Songo Pond is a 224-acre body of water located in Albany, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B3). The unmarked public access point is found right next to Route 5/35 (Songo Pond Road) a couple of hundred feet north of house number 754. It consists of a rough, bouldery launch for hand-carried craft and a small dirt parking area next to the road that can accommodate a few vehicles.
Kingsbury Pond is a 390-acre body of water located in Kingsbury, Piscataquis County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 31 C2). The public access point is next to Route 16 at the dirt boat launch by the dam and its outlet at the eastern end of the lake. The launch provides plenty of parking.
View of North Pond from the dam by the outlet
North Pond is a 164-acre of water located in Sumner, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 C3). The access point is located next to a small dam by the outlet at the southern tip of the pond. Reaching that dam is a bit tricky. From North Buckfield Road, look for an unnamed dirt road sandwiched between house numbers 377 and 387. This 0.9-mile dirt road – which is really more of a wide ATV trail – is rough in places and requires a vehicle with high clearance. Four-wheel drive is useful but not a necessity. It can be confusing to stay on this road because it has several turn-offs along the way in. I used the GPS function on my phone to make sure that my truck always pointed in the correct (i.e., north) direction. The launch is sandy and unimproved. The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer shows a gate a couple of 100 ft before the outlet. This gate, which I think is owned by the Buckfield Village Corporation (Water District), was open when I reached it, but smashed by a fallen tree. So, it will remain “open” until fixed.
The official boat launch requires navigating through Round Pond before reaching South Pond.
South Pond is a 284-acre body of water located in Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B4). This pond is part of a cluster of lakes bunched together in this area and which I have fished for salmonids in the past (click here, here, here, and here). The public boat ramp, called the Mike Giunta memorial boat launch, is located by Howe Hill Road off Route 26 (Main Street) in Greenwood. I have to look for the place because it is not clearly indicated, either on Route 26 or Howe Hill Road. The hard-topped ramp is narrow, steep, and next to deep water. Plenty of parking is available. I found it challenging to retrieve my boat at the end of today’s trip because I had to place the trailer mostly out of the deep water and on the steep launch. It took a lot of arm juice to manually crank my boat up unto its trailer… Access to South Pond from this location is tricky. With the ramp in your back, navigate to the upper right-hand corner of the (unnamed) water body and pass underneath the railroad tracks. From there, navigate to the left through Round Pond until you enter South Pond through a wide but shallow passage. I was disoriented and got lost while motoring through Round Pond and its multiple islands and shallow weedy areas. I used the GPS on my phone to get me out of the maze… It takes about 15 minutes of no-wake boating to reach my destination from the boat ramp. While trolling, I noticed a small beach at the southwestern end of South Pond next to Greenwood Road. I checked it out at the end of this trip and found a small, dirt boat launch next to the beach. This launch is not shown on The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer. A large sign states that the beach is for use by local residents only. I do not know if this restriction also applies to the launch next to it… Plenty of parking is available across the road from this launch.
The boat launch is spacious, and plenty of parking is available nearby.
Pennesseewassee Lake covers 922 acres and is located in Norway, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 D1). Access is through a high-quality public boat launch off Route 118. Coming in from Harrison, drive north on Route 117 all the way to the lake. Turn left at the stop sign on Route 118, go for 0.3 miles, and then turn right at the blue boat launch sign. The launch itself is spacious, and the nearby parking area can accommodate many vehicles.
The boat launch for Bryant Pond. The dock is gone for the winter. The outlet is at the back of this picture towards the right. The grassy berm is also visible.
Bryant Pond (a.k.a. Christopher Pond) is a 278-acre body of water located in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B5). To access this pond, drive on Route 26 and turn off on Old County Road. Drive for about 1 mile before turning left on Rowe Hill Road. The public access point will be immediately to your right and is clearly marked with a blue sign. It is in a small municipal park next to the pond’s outlet. The boat launch is hard-topped. Plenty of parking spaces are available.
Accessing North Pond by motor boat requires navigating through two large culverts. This one passes underneath Johnny’s Bridge Road.
North Pond is a 284-acre body of water located in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B4). This pond does not have a public launch area and access to it is tricky. For the record, hand-carried craft can be launched directly into North Pond from a small picnic area on Route 26 next to the pond. However, the ramp for trailered boats, called the Mike Giunta memorial boat launch, is found by Howe Hill Road off Route 26 (Main Street). I had to look for it because it was not clearly indicated either on Route 26 or Howe Hill Road. The hard-topped ramp is narrow, quite steep, and next to deep water. Plenty of parking is available. I found it challenging to retrieve my boat at the end of the trip because I had to place the trailer mostly out of the deep water and on the steep launch. It took a lot of arm juice to manually crank the boat up unto the trailer… Access to North Pond from this location occurs through two separate road culverts. With the ramp in your back, navigate to the upper left-hand corner of the (unnamed) water body to pass underneath Route 26. From there, navigate to the upper right-hand corner of that second (unnamed) water body to pass underneath Johnny’s Bridges Road to reach North Pond. It takes about 15 minutes of no-wake boating to reach your destination from the boat ramp.
The boat launch by the outlet is hard-topped and provides plenty of parking.
Bryant Pond (a.k.a. Christopher Pond) is a 278-acre body of water located in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B5). To access this pond, drive on Route 26 and turn off on Old County Road. Drive for about 1 mile before turning left on Rowe Hill Road. The public access point will be immediately to your right and is clearly marked with a blue sign. It is located in a small municipal park next to the pond’s outlet. The boat launch is hard-topped and provides plenty of parking area.
The boat launch is unimproved but wide and provides lots of parking space.
Stearns Pond is a 255-acre body of water located in Sweden, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 E3). To access this pond, turn off Route 93 (Waterford Road) unto Hardscrabble Road. Drive for about 1 mile and turn left on Wint Road. Then drive for <0.2 miles before turning left on Town Landing Road. The unimproved boat launch is located at the end of this short gravel road. Plenty of parking is available next to the launch.
I find brookies about 150 ft to the left of the boat launch
Keoka Lake is a 467-acre body of water located in Waterford, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 D4). A cement boat launch is located on Route 35 on the western side of the lake. Parking is available on the road shoulder by the launch. One alternative is to park your vehicle in front of the Waterford Historical Society building located next to the boat launch. I see no signs forbidding this practice, but do not know if it is frowned upon.
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