Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument Camping

Lean to was very nice. Picnic table is broken down. Not really acceptable, since alot of hikers come through here and need a place to sit. Lean-to needs a broom and possibly a bear box? Privy was clean and well maintained.

The recreation app is superb! Easy to reserve and take advantage of these great resources. This lean to was perfect for our needs!

Quiet, tucked in woods. Nice platform and parking

Katahdin Woods and Waters is a great place to come and disconnect for awhile. Camp sites were large enough fornour family and dog to camp. All national park service rangers were helpful and very friendly. Great fishing even from the shoreline of the river, which made for a great memory for my son to catch his first fish. This is a place we absolutely will be back for camping.

Camp sites very poorly laid out. Have to walk directly through one campsite to get to the next. Zero consideration given to party’s canoeing the river. Need to be river side camp site for them. Overgrown “day use only” site on river would be good for canoeists. The site could be MUCH better utilized. It is a very beautiful spot and deserves to be better used.

Short 20 minute hike from Orin Falls trailhead. Bring a big net. There are a ton of bugs but this site is next to the lean to with plenty of privacy in between. It is also next to water so the sounds are peaceful, but the bugs and squirrels can be annoying.

Wonderful little walk, seeing sections I had not seen before.

This is a wonderful new park/monument with hiking, biking, and canoeing routes. Lots of tentsites, a few shelters and two huts that have wood stoves, hand pumps and sinks, and bunks for up to 20 people.
The basic N-S trail follows the International Appalachian Trail. Most of it is along Messer Pond Road, a wide former logging road with even grades. Between Lunksoos Shelter and Wassataquoik Shelter (over Lunksoos and Deasey Mountains) it turns into a very basic footpath with no trail engineering, steep at times. That section is a long day -- it could use a tentsite or shelter in the middle, maybe at the old fire warden's cabin on Deasey Mtn. The former fish hatchery on Little Spring Brook is another obvious place for a tentsite; it already has a level clearing and picnic table, and that'd bring Lunksoos Shelter in closer range from the north.
The hut at Big Spring Brook is closed for repairs. The repairs needed look minimal, and I hope the NPS will make them this fall and reopen the hut for cross country skiing.
Some trail clearing is needed too. Alder thickets are growing up on Keyhole Road and the upper reaches of Messer Pond Road on the way to Lunksoos Shelter.
Finally, a trail from Messer Pond Road to Big Spring Brook tentsite would be a really good idea. The tentsite is reachable only by water (canoeing down the East Branch) but you can't tell that unless you look very closely at the map.

Excellent
Want to go back again for longer time

I love the Upper East Branch site- had a terrific visit. I was hoping for better fishing but the water temps were still too high. The amenities: a bear and rain-proof storage bin, the handicap vault toilet, picnic tables and fire ring are all in great condition. Very private and very peaceful.