Sparkling Messalonskee Lake in Maine’s Belgrade Lakes Chain

Out and About for the Sebago Lakes Region of Maine, May 13 to 19
May 12, 2010
Surveying the Watershed of Moose Pond in Bridgton, Denmark and Sweden, Maine
May 16, 2010

Sparkling Messalonskee Lake in Maine’s Belgrade Lakes Chain

A brilliant summer day on Messalonskee Lake

Lakefront property on Messalonskee Lake offers the perfect getaway for a vacation home on crystal clear water. Messalonskee Lake is the second largest body of water in the famed Belgrade Chain of Lakes.

Lakefront Properties For Sale on Messalonskee Lake



The Belgrade Chain includes North Pond, East Pond, Salmon and McGrath Ponds, Great Pond, Long Pond and finally Messalonskee Lake. All are well known by anglers for their great catches. Messalonskee is home to Brown Trout, White Perch, Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike and Chain Pickerel.
This 3,510 acre lake with a maximum depth of 113 feet and a mean depth of 33 feet is officially named Messalonskee Lake, but is also known as Snow Pond. That name is for Philip Snow who hunted in the area around the lake during the mid-1700s and later moved his family here. Because the lake is 9 miles long, it is also sometimes referred to as Nine Mile Pond.
The water quality of Messalonskee Lake is listed as average. Gilliam Johnston, volunteer water quality monitor and Vice President of the Snow Pond/Messalonskee Lake Association reported in the 2009 newsletter, “Every two weeks during the summer I drop anchor at station #1, the “deep hole” near the New England Music Camp, to record data and collect samples for additional testing . . . If becoming a lake monitor is not your cup of tea, there are still three things that every landowner can do to prevent phosphorus buildup in the lake: 1) landscape your property to reduce erosion and runoff to the lake, 2) avoid using fertilizer on your lawn, and 3) make sure your septic is well maintained.”
Boat launches can be found in Sidney and Oakland. A Courtesy Boat Inspector Program takes place at both launches. Boats are inspected when they enter and exit the lake. This is especially important as there is Milfoil in the lake.
The Snow Pond/Messalonskee Lake Association, founded in 1990 to promote the preservation of the lake, is working in conjunction with the Maine Milfoil Initiative to try to eradicate the invasive species. According to the April 2010 minutes of the Association, the Board will recruit a Project Manager for the Milfoil Initiative Project, the lake will be mapped and help will be sought for hand pulling and DASH boat work, to assemble and install Benthic Barriers and to survey and monitor milfoil-infested areas.
Messalonskee Lake offers swimming, boating, water skiing and fishing in the summer. After the brilliant fall foliage season, lakefront property owners enjoy skating, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing in the winter months.  Spring means its time to hop into your canoe and join the Maine Audubon for a field trip to observe “nesting Common Loon, Sora, Virginia Rail, Pied-billed Grebe, Bald Eagle, Black Tern and Sandhill Cranes.” The lake is a great place to paddle about and observe plants and wildlife. Binoculars are a must for an afternoon boat ride.
All of the amenities of Waterville and Augusta are only a stones throw from the sparkling water of Messalonskee Lake. If you are looking for a cottage or camp for sale, or even a summer rental, let this be the place you’ll make your sanctuary.
To learn more about lakefront property listings, click on the green box above.
To learn about other lakes in the Belgrade Lakes Region, click on the blog links below.
Sibley Pond, Pittsfield & Canaan, Maine, Offers Lakefront Home Owners Plenty of Wildlife Viewings
Lake Minnehonk, Mount Vernon, Maine: Lakefront Property Beside Shimmering Waters

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