Looking to hike Mount Katahdin in Maine in the next month with a friend. Anyone have any advice on camping locations, start points, etc.? It’s about a 7 hour drive for us.

We just did Mount Washington in July, which was a great adventure!

Current plan is a 3 day, 2 night trip:
-Day 1, travel and camp
-Day 2, summit and camp on the way back to trail head
-Day 3, finish return hike and head home

Thanks in advance!

Did it about 15 years ago with a group of hikers who were heading south on the AT and wanted to start out by summiting Katahdin.  We camped at the State Park in the backpacker lean-to shelters.  Did the round trip to the summit and back in one day with day packs.

It was a nice day down below, but once we broke out above the timberline we were in pea soup fog. No trees up there, so the white trail blazes are painted on small rocks along the trail. Rocks that are liberally sprinkled with patches of white lichen. In white fog.  We didn't get lost but several times found ourselves backtracking to get back on the trail. Eerily quiet up on top in the clouds, no viewing of scenery until we got back below the tree line.

Interestingly enough, we observed the same phenomenon of white markers on white rocks in white fog when we drove out a winding causeway into the Atlantic to visit a little fishing village.  White concrete road with white lines along the edge with white rocks placed along the drop-off to keep you from driving off into the ocean in the pea soup white fog.  I think it's a Mainer thing to phuck with the tourists.

Years ago, my favorite part was chimney pond, really beautiful, worth adding it as a stop.

-P

We will most like set up a primitive camp site, most of the lean two stuff now requires reservations.

I hear it’s a pain in the ass for parking at the major trail heads. I will have to do some research to figure out alternative parking locations/start points.

We did Allagash Wilderness Waterway and Baxter SP via the Boy Scout High Adventure base last month. It was excellent. Weather was mostly good, the lakes and rivers were warmer than I expected and even when it did rain, it wasn't chilly. The mosquitos were pretty nasty, more than we expected.

The canoe-in camp sites in both were very nice and well-maintained. Each one had a fire ring, picnic table and an outhouse. AWW sites had a neat pole over the table so you could put a dining fly up it. If it is on your itinerary and you can get the permit, I recommend them.

Parking did look limited at BSP. We got shuttled to a BSA maintenance yard for parking since we were in for seven nights.

We took Katahdin off our list because the boys wanted to do other stuff, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details for it. I think you have to have a permit to summit. The coordinator said that it was a 10-hour trip for a very fit BSA group, usually more like a 12-hour thing. I'm not sure if that included travel to and from a camp site or just from the trail head.

Have fun!

I thought I did, but we did it in a day trip when I was a kid (very into hiking).  I remember the knife edge, they wouldn't let us cross it with the weather conditions.  Cool hike, especially coming out of the tree line (black/dear flies are NASTY).  Biggest thing I remember coming out of the tree line was how windy it was.  Flies disappeared and temp dropped quick.

I did the knife edge route around ten years ago.  I stayed at a tiny cabin/hostel type thing that had too many people in it.  Tent camping would be better.