Best Cabin Camping near Danforth, ME

Located just a few miles outside of Baxter State Park, POC offers a few spots for small RV’s, tent sites, lean-tos, and a few camping cabins, each with a picnic table and fire ring.  And, the property has an amazing view!

There are hot showers, clean bathrooms, a dishwashing sink, and even a game room with pool tables and a small bar. You can rent canoes and gear to paddle on the lake, with a great view of Mt. Katahdin. Or, sign up for a guided canoe or rafting trip.

Fall is one of the best times to be here…no bugs, less people, and full of autumn color! Be ready for wind and cold days though.

Your last stop for groceries and gas is in Millinocket, so be sure to stock up before you make your way to the park. 

All for $11 per person/night! Haven’t seen these amenities for this low price anywhere else in Maine.

Base camp to Katahdin, close in to Millinocket. Went with a diverse group of campers with hammock, tent and cabin sleeping preferences and everybody found their spot.

Pros are: clean (like super clean) showers and bath house, fire pit and picnic table at each site and cabin, super helpful, friendly hosts and last minute gear avail at the office (we got a waterproof map for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument).

Only con I can think of is the tent sites are a bit close together and barely deep enough to park a car (not sure if a larger SUV or F350 would even fit) - just a bit of a congested layout overall.

Would go back, nice option to the Baxter or other backcountry sites with no bathrooms, or for times those sites are all taken.

Shin Pond is this sprawling mix of campground, cabins, restaurant, event space, gas station, convenient store, and off-road vehicle rentals. The campground has about 30 campsites and is separated into two sections bisected by Route 159 (which is busy with loud logging trucks and UTV’s). One side has 50-amp campsites and cabins and the other side is 30-amp. There is a separate area for tents that is really pretty and sits along a brook that divides north and south Shin Ponds. 

Sites are grass with very little gravel and, as we found out, they can be very soft. We pulled into our site (#21) and before we knew it our 45’ (47,000 lbs) RV was stuck. Unbeknownst to us, three inches of rain had recently fallen and our site which was downhill was saturated. The campground owner had to pull us out with his huge tractor which as we found out was not the first time a camper had to be pulled out of a soft site in that campground. Luckily, it was a pull-in site so he could attach a chain to the hitch on the back of our RV as there is no way to pull from the front without causing damage. 

All sites have water, picnic table, and fire pit. There is no sewer but there is a dump station and a “blue boy” for you to use and dump your own tanks. They do not have a pump-out service. The dump station is easy to access and has a hose for you to flush your tanks and a dedicated potable water spigot. The dump station is at the back of a busy parking lot that serves the restaurant, laundry, bath/shower house, and the fuel pump so it can be quite busy and congested. We didn’t eat at the restaurant but others said it was very good. There is also a well-stocked store which sells a variety of souvenirs, food, beer, ice cream, and camping necessities. 

No cell or internet reception with our Verizon phone. The campground does have wifi but the signal was not strong enough to get reception reliably at our site. You pretty much have to be at the office in order to get it but that’s ok because they have lots of picnic tables and places to sit. 

Shin Pond rents Polaris UTV and snowmobiles, canoes, and kayaks in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter. We went on a UTV ride one day and were treated to some beautiful views. Just a few miles down the road is a short hiking trail leading to Shin Pond Falls and another trail that runs along the Seboeis river which is a beautiful hike. The campground is close to the northern entrances to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Baxter State Park which is the major reason why we stayed there. We loved exploring these parks where you have access to beautiful hiking trails and lakes and ponds and is not as crowded as the southern areas. Note that dogs are not allowed in Baxter State Park and there are restrictions on vehicle sizes. The nearest town is Patten (about 15 minutes away) and has a hardware store, gift shop, full-service grocery, fuel, restaurants, and the Lumberman’s Museum.

We were interested in kayaking on ponds and streams in the KAWW or Baxter State Park. Since we have a trailer and our buddies have a RV, we new we could not get into South Branch Pond in BSP. We decided to try Shin Pond Village Campground, a privately owned place in Mt. Chase on the way to the northern entrance of BSP.

