Just a few years late, Baxter State Park has entered the 21st century. This week, camping reservations were made by computer for the first time, easing the complicated process of scheduling about 1,000 summer trips during the first week of January.

Park staff kept the traditional appointment books, in addition to scheduling on a computer database with the help of five technicians. Park Director Irvin “Buzz” Caverly on Friday called the experiment “pretty flawless.”

Next January, scheduling will be done entirely by computer, he said.

“The lines moved a lot quicker,” Caverly said. “By the end of the day, we were caught right up.”

The park processed 300 transactions Thursday, and Friday morning was on schedule to exceed last year’s total of about 1,000 reservations. Revenues for opening day 2003 were about $2,000 higher than last year.

A midafternoon glitch kept about 50 people waiting to pay for their reservations Thursday. The problem can be resolved with a tweak of the reservation software, Caverly said.

Next winter the park likely will double its number of computers and add additional cash registers to improve the process, he said.

Technological improvements won’t be enough to satisfy those calling for a revision of the registration process, however.

A subcommittee of the park’s advisory council continues to work on its plans for a new rolling reservation system, designed to distribute opening-day crowds across a longer period of time. The new system also must address criticism that opening day is unfair to those who can’t go stand in line in Millinocket.

“The subcommittee is trying to find something that’s equitable for all the people of Maine,” Caverly said. “But I think there will continue to be some sort of opening day for at least the immediate future.”