Great Pond Outdoor Recreation Area

We had an amazing experience! Blissfully serene & quiet, with well-respected quiet hours throughout. Plenty for our 7YO & 3YO to do...even though the main hall has video games, foosball, etc, we never needed to use any of them. Boat rentals are inexpensive and day-long. Our cabin was beautifully maintained and, in our 7YO's words, "Perfect. Like Narnia!" We had a dock right outside the cabin. All linens & paper towels/toilet paper were provided...wish I had thought about tin foil for the grill. Because we actually looked at a map & a cell tower map ahead of time, we were prepared in terms of stocking up on food, etc, before we arrived (although there is a small, not hugely overpriced camp store) AND realizing that we would not have cell service. But seriously, people, if you want speedy access and constant internet, why are you going to an isolated Maine cabin where the nearest big town is an hour's drive??? Go to a hotel near a mall, then, and save the complaining. Great Pond is a jewel.

Most of the critiques you have read on this web site concerning Great Pond in Maine are loaded with compliments. It is hard to find anything wrong here. The staff, the location, the great outdoors all come together to make an ideal location for a visit. But there are some things you should be aware of. First, this is a somewhat remote park. Look at the map of Maine and you will notice there isn’t much in this area but wilderness. The drive in from Maine’s Highway 9 is seven miles long. The road is asphalt, but it is in rough shape. The winters have taken their toll. Make sure to check your rig for closed and latched cabinets and refrigerator doors, etc, before starting in. My Verizon based iPhone could only find one bar’s worth of reception and for the most part was useless. I cured that by driving a mile or so back up the entry road toward the main highway where reception was ok.. Medical help is a long way off as are restaurants and grocery stores. The lodge has candy, ice cream, a soda machine, beer and ice and some subsistence items. My suggestion is that you stock up before you drive in. A good place to do that is at the Air National Guard Base commissary and exchange at the Bangor Airport. Both facilities are small but adequate. Groceries on the economy are expensive. If you opt to drive out to Great Pond before going back to the ANG base it will take about an hour both directions. Bangor and sister city Brewer are full service towns. They have the usual array of services for a city of about 40,000 including two Walmarts. They could just as well be one city. Only a bridge across the Penobscot River separates them. Ok - back to the park. Internet coverage is good, but only available at the lodge. It does not reach out into the park. There are two free computers for your use in the lodge and the staff can help you set up a free internet account for your laptop if you so desire. My Verizon Jetpack did not work anywhere in the park. You can do your wash at the lodge. The single high capacity washer and dryer are used by the staff to do laundry for the cabins and yurts in the park so you need to coordinate with them as to the best time to do your wash. It will cost $5 to do one complete washer and dryer load. The park has many watercraft for rent and the ponds 679 acres make it big enough to enjoy using any of them.There are fishing boats with small motors, kayaks, canoes, standing paddle boards, and paddle boats. They also have a pontoon boat for rent. There are two floating docks anchored out in the pond for swimmers. One Saturday the staff took a group of us out for a ride around the lake in the pontoon boat at no cost. Very nice 30 minute trip. We got to see a young bald eagle, and several loons. On separate days we rented a small fishing boat and motor and a kayak. Both times we saw three bald eagles. Fishing is reportedly excellent in the pond although we got blanked twice. Small mouth bass and trout are reportedly resident in abundance. Hiking and biking prospects are also good. On rainy days the lodge has a ping pong table, a pin ball machine, a skeet game, a large screen tv, games, tables and puzzles, and more. They brew coffee daily, and may pop some popcorn if you are nice to them. They have a very large selection of older non blu ray dvd’s that you can check out for a buck a night. The collection is fully indexed. The campground itself is one of the nicest we have stayed in. The 10 RV spots are well isolated from each other. There is no crowding. During the two week period we were there several Class A’s and some larger 5th wheels came and went so your rig should fit if it isn’t absolutely humongous. Spot #14 is the best if you want to be close to the lake with 12, and 14 good second choices. There are no bad choices for parking spots though - just different ones. We stayed in spot #8 which allowed me to “hit” Direct TV satellite 101. My roof top digital antenna did not work in the campground. There are sink and shower facilities in the park and also in the lodge. Both locations are absolutely immaculate and the water is HOT! Trash is picked up from your RV spot every day, and there are separate recycling containers at each site. There are no sewer hookups. The dump is centrally located though and easy to use. Although not immediately relevant to things RV I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cabins and yurts available here. There are 5 yurts, 4 in the RV campground and one at a remote lakeside location that is accessible only by boat. If you aren’t familiar with yurts they are a step up from tent camping. There are also 13 or 14 cabins in the park. About half are rustic and half are modern. All are very nicely equipped. Call the office for details. Now you know why this place is rated so highly. It is a winner in nearly every respect. If you are looking for a north woods camping experience I can’t imagine a better place. Come after Labor Day and you will have the park to yourself. Come in May or June at your peril. Black Flies abound. We would return here in a heartbeat. The only reason I downgraded amenities was due to lack of full services.

