About the Park
With more than 30 miles of hiking trails, 100 campsites, spectacular vistas and varied four-season recreational opportunities for both families and hard-core adventurers, Camden Hills State Park is one of Maine’s most treasured public resources. The park’s 5,710 acres span the towns of Camden and Lincolnville and include mountains, Penobscot Bay shoreline, sheer cliffs beloved by climbers, streams, vernal ponds, rare flora and fauna, unique geology, picturesque picnic spots, and an accessible auto road to the summit of Mt. Battie.
WHO WE ARE
In 2026, a group of community members passionate about what CHSP is today and eager to preserve and improve upon it for future generations of park users came together to establish the Friends of Camden Hills State Park with this mission:
We seek to protect the natural, recreational, and cultural resources of the park. Through volunteerism, education, advocacy, and financial support, we strive to advance the mission of the park, strengthen the surrounding communities, and inspire generations of dedicated stewardship.
WHAT WE DO
Our Initiatives and Programs
At Friends of Camden Hills State Park, we engage in a variety of activities aimed at protecting our natural environment and enhancing visitor experiences. We support projects that include placing informational panels throughout the park, organizing educational events on local ecology, and volunteering to build shelters, maintaining trails and removing invasive species. We also offer options that provide updates on park activities, events, and opportunities to volunteer. With so many activities and ambitions, your donation would be greatly appreciated. Together, we can ensure that Camden Hills State Park remains a beautiful and accessible resource for all.
IN THE NEWS
Our Impact: Media & Coverage
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Christy Owen, Treasurer; Paul Karoff, President; Erik Brooks, Secretary; Sunshine Hood, Park Manager.
Christy Owen, Treasurer, spent her childhood hiking the trails in Camden Hills State Park during summers spent at her grandmother’s camp on Lake Megunticook. While her career in international development had her traveling the world, she always made the annual journey to Camden where she enjoyed trail runs through the park and picking blueberries on Poverty Knoll with her son. Prior to moving to Camden in 2023, she spent 12 years in Bangkok, Thailand managing regional environmental programs focused on biodiversity conservation, sustainable infrastructure development, and climate mitigation and adaptation. For ten of those years, she served as Country Director for a global non-profit organization managing an annual operating budget of over $4 million. She currently serves as the Director of the Maine Conservation Corps with the State of Maine.
Paul Karoff, President, is a former journalist and university administrator. He worked in Washington, DC, New Jersey, and Connecticut before spending the final three decades of his career in Boston. In 2021, he and his wife Linda followed their two adult daughters to Maine and settled at the foot of Mt. Battie in Camden. He retired in 2024 and now spends most of his time doing freelance writing and volunteering with several Midcoast organizations, including Camden Hills State Park, where he assists with trail work.
Erik Brooks, Secretary, maintains the trails of Camden Hills State Park, with the help of volunteers and sometimes other Park staff. His love of hiking, trail running, Nordic skiing, and rock climbing led him to three summers of employment on the Appalachian Mountain Club's White Mountains Professional Trail Crew during college, where he learned to build stone steps, water bars, and retaining walls for erosion control. He later volunteered with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and local groups like the Maine Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association and Coastal Mountains Land Trust, further developing his "trail eyes" and understanding of sustainable trail layout. He also practices carpentry - now only during winter - and built the home in Lincolnville where he lives with his wife, Hester.
Charlene “Sunshine” Hood, Manager of Camden Hills State Park, serves as an ex officio board member. She grew up in a large family in Montville, Maine, where her parents owned a restaurant, dance hall, store, and many other businesses. Working in the family businesses, she acquired carpentry, construction, roofing, electrical, and plumbing skills and eventually built her own house. She started a career in parks volunteering at Lake St. George State Park. Over the next 37 years, she held managerial positions there and at Warren Island State Park, Rangeley Lake State Park, Lamoine State Park, Branch Lake State Park, Bradbury Mountain and Mackworth Island. In her current role, she oversees Camden Hills, Owls Head Lighthouse, and Birch Point Beach State Parks.