Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument opened seven new tent sites Wednesday on the East Branch of the Penobscot River, through the work of the Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters. Photo courtesy of the Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument opened seven new tent sites Wednesday on the East Branch of the Penobscot River, the Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters announced.
The seven sites, which are near the Lunksoos Camps, bring the total number of roadside sites in the monument to 12. They were made possible by three $50,000 grants from L.L. Bean, the Roxanne Quimby Foundation and the National Park Foundation, as well as individual donations and federal funds, the friends group said in a release. The total cost of the project, including surveys, design and construction, was $165,000, said Andrew Bossie, Friends executive director.
There is no fee to enter the park and no fee to stay at the wilderness sites, each of which is equipped with a picnic table, tent platforms, fire pits, and bear-proof food storage boxes. The campground is accessible by both road and canoe via the river. It was built to National Park Service standards and features handicapped-accessible, ADA-compliant toilet facilities, one ADA site, and connecting trails.
The monument already had five single-party roadside sites, in addition to several wilderness sites that visitors must access by hiking in or canoeing to them.
“Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument was born from an act of philanthropy,” Bossie said in the release. “And we are proud to continue that legacy … We’ve heard from our members and the visiting public that more overnight camping options are a top desire in the national monument and now we have them.”
The infrastructure project completed by the Friends group comes five years after President Obama designated as a national monument more than 87,600 acres of forestland that was gifted to the National Park Service by philanthropist Roxanne Quimby.
The Lunksoos Camps are a historic sporting camp that two centuries ago was the primary access point for people climbing Katahdin. It also is the famous spot where author Donn Fendler was found as a young boy after he got lost climbing Katahdin, as told in his book “Lost on a Mountain in Maine.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