Know before you go.....this is a very remote location. Although the campground is well maintained and they have great amenities for kids/adults, it is very remote. The 7 mile road into the campground is rough....you can tell they have rough winters in Maine. As stated in a previous review, this is not far from Acadia National Park and Bangor. However, the local roads you have to travel are pitted and rough and only 2 lane. It feels like it takes forever to go 20 miles. Of course, none of this is the fault of the campground. The campground is nice. The spots are clean. Our spot, #12, even had a nice view of the lake. The lake is wonderful. The office/rec center has ping pong, pool table, air hockey, TV, board games, etc for the kids. There is wifi access in the office/rec center area. Showers available in the rec center building. More portable shower system nearer the campsites. Saw some pallets that were marked rec area shower facility so there may be something in the works to build a more permanent shower facility near the campsites. No AT&T cell phone coverage within 15 miles of the campground. To put this in perspective....this would be a great campground to go to if you truly want to "get away from it all".

I booked 3 of the new cottages at Great Pond Recreation Center for the weekend of 15 Nov 13. There were 12 of us all together and our goal was to "get away" for a quiet weekend. We did exactly that and all had an extremely enjoyable weekend. We just relaxed and enjoyed the facility. We were in 3 of the new cottages that were built in 2012. I happen to know the owner of the design team that had created the concept for the new cottages. These cottages were outstanding in every aspect. The older cottages that are available are also very clean and well kept. The biggest cottage is still under renovation but we were allowed to go in and look at it while we were there. We, in fact, have reserved both of the bigger facilities next to the office for New Year's weekend; that is how much we all enjoyed ourselves. The staff due to being "off-season" we only dealt with one staff member, but she was very helpful and accommodating. She went out of her way to make us feel welcome. During the regular season, there is a lot more activity available, but we were still very pleased with the over-all experience. Again, we liked it so much that we want to go back for New Year's weekend. We are also planning to make this an annual event, possibly 2 or 3 trips per year. We spent the weekend enjoying too much food and snacks (each couple was responsible to prepare one of the meals or provide snacks for in between meals, which meant we all ate too much. The cottages were very well designed by Oak Point associates of Biddeford, Maine. They did an excellent job of siting the cottages on the property and designing the interior to be very user-friendly. The kitchens were equipped with all necessary items to prepare meals and you felt like you were pretty much at home. The cooking pots and pans were Wolf Gang Puck brand and there was enough variety of utensils to be able to prepare almost any meal. We brought a lot of our own games to keep us busy, but there is a great variety of board games and DVD's available at the recreation center to be used by guests. We also took some time to make a trip to the Alpaca Outlet on Route #9, not very far from Great Pond (not cheap, but very good value for the money). I could go on for quite a while telling you all about the facility. The best endorsement i can give is that all of us truly enjoyed the experience and look forward to New Year's Eve and next season. To be able to satisfy all of the different personalities of the couples who were with us is a testament in itself. We all had a great time and all of us would highly recommend this facility to anyone who wants to enjoy a get-away where you can relax and enjoy yourself in a very comfortable surrounding and a truly great experience. Our only regret is that it took us this long to discover Great Pond and all that it offers. Do yourselves a favor and book a get-away and I honestly feel that you will enjoy it as much as we did.

We have been enjoying Great Pond for more than 10 years. We have stayed in the campground and cabins. If you like the wilderness then this place is for you! The great thing is that even though it is remote it is not much of a drive to the city or great tourist destinations. The facilities continue to upgraded and added. We have stayed at several military campgrounds in the east and have not found any that can even come close to the quality as GPOAC! Judy and her staff bring a level of customer service that we have never seen in any campground (military or civilian)!!!! We cannot even begin to describe how wonderful they treat everyone. I suggest you go there and experience it for yourself, you will not be disappointed!

What a refreshing experience, just what the doctor ordered. The site was clean and the staff were all friendly. WIFI was hit or miss, but that's not what I came for. Nature walks and kayaking the pond and just relaxing. Warning, it's out of the way so be prepared to be isolated from everything. They do have a small shop with a few items, but overall you should bring what you need, it's a half an hour to town. The peace and quite was magical, the sunsets stunning.