The campground is right off Route 159, which is now a scenic by way in the KAWW National Monument. Although our sites were close to the road, there was so little traffic it really didn't matter! Sites were flat and open, with decent privacy for a privately owned campground. There was a really good store and a great diner attached to the main office building. Campfire wood was abundant (and for sale by the campground) and each site had a picnic table, fire ring, and fire place to cook on.

The campground is between upper and lower Shin Ponds, with easy boat access to both. We were about 15 miles from the northern entrance of Baxter State Park (BSP), so we chose to travel to South Branch Pond to spend the day kayaking. A great choice as you can see from the pictures.

Campground Review

I headed to the Millinocket area because I wanted to explore the new Katahdin Woods & Waters (KWW)National Monument, Baxter SP, ponds and byways. Staying at Wilderness Edge proved to be an ideal location with full amenities. It’s convenient to each of these areas without requiring an extensive drive to any of them. My visit was very early in the season ( late May/early June) and the trails to peaks at Baxter state Park were still closed, so it was quiet. The sites are in two sections, with tenters up the hill in an area I did not have time to explore, and a lower section with hookups for RVs. The RV sites offer electrical and water. The location of the hookups is somewhat unusual and inconsistent. My site had the connections on the right side of my camper once I had backed it in, so I had to be careful about placement or have longer cords. It then made sense why Marcel explained that some campers like to park parallel to the camp road to create some privacy,

My site (6) was large and level, backing up to the woods and with trees between the sites providing some privacy. There were no sites directly opposite mine as the loop road turned and went up a hill. The very clean bathrooms are up the hill, providing free hot showers and also a dishwashing sink.

There’s a small camp store with a selection of necessities, just in case you need a map or forgot a backpack, etc. They’ll deliver firewood to your site. There was wi-fi available, strongest near the bathroom, but I had more than adequate cell phone coverage (Verizon) at my site, that I did not need to use the wifi. There’s a pool and a play area near the entrance.

This is not a campground packed with seasonal sites; they only have 2 seasonal campers. Instead, the campground fills with families, singles, couples, looking for a quiet camp setting with amenities. The amenities do come at a price, costing more than other campgrounds, but also providing more.

If you want to explore, the Discover Katahdin app is great for identifying hikes or paddles, etc. so be sure to install it to help with your planning. It’s also worth stopping by the Moose Prints Gallery in Millinocket. Anita provided some excellent suggestions for wildlife watching and paddling. If you’d like a guide, Marcel is happy to offer small tours.

In town there are a variety of shops, including groceries, dollar stores, and hardware.

Product Review: GCI Outdoors Compact Camp Table 20

As a ranger with The Dyrt I sometimes get to test and review camping equipment. On this trip, I was able to review the GCI Outdoors Compact Camp Table 20 (it also comes in a larger, 25” size). This is a great little table with telescoping legs (love the squeeze mechanism to get them to collapse), giving you two height options while occupying very small space in your vehicle while traveling. You may find yourself using it for more than just camping (I saw one in a picture of a recent tailgate party). It’s aluminum top allows you to place a hot pot on it. It can handle a substantial weight and doesn’t feel wiggly. It’s great for dinner by the campfire!

I would give this place a million stars if I could. It is a beautiful campground with many excellent rustic spots if you want to be in the wilderness and sites with electricity and water and fantastic Wi-Fi and cell service if you want to have a little wilderness but still be connected. The facilities are also very clean with wonderful showers that you don’t have to deposit quarters in. But the best thing about this campground is the wonderful people. I’m traveling with my husband, who is through hiking the Appalachian Trail. We were on week 12 of our journey. My husband was on the trail for three days when our camper van broke down and was in a remote place, not knowing anyone, and was telling the ladies my situation when I checked in. Vicky made a call and got me an appointment with a mechanic who was terrific and fixed my car. I was able to pick up my husband at the hundred-mile wilderness as planned. I did not think checking in with them that day that was even going to be a possibility, so they are absolutely amazing, kind, and generous people. It’s great in these times to see that there is still genuine kindness in the world. Please stay here.