MILLINOCKET — The lines are expected to be long when people gather Thursday to make reservations for the 1997 summer season at Baxter State Park. Officials in Augusta also expect a busy Thursday taking reservations for campsites at 12 other state parks.

Last year, nearly 50 people lined up by 8:30 p.m. New Year’s night in 20-below-zero temperatures to get Baxter reservations. By the end of the next day, about 250 people had made reservations for the 1996 season.

The longest lines for reservations occurred in 1993, when about 350 people lined up at park headquarters. Fire codes did not permit the large crowd, so officials had to find different accommodations.

Park officials will begin accepting reservation requests for the 1997 summer season at 7 a.m. Thursday. Because opening-day numbers exceed the capacity at park headquarters, people making reservations first must get tickets for processing at the Best Western Heritage Motor Inn at 935 Central St. in Millinocket, before their reservation is processed at park headquarters.

Baxter State Park Director Irvin “Buzz” Caverly Jr. said people who arrive at the motor inn before 7 a.m. will have to wait in line outside. After 7 a.m., people will be admitted inside to receive their tickets, and park staff will explain the procedure. Reservations for the 1997 summer season will be accepted by mail or in person at park headquarters after Thursday.

Traditional opening-day limits for the cabin campgrounds will apply, which is two four-person cabins or three two- or three-person cabins per ticket or turn, according to Caverly.

Beginning Thursday, officials at the Augusta office of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands will accept reservations by mail, phone, fax, electronic mail or in person for sites at the state’s other camping parks.

The campground reservation system ranges from the 30-site camping area in Aroostook State Park just south of Presque Isle to the 249-site Sebago Lake State Park located between Naples and South Casco.

Since there will be only two phones operating — one for in-state residents and one for out-of-state residents — the bureau’s deputy director expects prospective campers will need to be persistent to get through.

“I hope people will be patient,” said Herb Hartman. “We are very user-friendly. We spend a lot of time on the phone answering people’s questions.”

By taking voice-mail and faxed reservations and by creating a Web site on the Internet, the bureau also is doing what it can to create more accessibility, according to Hartman.

January is among the busiest months for the department in taking campground reservations. The bureau processed 1,076 reservations last January. Only June and July were busier.

To make a reservation, visit the bureau’s office in the Harlow Building on the campus of Augusta Mental Health Institute or call 800-332-1501 within Maine on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nonresidents must call 207-287-3824.

Reservation forms also may be obtained from the Internet at: http://www.state.me.us/doc/prkslnds/reserve.htm.

For campers not needing to talk to an operator or not requesting specific sites, voice-mail reservations may be made by calling 287-3825. This new service is experimental for 1997 and will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week beginning on Thursday. The facsimile number is 287-6170.