Great Pond Outdoor Recreation Area

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!

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.

Really beautiful park, we stayed a week and enjoy our time very much. Trip to and from was a bit of a pain.

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.

We stayed in a tent site near the big yurt. It was a great experience. enjoyed the beach and other activities. Staff was very helpful. Friendly atmosphere. Very peaceful. Best of all there was no distractions such as people glued to TVs and computers at the main lodge. Instead they are interacting with each other. Boat rentals were available, Have made reservations for next year in July, We plan to stay in the small yurt. Rick and Pam Theobald

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

MoonRun26 below has it right about the isolation of this campground. We use Verizon phone and internet and neither could get a signal at Great Pond. We also use satellite TV and were in site #12 and got a poor signal because of the trees. I am not blaming the campground for any of this; just trying to make others aware before they go there or make reservations (no refunds on reservations). The terrible roads to the campground (7 miles off of ME 9) and many of the surrounding roads would keep us from coming back. The campsites are small for a large camper and no sewer can be a problem. It is a great place if you like the isolation and they do a good job running it so I gave it good ratings.

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 to "Get away from it all". Beautiful lake, and lodge.. Campground well kept although the trailer restroom and shower needed deodorized.. It did appear clean. Overall great experience. Hope to go back in the future. Best kept military secret in Maine.

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".

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!

I have been going to Great Pond every year for 10 years and I love everything about it! We have had Graduation Parties, Reunions and Birthday parties there. The location and the staff are great. The new cabins are awesome!

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.

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.

W.C. left this review using the Directory software: - If you enjoy the out of doors, this is a recreation area for you. This time frame was actually preseason. They are booked later on, so make reservations if your plans call for a July/August visit. We stayed in site #16, which was nice, with a lake view if no one was in the site below you (#14). Each area has its own unique utilities hookup. Since we dropped our cargo trailer we could nose into the site to put the W/E connections on the proper side. Some sites require an extra water hose to reach the connection. Be prepared. The office and Lodge closed at 3:30 or 4:30 for most of our stay. The last seven miles are on a road with no center line. The mail lady startled us by her fast driving, but she also drives this road almost daily, all the other locals that we met coming and going on our day trips drove cautiously for the conditions. I was very happy that my class B is no where near the 96 or 102" width of some other rigs. The black fly season was over and the mosquitoes were quite thick on our arrival on June 13th but quite reduced but not gone on our departure of the 23rd. The staff worked very hard to keep the trash emptied, the bathroom cleaned on a daily basis and cutting the branches and grass as needed.

We went to Great Pond 6 times last year and loved every second. I'm getting through a snowstorm in April by telling myself June 14 will be here before I know it. Four stays this year, 16 days. I never liked camping, but having a Yurt is great. We've stayed in a cabin once (middle of winter) but usually stay in Yurt 9 when it is available, one of the others if it isn't. I don't think I would stay in the smaller yurt again. I love my husband and my dog, but that was too much togetherness. I raved about it so much my parents invited themselves to come with me once this year.

My wife and I spent two weeks at Great Pond this summer and loved it! We stayed in the campground. It is a very relaxing place to spend some time. We only wish we could have stayed longer! Judy and her staff were some of the most friendly folks we have ever encountered while camping. The bathrooms in the campground were always clean, even though they have very little to work with. The bathroom buildings at the campground were so small and antiquated. We heard they may be getting new shower/restrooms by next summer! When this happens, I don't know how anyone could give this recreation area anything but a perfect score! We had a couple issues getting to the property since we used our GPS. Do not go by a GPS! Please do yourself a favor and follow the directions on the website! The rec hall has Everything you could ask for on a rainy day... Pool, ping pong, air hockey, television, board games, computers. You name it! It is a clean and very well managed rec area. Even though we are from Texas, we WILL return to Great Pond!!

Stayed in cabin 6, one of the brand new cabins. I found it to be well designed for comfort and efficiency. The path to the pond is not yet worn but adequate. The pond is also a great place to enjoy some fishing. I also come here each February for ice fishing. We will be there again next February. Enjoy!

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!