Little Jo-Mary Pond Campsites

Ki-Jo Mary Multi-Use Forest has a number of campsites scattered throughout throughout, many of them alongside ponds or rivers. To get to the Little Jo Mary Pond campsites, you’ll need to enter via the Jo-Mary checkpoint off ME-11, south of Millinocket, north of Milo. There is a daily fee to enter the KI-JO forest and there’s an additional fee($14) to stay overnight. The day fee varies depending on whether you are a Maine resident($11) or not($16); it’s also tied to the minimum wage, so you can expect it to increase. This page has a little more information This per person fee structure means that no-frills wilderness sites are not inexpensive. You’ll need to pay the fee with cash or check. I camped here during the week, so although it was August and I didn’t have reservations and had my choice of almost any campsite. They had a few pictures at the main gate, but it didn’t necessarily give me a great sense of the area. On nice summer weekends, you’ll likely need reservations or arrive early.

The road to the campground is graded and you’ll share it with logging trucks that have the right of way. They were actively grading it one day while I was there, which meant that sometimes there were more rocks to negotiate along the sides.

There are 4 sites alongside the Little Jo Mary Pond. Other than the private Jo Mary campground you'll pass on your way in, these are the closest to the Jo-Mary Checkpoint. I stayed in site 4, the last one you reach. A tree provides some shade and nice shelter from rain one night. There’s a fire ring and picnic table. It has more direct access to the pond, making it easier to launch my kayak. The latrine is across the road and up a few stairs; it was getting full and I did sense a whiff of it when the wind blew in my direction.

Site 3 also has pond access from the campsite. Sites 1& 2 don’t have great direct access(there are bushes along the shore), but there’s an open spot just before you reach the first site.

When I wasn’t in airplane mode, I did have a single bar of coverage(Verizon) that allowed text messages to come and go, but nothing more. A family pulled into the site next to mine one night just to check for texts from their kids.

The pond has a lot of weeds, so it’s not the crystal-clear pond you’ll see elsewhere, but it’s nice to paddle without a lot of chop to contend with when it gets windy. Johnson Pond is a little farther down the Jo Mary Round (the sites are on B Pond Rd) and there’s a large sandy launch for hand carry boats. Continue past the pond and you’ll reach Gauntlet Falls with a nice swimming hole.

Best shopping opportunities are in Millinocket. Bring water or plan to treat. The AT runs through this part of the forest.