Baxter State Park is a vast protected wilderness in north-central Maine, preserved through decades of land gifts from former governor Percival P. Baxter and managed independently under his “forever wild” vision. Best known as the home of Mount Katahdin, Maine’s highest peak and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, the park grew after Baxter’s failed effort to create a public park by legislation led him to use his own fortune, beginning with a 1930 land purchase and continuing through 28 trust donations over 32 years. Its tightly controlled backcountry, with no paved roads, electricity, or running water, remains one of New England’s most closely protected natural landscapes.