Baxter State Park - moose spots

Hello,

This is probably a subject beaten to death, but I am going to Baxter

State Park in a couple of weeks for the first time, and I would like

to know good places for moose photography.(I have heard of Sandy

Stream Pond, and how crowded it is)I know the rules, and I consider

myself a concientious (?) person, I do my best to disturb animals the

least (not at all if possible), and will enjoy just watching an

animal if a good shot is not possible from where I am.

I don't mind hiking to get to a good spot, actually that would be a

plus. Has anybody heard of the "Salad Bar", and where is it?

I would also appreciate any tips on good scenery shots, and any

places for other animals - I would dearly like to see/photograph fox,

racoon and/or porcupine.

Thanks for any help.

Judy Fabian

My experience of Baxter tells me Sandy Stream is the best place since it's relatively easy to get to and once you get there there are places to sit and wait (assuming it's not a croweded weekend). Sitting and waiting is the key. Get there at dawn, sit and wait until dusk. Then come back the next day and do it again! Some days you'll see no moose, some days you'll see several.

I've seen Moose in other spots, but there's just no way to predict where they will be. You could spend all day driving and hiking from pond to pond and see nothing. It's just a crap shoot.

I haven't seen a lot of other wildlife in Baxter. It's there, but it's a wilderness park and the critters tend to stay hidden. I've had a brief glimpse of what I can only assume was a bear crossing the road in front of the car and I've seen deer, but that's about it. No foxes, no racoons, no porcupines.

I'm going to be at Acadia for five days starting October 7th. I considered driving to Baxter SP and spending one day at Sandy Stream attempting to spot a moose there. I think time would be better spent at other locations closer to Acadia, but some additional information would enable me to completely eliminate it as a consideration without that "I wonder if I made the right choice" feeling.

My first question to Bob (given your history of answering posts on the subject) is what the Las Vegas odds of seeing a moose on a single day are? Are we talking 50-50, something better or something worse? My second question to Bob is how early I would have to leave Acadia to arrive at something approaching dawn. I am assuming something like 3am, but better information that a guess would be appreciated.

Thanks

I believe the park gates open at 6am in Baxter, but you had better check that. If you camp in the park you can get up whenever you want, but if you're driving in you have to wait for the gate to open. Camping spots get booked up 6 months in advance.

Not sure of the driving time from Acadia, but 3, maybe 3.5, hours sounds about right. You drive to Bangor, head up 95, then turn off to Millinocket. It's a good 40 minutes from Millinocket to the park gate, then it's maybe another 30-40 minutes on a rocky road (25 mph speed limit I think) to Sandy Stream. Since there shouldn't be much traffic at that time of day you should be able to make pretty good time on the highway, but the park road is pretty slow and you don't want to speed (I think it's signed at 25mph).

One ironic word of warning. Watch out for Moose. I'm not kiding. Someone staying at the same motel as me last year hit one and totalled their car. They were quite badly shaken up (had to stay in their room for several days to recover) and they could easily have been killed. People are killed every year when they hit Moose.

Odds are maybe 50/50 of seeing one at Sandy stream. I usually spend 3 days in Baxter, and one day is often Moose free. One day I'll see one pretty well, one day I'll see one off in the distance. But it differs from year to year and week to week and day to day. It's certainly possible for the pond to be Moose free on any given day, you just can't tell in advance. Pick a sunny day though. It can be prety bleak there in the cold and rain, though the Moose probably don't care much about the weather.

Bob,

Thank you for the answer. Patience I have, and I will be there for 2 half and two full days. Maybe I'll get lucky and see them.

Judy Fabian