Public V. Private Land (how much, motorhome, camping)

[montana to maine]

My family is planning to move to Maine this summer/fall and I was wondering how much public land there is in the state. We're moving from Montana and one of the things I hate about this state is that with all of the land here, the recreational activities aren't what you would expect. People here love their land. It isn't uncommon for a rancher to own 10K-100K acres at a time and people are serious about not letting anyone on it. No driving on it, no hunting on it, you can't even drive through it to get to the public land on the other side. When you want to go camping you're stuck driving two hours away to a "campground" where you're 10 feet from some a**hole with a motorhome that cost more than my house sitting outside watching satellite tv. To me, that's not camping. My idea of a camping trip is driving down a dirt road until I find a nice clearing by a pond or stream where I can sit with my friends and family have a few beers and listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival until 2:00 am and the most important part of that trip is that I don't want to see anyone that didn't come with us. Please someone tell me this is possible in Maine. I read something somewhere that only 1% of maine is public land. Am I going to be able to hunt, fish, shoot, camp, etc. without having to get permission from someone?

[mainebrokerman]

hi there, liked your post, you have good taste in music! (ccr)

maine is a very rural and wild state, you're apt to see a deer, or moose, just about anywhere in the state(within 5 minutes of any major town or city in maine)
i read somewhere that maine only has 1.3 million people, .....in the size of a state, that is larger than all the other new england states combined.
one county (aroostook) is larger than rhode island.

the answer to your question is,,,YES!,,,there are thousands, if not millions places that are unspoiled, (especially if you have 4-wheel drive) so come on uip to maine!

and yes more and more land is being "posted" not to hunt ( many out of staters,,that we love, will post thier land,,,right off,,because of thier stance on deer hunting, and this is a good point,, thier are large tracts of land, that for generations have been hunted/fished by locals, and sometimes, when a person "from away" ..."posts" this land, for no apparent "good" reason,,,,that doesnt ,,send a warm and fuzzy feeling thru the community. im mostly talkin of large tracts of land,,not back-yards...

[Coaster]

Most of the state is privately owned, but there is a tradition in the North Woods of allowing public access for recreation -- hunting, camping, hiking, etc. Most of the No Trespassing signs are in southern Maine. You can find plenty of remote places to camp, but forest rangers and landowners frown on folks starting campfires and such outside established camping areas. The chances of a forest fire are too high.

BTW, Aroostoook County is larger than the state of Connecticut. Almost anywhere is larger than Rhode Island