Wow! I did primitive tent camping at site #2. There are 4 spaces, I was the only tent camper for the approximate 10 day stay. The bathhouse was always clean, well stocked, and in perfect working order. Great laundry area at the bathhouse that could use a folding table. The clubhouse is what sets this camp apart from others. Wifi, work desk, tv, charging station for electronics, air hockey, DVD's to borrow, restrooms, showers, couches, fireplace, fishing dock...all free. For rent, there are SUB, kayak and canoes, pool table takes a couple quarters I think. If that doesnt sell it, the camp hosts and his amazing wife offer free pontoon boat rides around the lake 1 or 2 times a day on the weekends when weather permits. He will educate you on the structure of the pond, the residents and point out the local eagles and their nest. This is a must do camping experience everyone must do. The staff welcomes all into their little Great Pond family!

We have been coming here for 9 years and have stayed in the cabins/yurts/campgrounds. Judy and her staff are amazing-great customer service-personable-always helpful. The cabins are clean, beds are comfy, great variety of kitchen supplies for cooking/serving, heat is reliable when needed. Yurts are clean, well stocked again with kitchen supplies, furniture. Camped out this time: Campgrounds litter free-they have temporary shower/bathrooms right now-awaiting the rebuild of the bathhouse-but still very user friendly and clean. Have a bridge from the campground to the beach/rec center which cuts down travel time if walking. Once the bathhouse is rebuilt I would have no issue giving it a 5 rating on facilities!!
Lots to do at the rec center, variety of rentals for enjoying the pond (paddle boards, kayaks, boats, bikes, ice-skates, etc) Great fishing. Trails to hike. Really can't say enough cause this truly is our escape.

Great place, it is the best hands down. There is great fishing on the pond. Every time I visit there I add a new fishing story to my collection. This year "no lie" I was out on the pond pulling in some bass that were huge. I decided to take photos of my new found hot spot and right then an AMERICAN BALD EAGLE swoops down and plucks a fish right out of the water!!!!!!! Could not believe it, I even have the photo to prove it. EPIC. I look forward to visiting it next year. The staff is so nice and always helpful. The cabins are clean and well stocked and you only need to bring your food. There is not a lot for technology but that is the beauty of it. My kids took about half a day to get over it and then they were just fine and survived just fine. We had a lot of laughs this year my 9 year old son took a solo bike ride from the cabins to the recreation center (about 1 mile)for his first time, you would have think he just hit a grand slam out of Fenway park. Can’t say enough about this outstanding place.

Found this camp after talking with a coworker on my ship. My wife and I took the kids up there several occasions this past summer and I have never had so much fun. The staff are top notch, and extremely helpful. I suffered a break line failure on my truck on our last trip just as we were departing. Everyone there did everything they could to get us into a local shop quick so we could make it home safe. Thanks everyone and we are looking forward to more trip(s) this year and many to come. The camp is out in the middle of the woods, turn your phones off as you head down the hill cause they won't work. My family and I love the secluded ness of it, and it is jut beautiful. We stayed in one of the yurts our first time and let me tell ya it's fun but its not roughing it! =) the rest of the visits we tent camped, there are nice bathroom facility's too. Just make sure you bring bug spray!

Excellent place to get away from it all. The facilities fit our needs. We were tenting. Sure cell phone usage is not available. The lodge does have computers and television. But so does our house and we barely used them. We took advantage of the spring fed pond which is great for swimming, fishing, boating and this is a great area for hiking. At night, we talked and read by the campfire. In the tent we laid awake listening to the wind blowing through the birch trees. There are a lot of great small towns around. The distance between the campsite and the local towns is measured in time and not in miles. The recreational staff are very accommodating. The place is not Disney Land but has everything we needed for a great time. WE WILL BE BACK

P.A. left this review using the Directory software: - If you want to be away from it all, this is the place for you! Great wooded camp sites, very secluded. Staff very friendly and informative. Can rent small boats on the lake. WIFI works only at the Lodge. Verizon phone and MIFI would not work at campsite but would about 5 miles back toward SR-9. I was able to catch one satellite (101), for my DirecTV. Dump Station not far from campsites. Nice Showers and clean restrooms the norm while we were here. They even picked up garbage daily!

The "Great" things about Great Pond... It's location - off the beaten track -- no fast food restaurants, turnpikes, and traffic jams! Fall asleep listening to the loons! Ride a bike to the rec center (on a lovely gravel road) -- Smell the balsam! Visit the new blind to watch the beavers -- and you might even catch Mike challenging the beavers' lifestyle -- (but his efforts guarantee that you'll see the beaver!) So much to do -- paddle a canoe - rent a boat - fish - hike, or explore the numerous nearby logging roads (but be sure to bring the Maine Delorme mapbook!) The greatest treasure is the people at Great Pond -- they are courteous -- and will do everything they can to accomodate your needs. Great Pond is Maine's best kept secret!

