Recreational Kayaking in Maine: Heald Pond, Lovell

Body of Water: Heald Pond, Lovell, Maine (Maine Gazeteer Map 10 D2)

Directions: From Fryeburg, Maine. From the intersection of 302 and Rt 5, Head North on Rt 5 towards the fairgrounds. Drive about 15.4 miles and turn right onto Slab City Rd. Drive about 0.5 miles and the parking area/launch will be on the left, just after a bridge with guardrails.

Just before the bridge/guardrails there is a sign for the GLLT (Greater Lovell Land Trust) Trails. GLLT is a great organization that has done amazing work to preserve a lot of lands in this area. Please make sure that you share this area with hikers and others enjoying it.

Parking: Parking for this launch is shared with those accessing the GLLT Trails. Again, please respect that others are using the area and park in a way that makes plenty of room for others to park. There are spaces for 5-6 vehicles here. This is a U shaped drive/parking area/launch site. Do not park near the water pipe (red and marked with signs)

From the parking area you can see/hear the water going over the small dam. It is a nice sound!!

Launch: The Launch is gravel, a pretty steep hill. Keep an eye on your kayak - it could easily slide down the hill into the water without you!! Once at the water the put in is gradual.

This is the launch from the water.

There is a nice sign next to the launch, reminding people to clean, drain and dry your boats to avoid spreading invasive plants. Please do this!

Bathroom: None

Wildlife: Beaver, Loons, Geese, Ducks, Heron, Eagle

Notes: It was a little chillier than predicted today!! Heald Pond was a great little pond to explore. There are several small ponds in this area - like Horseshoe Pond, Virginia Lake (a good reminder I haven't posted that one yet...), and more! If you are looking to make a full day of it, I would suggest either doing a couple of these ponds in the same day (cleaning draining and drying in between!!) or finding a nearby hike, to balance off the day. The Greater Lovell Land Trust has MANY trails in this area.

I was lucky to have my friend Deb paddling with me today! She knew I was in this neck of the woods and did a little research and asked if I had yet paddled Heald Pond. I told her it was on my list, but I had not yet been... Today was the day! Thanks Deb!!

Almost immediately to the right of the launch, there is big evidence of beaver activity. It was cool to see! I have seen many trees knocked down by beavers, but had never before seen little logs cut by the beavers. We noticed a game cam in that area - if you know anyone who has that camera - I would love to see the beavers at work!!

As you come around the corner you see the lodge, clearly the beavers have been adding logs to their home!

As you get a bit further from the launch the pond opens up a bit.

As we paddled we saw some feathers in the water... there were several Canada geese on the pond, so I assume these feathers are from them, but there seemed to be a lot - suggesting maybe one had battled with something... or maybe just did a lot of preening!

I love that this pond is nestled in between the hills here. I thought we may get better views of the White mountains but we didn't. There were some nice hills and I would expect this spot in the fall is stunning!

On one side of the pond there are several houses/camps. There was one that was particularly adorable - Deb and I agreed that was a true Maine camp - small, adorable and well kept. And I bet they have a great view of the sunset!

One thing I loved about this pond is that it seems to be a place that people fully enjoy. Along the water we saw a little building that had a hammock inside, we saw this bench and we also saw lots of watercraft stored along the shores. I love that this pond is loved by the landowners. I also love that one shore borders land for the GLLT and there are no houses and will be no houses.

Despite this being a pretty small pond I really enjoyed it. There was a lot of bird activity here. Several pairs of Canada geese seemed to be very comfortable here.

There were a couple of places that were 'bog - esque' and I was happy to see the geese seemed to appreciate it.

It was in one of those areas I was able to get a couple of images of my first blue heron of the season. (I only had my phone so the photos are not super quality!)

The heron moved around the pond and it was fun to see it take flight and land.

It was quite chilly at times, but there were some glimpses of blue sky!

I was very excited to hear and see a couple of loons. Again the photo is not great, but this loon was actively fishing here. We saw one fly over us - they are so cool to see fly if you haven't seen that!