Customer Reviews

Maine Mountain Guide, 9th: AMC Guide to Hiking Trails of Maine, featuring Baxter State Park (AMC Hiking Guide Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you've seen other AMC hiking guides then this is no different in terms of layout and content. Pretty much standard issue with no frills. As another reviewer commented, this one doesn't include Acadia, but is focused mostly on the interior with Camden being the exception. Note that this book does come with fold out maps, so there's no need to buy them separately. With that said maps sold seperately come on a waterproof-type paper, whereas the ones with the book are on regular paper which may not be as durable.

The Appalachian Mountain Club has been maintaining huts and trails in the Northeast for decades. Of course they are going to have the most in-depth, detailed mountain guides available. If you hike in the Whites you will find this book an invaluable tool while preparing your next trip. It also comes with several weather-proof maps of all of the regions that the guide covers. It's a real deal.

I bought this guide expecting it to be like the AMC White Mountains book which I own and love, but was very disappointed with it.I bought it mainly for the supposedly great section on Baxter. The trails are all covered but the descriptions given are vague and sometimes surprisingly short.Also no elevation gains are listed after each trail description [like in my other AMC books] just the miliage and approximate hiking time. The only nice thing is the maps that come with the book which are easy to read and follow.

I purchased this book thinking it would give me all of the "ins and outs" of hiking the mountains of Baxter State Park. While I did find the information about total trail length and time to hike useful, the book was lacking detailed information about each trail.

Scenic overlooks are mentioned but the book does not detail what you're looking at when you get to a summit. A Maine native said we should have been able to see a dam from one mountain we scaled. It was a clear day and we could see bodies of water for miles. However, the dam isn't mentioned in the book so we didn't look for it; that was a shame.

The book also does not have detailed information about what you will see around you while hiking up a mountain. While it does mention streams & bridges we would cross, it doesn't mention oddities we passed while walking. At one point we saw a huge field below us through the trees with a large white stone in it. We had no idea what this location was by reading the book.

I would buy AMC's book on hiking the mountains again in order to have basic information about trail length/time, but I would speak to locals and make notations about the "notable parts" of each mountain climb before hiking the mountains of Baxter again. I have separate (and more detailed) books on Acadia and western Maine hiking so I did not use the rest of AMC's book.

I recently climbed Mt. Katahdin in Maine's Baxster State Park. This guidebook - and maps - were indispensable in planning and executing the all day hike. It is a great resource if you have an interest in exploring the natural world of Maine - I know I will use again when I am fortunate to be back exploring Maine!

Just like the NH guide book I have, this one is great too...great for finding all the hiking trails you could ever try to find! A must for all hikers!

Owning an earlier edition I expected this edition to also include, as the earlier edition did, the trails at Acadia National Park. It does not include anything on Acadia. I gave the book to a friend who likes Baxter.