The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Quantabacook Lake a Peaceful Paddle

July 23, 2008 - For a delightful midsummer paddle coupled with a classic Maine scenic drive, consider an outing on Quantabacook Lake in Searsmont before the back-to-school promotions begin appearing in a few weeks (a frightening thought, indeed).

This lake is one of the headwater lakes of the beautiful St. George River, which flows 32 miles south from the town of Searsmont to Thomaston. Quantabacook is an elongated lake, three miles long and a half-mile wide.

The lake has concentrated pockets of cottages on it, but enough undeveloped shoreline to provide ample solitude and natural beauty. Most of the cottages are set back a few yards into the forest, nearly hidden by the lush canopy of hardwoods and evergreens.

MANY SOUNDS ABOUND

If you love red-winged blackbirds, this is the place to paddle. There are a number of coves bordered by lush low marshes. Everywhere you look you will see the spectacular red-patched male standing sentry on a low bush or cattail stalk, and nearby the brown mottled female.

The unforgettable chortle of the red-winged blackbird is as much a part of the early summer symphony on Quantabacook Lake as are the calls of a mating pair of loons echoing over the lake, or the song of the osprey piercing the airwaves high above the water.

Couple that with the entertaining chorus of bullfrogs in Bartlett Stream, adjacent to the boat launch site, and you have the makings of a day devoted to auditory wonderment as much as sight.

Getting to and from the lake, coupled with three or four hours of paddling, will make for a whole day of exploring. A nice way to proceed with your day is to drive to Augusta and take Route 3 east toward Belfast.

This is a peaceful drive through rolling meadows and flower-dotted hillsides, with very little development once you get five miles east of Augusta. We especially love the area nearing Lake St. George.

Every time we drive by we look up at the slopes above the road and make the pledge to come back and ski the hillsides peering down over the lake in the winter. They look like the perfect venues to carve out some telemark turns.

A GREAT PLACE TO CAMP

If you enjoy camping, Lake St. George State Park is a fabulous spot to tent out for the night, and a pretty lake to explore as well. From the state park you are only nine miles away from Quantabacook Lake.

The primitive boat launch site is tucked into the woods just south of Route 3. Five miles east of Lake St. George start looking for a small body of water on the left: the James Dorso Wildlife Management Area -- Ruffingham Meadow.

From the small parking area at this pond it is 1.5 miles to gravel Bryant Drive on the right. Turn right onto this narrow access road and follow it a quarter mile to the northwestern end of Quantabacook Lake.

The small green street sign out on Route 3 is very easy to miss, and we went right by it on our first try. Consult the Delorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map No. 14 for help in getting there.

The shady launch site offers a great view down the lake through the narrows leading down toward the town of Searsmont. At the end of our paddle we were sorely tempted to break out the lawn chairs and tarry a few hours at the launch site watching the sun slowly arc over the water. But new exploring beckoned, as we had decided to head down to Camden and return home via Route 1.

As beautiful as the lake is, it is not what we would call a swimming lake for canoeists, not for the clarity of water, but for the fact that the shoreline is lined by a very thick mixed forest, making it a challenge to land easily. There are no sandy beaches on the lake, but if desperate for a swim you will be able to find a spot to pull the canoe up through the brush and dive in for a refreshing dip.

Also keep in mind that there is a very healthy bass fishery in the lake, which is popular with fishermen on the weekends. Coupled with the generous number of summer cottages on the lake, you will get more solitude during the week, and on Sunday morning. Try to avoid Saturday on the lake.

The inlet stream on the northwestern end of the lake, and the outlet on the southern end each provide a half-mile of quiet exploration. We saw many yellow swallowtail butterflies flitting from bush to bush, cormorants awkwardly lifting off the water, ducks suddenly exploding up out of the grasses just out of our view, and a number of blue herons. Tree swallows, with their brilliant snow-white bellies flashing in the sun, darted about for insects, turning on a dime to snatch a morsel of food out of the sky. Dragonflies and damselflies glided by us, content to dine on the bounty left behind by the swallows.

The southern end of the lake features a mown grassy lane adjacent to a small outlet dam that begins the St. George River. This is a great spot for lunch, offering outstanding views north up the lake, and is secluded enough from the wind to allow you to absorb the delicious warmth of the midmorning sun. You can easily portage around the dam and follow the twisting channel toward Searsmont. Soon you will see the white steeple of the United Methodist Church, and a cluster of homes in the village of Searsmont.

A huge beaver lodge and dam stood in our way of paddling the next half-mile to town. We decided to head back to the lake instead of attempting the precarious haul of canoe up and over the beaver dam.

After your canoe outing, be sure to stop and walk around the village of Searsmont. We ducked into the Fraternity Village General Store just in time to see one of the largest and thickest pizzas we had ever seen being coaxed out of the oven. We told one of the women we were writing an article for the newspaper and asked her, "What are you famous for?" Without hesitation she shot back, "The Attitude."

Judging by her energy and infectious laughter, and the size of the pizza, it was obvious you get both entertainment and great food at Fraternity Village.

If you walk a few yards down the road to the river you can check out the water levels of the upper reaches of the St. George River. If you are proficient in Class II whitewater, perhaps next spring, when the water is higher, you will be back to journey down the St. George toward Appleton and Union.

To complete our driving loop, we headed south on the remote Moody Mountain Road toward Megunticook Lake and Camden. At the intersection with High Street in Lincolnville you will notice a sawed off utility pole on the left with a birdhouse attached to it. A number of hand lettered signs point in various directions.

This is rural Maine humor at its best and is worth the trip just to see this creation. We will not let you in on what all the signs say, but will divulge one so you can grasp the flavor. One sign points south to "Aruba 2,199 miles." The other signs are even more zany and creative.

By MICHAEL PERRY, July 20, 2008, Portland Press Herald

Michael Perry is the former director of the L.L.Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools, and founder of Dreams Unlimited, specializing in inspiring outdoor slide programs for businesses, schools, and civic groups.


Lakes: Lake George
Regions: Belgrade, Mid Coast


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News