Body of Water: Cold Stream Pond, Enfield, ME [Maine Gazetteer Map 33, A5
Directions: (From Bangor) Head north on 95 and take exit 217 (Howland). Turn right off the ramp onto Rt. 155. Stay on Rt. 155 to the traffic circle and take the first exit off the circle to stay on 155, From there stay on Rt 155 for about 4.8 miles. (You will cross over Rt. 2.) At the intersection of 155 and 188 turn right onto 188 for 0.1 miles, then turn left onto Old Hatchery Rd. Follow Old Hatchery Road to the end to get to the boat launch.
Boat Launch:There is a ramp for bigger boats as well as an area where you could launch from the shore that is accessible for hand carry launches but not bigger boats.
Parking: There is a good amount of parking here but can be very crowded on weekends for fishing tournaments.
There is a Bass Tournament on June 25th! Here are the details via facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1601056670207677/
Wildlife: Loons, eagles, snapping turtles, bass, bass, and more bass!
Notes: This is a location that is close to my heart. I spent time on this lake in high school and college with some friends... good memories of some lake shenanigans! It has gotten closer to my heart in recent years as it is the lake on which my dad now resides. This means that I get to enjoy it. I am including the directions to the public boat launch, though I have never used it. (I have gone by it!)
Cold Stream is one of the bodies of water in Maine that does not have invasive plant species. (Remember to wash your boats to keep it that way!) The water is so incredibly clear! There are a lot of large rocks in this lake and you can usually see them. This day the fish seemed curious about me paddling by and came out and seemed to chase my shadow.
Confession: This photo was taken while I was a passenger on the boat... we had a great breakfast cruise out there! (Took waffles, fresh whipped cream and fresh strawberries from my garden out onto the lake... divine!) As you can tell, I was pretty stressed!
Not far from the boat launch is this island. I think it is cool that there is an American flag here... Dad thinks the island is owned by the town of Enfield, but I am not certain.
I do not know this paddler, but she was out enjoying the day!
This is a well used lake. There are many houses and camps along the shores. I loved seeing so many canoes, kayaks, and SUPs tucked close to the shore, and we saw a lot of people using the lake while I was there.
Dad says this guy rows this boat every day. That looks like a workout!
When we were out on the boat we watched a pair of loons and at one point they disappeared. Of course loons can stay under water for a long time, but they did not resurface. I thought they may have a nest on the shore and we had missed seeing them go to it. Later I took my kayak and explored a bit. I would have missed this nest had the loon not made a couple of sounds as I got close. After I saw her I took a few pics and then backed far away. (I was keeping a respectable distance at first too, making sure to not stress her or him out.)
It was so well camouflaged!
Not long after I found the nest the mate was taking note of my presence. I was pretty far from the nest at that point but this guy (or gal) kept a close eye on me. It kept looking at me then towards the nest and back at me. My rule is... if the behavior of the animal changes, I am too close... so I backed off even more. (It wasn't fishing it was swimming around circling the area and wondering what the heck I was doing.) When I backed off even more and the loon still seemed uncomfortable, I decided to leave the area completely. Loons are fragile and I don't want to be responsible for an unsuccessful nest.
Cold Stream is a beautiful place. I know it is further away than most of the places I have included, but well worth checking out if you are in the area. It is a BIG lake, so be forewarned when the wind comes up, it gets choppy, especially in the 'big lake', which is the area near the launch.
No comments:
Post a Comment