Long lake/sebago
 

Ok, so I know this isn't winnipesaukee related exactly but I was wondering if anyone had ever done any boat in up on sebago or long lake in Maine. Would like to try it up there. Is it any thing compared to winnipesaukee? Also has anyone ever gone from long lake down to sebago? Seems like a fun trip. Thanks for any feedback. Nick

Did Sebago to Long Lake via Songo River, locks, Crooked River and Brandy Pond about 10 years ago and had a lot of fun. It was a full day making the trip up and back. Did it in the spring when the river was high so grounding was not a big issue.

Sebago is a nice lake - clean, large enough and plenty to do. Long Lake also nice. Worth a visit IMHO.

I have done the trip many times. It's fun and very easy. They replaced the swing bridge at the end of Long lake 3 or 4 years ago, so you can come and go as you please between Long Lake and Brandy Pond now (used to have to wait for the bridge to open). They also added tons of ATONs on the Songo River so it's very easy to navigate now.

Combined, I'd say the explorable waterway is similar in size to Winni, but has somewhat different feel. That said, Long Lake is like a giant Alton Bay and Sebago is like the Broads. The Songo River is like 4 or 5 miles worth of Sally's Gut. The lock is great fun and quite interesting.

Sebago has one restaurant you can visit by boat (maybe 2 if the one in Kettle Cove is still open)... Long Lake has Naples which is a bit like Meredith.

I don't have any electronic charts for the area, but there are paper charts available and it's all well-marked. PM if you want more detail.

Maine Lakes
 

I enjoy cruising the Maine Lakes. The folks are very friendly and accommodating. Although law enforcement is present everywhere they don't seem to be over bearing. Not only is Sebago Lake is nice, try Moosehead and the Rangeley Lakes like Thomson Lake. They are a pleasure to navigate and visit. Great launch ramps!

Worth the trip!
 

Friends of mine have a place on Long Lake in Bridgton so I usually go for a visit a couple times a year. Boating from Long into Sebago is a really fun day! It really does take the better part of a day to go down and back but it's fun and so different than what we have on Winnipesaukee. We usually drive up from our camp in Moultonborough and without any traffic in Conway, it takes us about an hour and a half.

Even though Long Lake is much smaller than Winni, when the wind is blowing down the lake towards Naples it can be just as rough as a bad day on the Broads.

I echo all of the above comments. We rented a house on the east side of Long Lake this past July. Yes, Long Lake gets pretty windy, and the prevailing wind direction appears to be the same as the lake orientation. We had some pretty large swells one day. It was rough at our dock most of the time.

Long Lake is pretty nice, it is "long". There are public docks in Naples with a few restaurants. Brandy Pond connects through a short channel under the bridge.

As others have said, the trip down the Songo is quite nice. It is all NWZ so it takes a while, so relax and enjoy the ride!

Sebago is a wide open lake, so when it is windy it can get rough. But there are plenty of areas to explore. If you like a sandbar, there is a good one right when the Songo/Crooked river opens up into Sebago.

The lake markers are very good. No black/white tipped markers like NH, but I think their system is better. If you see a white marker with black stripes, don't go between that marker and the shore.

Enjoy!

As the "resident" Sebago Lake contributor on this forum, all of the above is spot on. The Songo River trip is a great trip but headway speed only the entire way. The Songo River Queen (large river wheel paddleboat) no longer makes two daily trips down river because of the new fixed span bridge. This frees up the locks to handle just pleasure boaters. The river is well marked with channel markers and Sebago is really nothing like Winnipesaukee when it comes to rocks. Everything is well marked if you pay attention. The only place to get a bite to eat on the entire lake is the Frye's Leap Café on Frye Island. Now that we are post Labor Day the Café is only open weekends for full service. They have docks but it's nothing like the Naswa. Long Lake is 11 miles long stretching from Naples to Harrison.
There has been a concerted aggressive effort on the Songo River for years to control and mitigate milfoil. Make sure you check your lower unit and prop when you leave so as not to transfer the plant elsewhere. The Maine Warden's Service (aka NorthWoods Law on Animal Planet) has a large presence on Sebago 7 days a week. Have fun.

BT

Just want to add: Obstructions that are not near shore will have a minimum of three warning markers around them. IF you see a warming marker away from shore, make sure you know where the other two are (and hope they are not on the other side of your boat... :D)

With the exception of the ledges on the southwest side of Frye Island...only two there. Do Not Enter!!

I recall three there, but it's been a couple of years...

Wow thanks everyone for the feedback! Guess we will have to make a trip up there! Sounds like it is a good time.

There are three on the mainland end of the "gut" when making the turn into Jordan Bay. The two I'm talking about are near the SW end of the island on the Standish side near Long Beach and Harmons Beach.