Midweek R&R at Sebago Lake
By Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent | September 19, 2004
NAPLES, Maine -- For more than a decade, I had been heedlessly driving past the exit sign for Sebago Lake as I headed farther north up the Maine Turnpike or straight to Portland, about 20 minutes southeast. It wasn't until friends from Vermont decided to meet there in August for a bicycle trip that I explored the region.
What a great experience it was.
We met at Sebago Lake State Park, a large area with 250 campsites and several beaches. The main day-use beach, Songo, has a large roped-off swimming area, snack bar, and changing rooms. After our weeklong bike trip, I stayed on for a couple of days' rest, relaxation, and a little more cycling.
I enjoy visiting areas I consider family friendly, especially when I'm alone, because they are generally casual, affordable, and lively. The communities around Sebago Lake are like that.
The tourist activity on land is concentrated in the small town of Naples, a 2-hour drive from Boston. In the early 1900s, Naples was where the rich Portland folks summered. The Naples causeway, lined with restaurants, cafes, and gift shops, sits between Long Lake and Brandy Pond, both just north of Sebago.
The real action takes place on the water, probably too much action for my taste on the weekends, from what locals told me. I visited midweek, and one day was cloudy and windy with a little rain, leaving the lake probably as quiet as it ever gets in the summer. Often, fishing and ski and cigarette boats and personal watercraft can fill the air with a constant buzz. Lake noise has become a big issue, so I must have lucked out.
The other thrill here is the manually operated Songo Lock and the swing bridge that leads to it. The Songo River is a short stream that connects Long Lake/Brandy Pond to Sebago Lake. The lock, operated seasonally, is now part of the Maine state park system.
In 1830, a canal was built to carry lumber from the area. Until rail travel arrived in 1869, dozens of canal boats moved through here, some towed by horses and oxen. The Songo Lock is what remains of a 28-lock system constructed in the canal to compensate for the 260-foot difference in elevation between Sebago Lake and sea level.
It's a treat for all ages to hang out next to the lock's small holding area while it fills with all sorts of recreational boats, from motorboats to kayaks and personal watercraft, each paying $3 to get through one way. The mood is generally boisterous as passengers wait for the water level to fall or rise. The lock tender uses elbow grease to work the crank attached to a gear system that operates a valve in the lock. Once the water is at the right level, the tender opens the gate by pushing on a large wooden beam -- often with the assistance of onlookers. Near the lock is a snack bar with, I believe, the world's best BLT.
If you don't own a boat or some form of Jet Ski, there are several places that rent them, or you can let someone else do the driving.
Naples is the base for two seasonal boat tours. The old-timer is the Songo River Queen II, a replica of a Mississippi River stern paddle wheeler. The River Queen is beautiful and nostalgic, but it's also slow and doesn't go onto Sebago Lake. It does go through the lock, a highlight for passengers, and then turns around.
I chose to catch a ride with the newcomer, Long Reach Cruises, because I wanted to go out onto the lake. The Bath-based company started operating out of Naples in late July. Its boat, which holds about 40 passengers, is run by water jet, and can cruise up and down the 45-square-mile lake (Maine's second-largest, after Moosehead) in a few hours. We started in Brandy Pond, just south of the causeway, and passed beautiful scenery before reaching the lock. Some leaves were turning early, and I could only imagine how stunning the view would be during foliage season.
Once on the remarkably uncrowded lake, we passed between the state park and Thompson Point, a favorite spot for salmon fishing, and headed south. We passed overdeveloped Frye Island and its ferry to the mainland. Heading back north, we idled at Frye's Leap, a scenic rock and popular fishing area, zipped passed Dingley Islands, and soon were back in line for the lock.
I did my own boating as well, when I tooled around in a two-person paddle boat out on Thomas Pond, a few miles northeast of Sebago Lake. I was using the boat where I stayed, at the low-key Alyssa's Motel. They have a canoe for use as well, and a small dock where guests can fish. There are picnic tables, one screened in, on the small lawn next to a wooded area. In the woods is "Inspiration Rock," said to be where Portland native Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once sat. It's marked as "the boyhood wilderness chair" of Nathaniel Hawthorne, who spent part of his summers in nearby Raymond. (The family home still stands on Raymond Cape Road.)
If you're immune to traffic sounds, Alyssa's, on Route 302, is a great place to stay. But I couldn't relax, so on the last day I moved up the road to Windham and up in price to Sebago Lake Lodge & Cottages. Sitting between Jordan Bay and Sebago Lake Basin, it was the perfect spot for my final evening. Here, too, guests can use nonmotorized boats free, or rent fishing and ski boats.
The large wraparound porch at the main lodge has hanging flower baskets and rockers, and the grounds are lovely and not overly manicured. Longtime owners Chip and Debra Lougee are some of the friendliest innkeepers I've met. But what sold me was the private screened porch off every unit. I toasted the lake from my upstairs, bug-free perch and vowed to return.
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