AMC Outdoors, May 2005

The Trip: Paddling and hiking 8-mile Long Pond

Length and Intensity:  Make a day or weekend of it with quiet-water paddling and easy to rigorous hikes.

Best Time To Go: Fishing for brook trout, lake trout, and landlocked salmon is best in springtime, but the pond is accessible—and beautiful—all year round for hiking, paddling, and cross-country skiing or snowshoeing.

In his 1864 book, The Maine Woods, Henry David Thoreau reflects on a memorable pond he encountered: “It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” Maine is not short on lakes and ponds—there are even two other Long Ponds, one in Acadia and one in the Belgrade Lakes region—but this one is special, and a fine place for such contemplation.

This Long Pond, which is by definition a lake, lies within a 37,000-acre parcel of forest, mountains, rivers, ponds, and lakes now owned and protected by AMC. It’s a wonderful place to paddle—smooth as glass, which is especially pleasurable when winds from the north or south turn the region’s larger lakes into a foaming froth.

The lake’s east-west axis, islands, and narrow width provide not only wind protection but also a lengthy shoreline to explore by foot.

Though the hillsides around it have been logged over the years, deciduous trees have grown up to repopulate these areas. Look for large stands of conifers on some of the steeper slopes and on the spectacular surrounding mountains—Chairback, Barren, and Baker—that you can see from myriad vantage points around the lake. Portage around the right side of an old dam at the lake’s outlet to explore a small, but interesting, 75-acre flowage. Deer and moose frequent this area, so keep your eyes open. You may also see beaver and otter swimming in the icy water. Besides the area at the outlet, there are two more small marshy areas on the pond’s east side to prowl around.

Several camps dot the shoreline—with rustic log cabins that date back to the 1800s—but they hardly mar the wild feel of Long Pond. Charming Moose Point Cabin (see sidebar) is one of them, and AMC’s newest destination.

When you’re all through with fishing, paddling, hiking, and relaxing on the cabin’s waterfront porch, take time to visit this area’s natural landmarks, The Hermitage and Gulf Hagas, and don’t miss out Moosehead Lake, the largest lake in a single state east of the Mississippi.

—From AMC’s Quiet Water Maine by John Hayes and Alex Wilson.

DIRECTIONS

From Greenville, take Pleasant Street/East Road north for 12.4 miles to the Hedgehog Checkpoint (fee). In 1.8 miles turn right onto KI Road, go one mile, and turn right onto Long Pond Road. Go 2.2 miles, turn left and you’ll see the access and campsite in 0.2 mile

RESOURCES

Adapted from AMC’s Quiet Water Maine  by John Hayes and Alex Wilson ($18.95). Order AMC books online or call 800-262-HILL. AMC members save 10 percent on all AMC Books and Maps.

For Moose Point Cabin information, see www.outdoors.org/lodging.

LOCAL WISDOM

Camping and entrance fees are required by property owner North Maine Woods (www.northmaine woods.org).