Hotels in The North Woods

WHERE TO STAY IN THE KATAHDIN AREA

Lodging and dining are both pretty bare-bones around the Katahdin region, where a sprinkle of B&Bs, lodges, hunting camps, and (often pretty run-down) roadside motels make up the bulk of your lodging options. On the upside, more and more folks around greater Millinocket are availing themselves of Airbnb and other online rental platforms, where you can often find super affordable rentals and cabins. Camping is really the classic way to experience the region, but if you must have a roof, try the Baxter Park Inn, 935 Central Street (tel. 855/516-1090), which has breakfast and an indoor pool, or the Rivers Edge Motel, closer to the highway at 2166 Medway Road in Medway (tel. 207/746-5162), a clean if unremarkable motor lodge where the friendly owner also sells pizzas out of the front office.

On Grand Lake Road, which leads to both parks’ north entrances, Matagamon Wilderness Campground and Cabins (tel. 207/446-4635) has spacious riverside campsites, six rustic cabins, a small family restaurant, and a camp store (it’s a clutch beer and/or ice cream stop when leaving the park). Shin Pond Village (tel. 207/528-2900) is a similar camp-lodge-store-restaurant complex on Route 11, between Patten and the north entrances.