I have nothing to criticize and a whole host of things to praise about Great Pond Recreation Area. This place is just incredible and it's exactly what we were hoping to find. We stayed in a Yurt with our two young kids (3 and 6). It was clean, comfortable, spacious, and well equipped. The campground is in a remote wooded area but it's an easy walk back to the main office and rec center. Each Yurt is equipped with an outdoor table, a propane grill (with propane), a fresh water spigot, a heater/AC, dishes, cooking utensils, bunk beds, a fold-out twin sofa, and a futon. All you really need to bring to be comfortable is sleeping bags and/or bedding. We rented a small powerboat on-site to explore Great Pond and to do some fishing. It was reasonably priced ($30 for the day) and it was perfect for our family. We also made the 1-mile hike to Rift Pond and used the canoes that are placed at the pond. I just can't say enough good things about all this place has to offer... The staff members at Great Pond were simply fantastic. They were knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful at every turn. Each Yurt contains a guest book filled with entries written by past patrons and page after page describe ways the staff have gone out of their way to help make memories. If you are looking for a remote getaway with tons of activities for families in a friendly atmosphere, this is definitely your place. We will be back again and again!

The staff at Great Pond: Judy, Julie, Linda, Donna and Diana are always warm and welcoming. We've been coming to Great Pond for several years and always have a wonderful time. I think the facility gets better with each passing year and the new cabins are a nice addition but the older cabins are still just fine. I can only echo what other people have written about the location, the beauty of the surroundings and the chance just to unplug and appreciate the quiet. Great Pond is a wonderful place to appreciate the simple beauty of life and reconnect with family. We especially like being able to experience the change of seasons and watch the fall colors reflected in the waters of Great Pond.

B.C. left this review using the Directory software: In Aug 2010 my wife and I visited Great Pond. The sites are separated enough to have your own privacy. Very quite and totally out in the fine Maine woods. The view of the valley and lake were beautiful. I have the best pictures of the most beautiful sunset we have ever seen. The sky looked like it was on fire. The staff were great and very willing to help with anything. We found it quit funny that we had to drive up the hill to a graveyard to call out (I guess there was some help there, Ha!). Being so far from home and family made us a bit nervous. We use ATT and they have poor service in that area. Others got out ok on their networks. We recommend this spot in beautiful Maine above many civilian campgrounds we have stayed at. WIFI and TV was only available at the rec hall. Would have been nice to have site access to both. THANKS to the staff.

When you come here you know you are in the boondocks so with that said there is no TV, Phone, Internet, the showers are cramped if you are much over 150lbs, no sewer but there is a dump station, the water connection is in the front on the opposite side of the trailer so have about 40ft of hose now I digress this is a beautiful place right next to a lake with swimming, fishing, canoeing and trails so with that in mine I still feel that the price is high but for others they would wonder why I would say that, so enjoy.

How anyone could rate this below a perfect score baffles me. Great Pond is a hidden gem, a place where you can go and get away from it all, be it work pressure, life pressure, or just the hustle/bustle of daily life. You'll find peace and quiet, the sound of the loons lulling you to sleep, the feel of dirt roads beneath your feet, the wind on your face when you rent a boat or canoe and go out on the pond... it's an amazing place that everyone should visit. And while some say they lack the conveniences of modern technology, I beg to differ. With wireless internet in the lodge, tvs in all the cabins, and access to the outside world if you should need it (but why would you in a setting like that!) it's perfect. The kitchens have everything you need to cook with so you don't need to worry about lugging extra things from home, the cabins have bathrooms and showers, and there is beauty all around you. My husband and I love it so much that we got married nearby at King Pond and have stayed there for the last two years. It's a magical place for families and we look forward to coming back with our growing little one after they're born in the spring.

Stayed in cabin #2 (Old Speck) last spring. Had a fantastic time! The cabin was very clean, right on the lake, in the woods and nice & quiet. There is no TV reception but there is a VCR. Lots of board games...great family bonding time. Lodge is great. WIFI, toys for little ones, lake rentals, etc. Little beach area for those willing to get in the chilly water. Hosts are amazing. We had a cookout at our cabin & forgot steak sauce. The hosts gave us theirs when we found there was none in the little camp store! Could not say enough about this place. It is your own hideaway in the Maine woods. Would pay top dollar for a place like this in the civilian sector. The military is fortunate to have such a wonderful place for its' warriors to enjoy. Be sure & stop on the way in at a store in Bangor because there is extremely limited grocery selection nearby. It is a good 45 minute drive to nearest store. There is a good roadside small restaurant right before the camp turnoff though. Make sure you day trip to Acadia National Park! It is an easy drive and well worth it.