Katahdin in Baxter National Park

Katahdin

Katahdin was believed to be the home of the storm god Pamola, and thus an area to be avoided.

Plan Around Katahdin

A good stop is not just something to read about. Once it belongs on the day, move into a saved trip and build the route around it.

Add to tripView park guide

Use this detail page to confirm that the stop is worth it, then carry that decision into a trip draft while the park context is still fresh.

Katahdin Details

Katahdin is referred to 60 years after Field's climb of Agiokochuk (Mount Washington) in the writings of John Gyles, a teenage colonist who was captured near Portland, Maine in 1689 by the Abenaki. While in the company of Abenaki hunting parties, he traveled up and down several Maine rivers including both branches of the Penobscot, passing close to "Teddon". He remarked that it was higher than the White Hills above the Saco River. Among some Native Americans, Katahdin was believed to be the home of the storm god Pamola, and thus an area to be avoided. The first recorded climb of "Catahrdin" was by Massachusetts surveyor Charles Turner, Jr. in August 1804. In the 1840s Henry David Thoreau climbed Katahdin, which he spelled "Ktaadn"; his ascent is recorded in a well-known chapter of The Maine Woods. A few years later Theodore Winthrop wrote about his visit in Life in the Open Air. Painters Frederic Edwin Church and Marsden Hartley are well-known artists who created landscapes of Katahdin. On Nov. 30 2011, Christie's auctioned Church's 1860 painting Twilight(Katahdin) for $3.1 million. In the 1930s Governor Percival Baxter began to acquire land and finally deeded more than 200,000 acres (809 km²) to the State of Maine for a park, named Baxter State Park after him. The summit was officially recognized by the US Board on Geographic Names as "Baxter Peak" in 1931. Because "Katahdin" means "Greatest Mountain", "Mount Katahdin" means "Mount Greatest Mountain", which local people maintain is incorrect, however the official name is Mount Katahdin as decided by the US Board on Geographic Names in 1893. At the summer solstice and vernal and autumnal equinoxes, Katahdin is the first place in the United States mainland to receive sunlight in the morning. Source: Wikipedia

Difficulty

Low

Distance

N/A

Estimated time

Region

N/A

Nearby Parks Around Katahdin

Compare nearby parks around Katahdin when deciding whether to expand the route after this stop.

5.9 mi away

Baxter

National Park · ME

108.4 mi away

Acadia

National Park · ME

285.8 mi away

Cape Cod

National Park · MA

677.8 mi away

Shenandoah

National Park · VA

708.0 mi away

Cuyahoga

National Park · OH

931.8 mi away

Isle Royale

National Park · MI

Nearby Points of Interest Around Katahdin

Use nearby POIs to quickly expand your options beyond Katahdin while the map context is still fresh.

0.0 mi away

Baxter Peak

The tallest peak in the state of Maine.

0.0 mi away

Pamola

Pamola is a legendary bird spirit that appears in Abenaki mythology.

0.0 mi away

Baxter Peak

Baxter Peak is the highest peak of Katahdin and the highest point in Maine.

0.3 mi away

Cathedral Cut-off

This short cut-off is a connector trail that by-passes Baxter Peak.

0.3 mi away

South Peak

Located in the southern section of the Baxter State Park and has an elevation of 5,240 feet.