The Katahdin Area is home to Baxter State Park, where Maine's tallest peak, Mt. Katahdin rises to greet the area residents and visitors. Situated in Piscataquis County, Baxter State Park is a wilderness area of 209,501 acres that is intersected by more than 200 miles of hiking trails & is the northern terminus for the Appalachian Trail and managed by the Baxter State Park Authority. The three largest bodies of water in the Park are Grand Lake Matagamon, Webster Lake, and Nesowadnehunk Lake. There are also several smaller ponds, such as Hudson, Draper, Russell, Center and the South Branch ponds. Numerous streams and rivers connect these water bodies, most prominently Trout Brook (between Grand Lake Matagamon and Nesowadnehunk Lake) and Nesowadnehunk Stream (connecting Nesowadnehunk Lake and the small collection of ponds near Sentinel Mt.). Some of these have spectacular waterfalls; Nesowadnehunk Stream has Big and Little Niagara Falls, as well as Ledge Falls. Wassataquoik Stream has two waterfalls, Grand and Norway; another popular waterfall is Green Falls, tucked between Bald Mt. and South Pogy Mountain. While there is plenty of water available, there are no treated water sources in Baxter State Park; all water is obtained from open, unprotected sources (ponds, lakes, rivers & streams). For this reason, we suggest visitors either bring water in OR treat water by boiling it, using chemicals or a filter.

The Park was a gift from Gov. Percival P. Baxter. During his lifetime, Governor Baxter deeded over 201,018 acres to the people of Maine, purchased solely with his money. At the time of his death, he left a trust fund to help fund park operations as well as a fund to allow the Park Authority to purchase strategic parcels of land. Using funds he provided, the Park increased in size to 204,733 acres. A gift of 4,000 acres, purchased with money raised in a public campaign and given to the Park in 2007, increased the Park to its present day size of 209,501 acres.

Park operations are entirely self-supporting, with revenues from the interest of the trust funds making up about 60%, visitor use and camping fees making up about 30% and sales from the Scientific Forest Management Area making up about 10% of the total annual operating budget.

The Park operates separately from the Maine State Park System, under a different set of regulations with a governing body specified by Percival Baxter, made up of the Attorney General in Maine, the Commissioner of the Maine Inland Fish & Wildlife and the Director of the Maine Forest Service.