough haul. We bailed to the swimming beach noted above!

cb

 

[peakbagger]

Footnote: Last summer we tried the Doubletop trail from the Nesowadnehunk side thinking it was an easy stroll compared to the Kidney Pond route. NOT!! After the first mile it became a very steep and rough haul. We bailed to the swimming beach noted above!

I will take the approach up Doubletop from the north anytime compared to that last stretch coming up from Kidney anytime

 

[marty]

Thanks for the great information, folks! Much appreciated.

Marty

 

[TEO]

When we stayed there, we were in the two that are in the bottom-right corner of the last photo in post #2. (One of the lean-tos is actually just off the bottom edge of the photo.) I can't say that they were any better than the other sites. If it is anything like when we were there—late September—do not expect any privacy. The moose will visit you throughout the night and by visit, I mean they may even stick a head inside your lean-to at two in the morning. Yes, that did happen. Also, rabbits will proliferate your site.