Planning a trip to Maine in Sept. 2007

My friends and I are planning a trip to Maine this year, sometime after Labor Day Wkend. Our activities include: hiking, biking, sightseeing, and kayaking. (not whitewater kayaking). We%26#39;re interested in seeing some wild life. Would like to stay in a place that is fairly inexpensive. We%26#39;re looking into Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and Baxter SP. Is their any other places that we must see. We%26#39;ll be spending a whole week in Maine. Can you also suggest best places to eat.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Planning a trip to Maine in Sept. 2007

With respect to Bar Harbor and Acadia NP, check the forums for these locations---there is a lot of conversation regarding people%26#39;s 2997 plans that might help you.

The Overview links in those forums (see the top of this page) provide information on hikes, walks, restaurants, things to read, etc.

See %26lt;www.acadiamagic.com%26gt; for information on lodging, activities in ANP and on Mount Desert Island in general (including sea-kayaking opportunities).

%26lt;www.sleepbarharbor.com%26gt; provides information on B%26amp;Bs, including rates and availability.

I can%26#39;t help with Baxter S.P but someone should be answering that soon.

Planning a trip to Maine in Sept. 2007

First off, September is a great time to visit. We always visit in September and love it. cw%26#39;s recommendation is a good one. There are some excellent reviews there of restaurants from breakfast (I wrote it!) as well as restaurants for dinners, hikes of different levels and so on.

Also, if you check back for posts in the Bar Harbor forum from last September time frame, you will finds a number of detailed posts with restaurant reviews, hikes, etc that I posted after our last trip.

I don%26#39;t know a lot about Baxter so I%26#39;ll leave that to someone else. But you might also want to consider the Moosehead Lake/Greenville area for the kind of activities you are seeking.

Check the trip planner function at Weather Underground, see www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp as you pick your dates for travel. Anytime after Labor Day is good as prices and crowds drop noticeably, but late September can get pretty cold at nights so you might not want to come too late unless you have to. Conversely, the tail end of September will get you pretty darn close to peak foliage in Baxter if that sounds good to you.

If you want to stay inside Baxter State Park, best to jump on that immediately as reservations are hard to come by. There are very few cabin spaces to rent and they go fast. FWIW, inside Baxter is pretty primitive accommodations (no running water, no electricity and latrines.)

If you want to hike Katahdin, best to come earlier as it can snow on the peak in late September. For that matter it can probably snow in mid-July, too. :) You also want to give yourself a range of days to hike Katahdin and not lock yourself into a particular calendar day. That%26#39;s because you want to hike Katahdin in the best possible weather, and it you leave yourself a window, you can pick the best day weather and not get in trouble on the mountain. There were several posts on Katahdin last year, you should be able to search and find them easily.

Late September will probably get you lots of views of moose with full racks in Baxter. However, you want to be EXTREMELY CAREFULL if you are out looking for moose while the moosehunting season is underway. See maine.gov/ifw/hunttrap/moosehunting/index.htm Obviously, you don%26#39;t want to risk getting yourself shot.

Moosehunting is illegal inside of Baxter State Park, so if you plan your visit to the Baxter area during the moose hunt, then stay inside Baxter. If you come before or after the moose hunt, I%26#39;d send you to some great spotting grounds on The Golden Road outside of the park. (Search the archives for moose and golden to find the exact spots.)