Rangeley Lake State Park

One of Maine's smallest state parks is nestled on the south shore of Rangeley Lake. Rangeley Lake State Park offers a change of scenery if you've had your fill of Lakeside Park in Rangeley. But aside from a different "beach" and 50 campsites, there is little here that you can't find elsewhere. If you have a Maine state park pass it's not a bad place to visit, but there's not much here to justify the $3-4 per person entry fee.

The park is located very convenient to the town of Rangeley. Just take Route 4 south and turn right on Shore Drive. There are signs to guide you. It's approximately 8 miles from downtown Rangeley to the park entrance and it will probably take no more than 15 minutes to get there. Click here to see a map.

Overall the park is mostly forested, although there are clearings for parking, playgrounds, the beach, etc. The park and its facilities are clean and well-maintained and the staff ooze northern Maine friendliness. In addition to the aforementioned public boat launch, campsites, and beach, Rangeley Lake State Park offers picnic facilities, playing fields, and trails. The playing fields are really just grassy fields (no bleachers, goalposts, etc.) and while the trails are in great shape they are mostly utilitarian (e.g. a trail from the parking to the ball fields, a trail from the beach to the campsites, etc.) and aren't for serious hiking. Note that the "beach" is grass with steps down to the water rather than sand.

We visited the park on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon and while many of the campsites were in use there were probably no more than a dozen other cars at the park. It's definitely a quiet place to spend an afternoon. Leashed dogs are allowed in the park, but are not permitted on the beach. The park is open and staffed between May 15 and October 1, typically between 9am and sunset.

Kayaking the Kennebago

If you're looking for a relaxing trip down a quiet Maine river, look no further than the Kennebago, which is easily accessed in nearby Oquossoc. The Kennebago flows, gently, into Mooselookmeguntic Lake. There is an easily accessible 3-mile stretch of the river that you can do as a one-way trip if you have two vehicles, but which we opted to do in both directions to bring it up to almost 6 miles.

For our trip we opted to take our kayaks, although we also saw some folks plying the river in a canoe. This stretch of the river is not particularly deep and when the water level is lower, as it was on this day, we found the lower draft and higher maneuverability of a kayak to be preferable. And while we haven't tried it yet, we suspect that a trip down Kennebago would be very enjoyable on an inner tube too.

We began by going against the current to make the return trip easier. As the Kennebago's current is very gentle it's no challenge at all to paddle upriver. Your primary adversary is actually a series of forks along the way, most of which lead to a dead end if you make the wrong choice. The good news is that most of these false routes are fairly short. We only had to backtrack once, and that added no more than 10 minutes to our trip. We found it kind of amusing, but we can't recommend this trip for anyone who's easily frustrated!

Including our wrong turn the three-mile trip upriver took about an hour and a half. The return trip was slightly faster thanks to a bit of help from the current and the fact that we didn't take any wrong turns. Although the banks of the river are mostly foliage, there are a couple of spots where you can pull out and enjoy a picnic, which we may do the next time we visit. Aside from a few birds we didn't get to see much wildlife, but that was probably because it was already late morning by the time we were out paddling. If you time it right you'll probably be rewarded, as we saw several unmistakable signs that animals had visited the river, including some moose tracks where we stopped to turn around.

To get to the put in simply take route 4 from Rangeley to Oquossoc and then turn right on 16. A mile and half down 16 there's a bridge over the Kennebago. The put in is just before the bridge on the left side of the road. The "parking area" is nothing more than an enlarged shoulder, but there is space enough for several cars to pull off and park. Click here for a map.

If you have two vehicles and want to do a one-way trip, the take out point is access via the "Abandoned Rail Rd" (as Google Maps calls it - it actually is a paved road), which is a right turn off of 16 just before the bridge over the Kennebago.

Summiting Saddleback

On a picture-perfect Sunday morning in late June we challenged ourselves to hike to the top of Saddleback Mountain. Better known as a winter ski resort, Saddleback is open to hikers throughout the summer with several good routes to choose from. (Saddleback has a helpful map posted here.) There are a number of advantages to visiting Saddleback during the off-season, including:

No entrance fee

You practically have the place to yourself

The views are fantastic

We were the first car in the parking lot when we arrived around 9am, and we had the entire route to the summit completely to ourselves. As we ascended a terrific vista of the Rangeley region opened up below us. The higher you climb, the more landmarks you can see. At first it's just Saddleback Lake and the resort area, but soon you can make out the municpal airport, Rangeley Lake, Gull Pond, Haley Pond, etc. Along the way you get an up-close look at the impressive array of snow cannons that keep the slope in tip-top shape throughout the ski season. If you're making the trek in mid- to late June you'll also be hiking past and even through vast fields of vibrant purple lupines. The air is as fresh as it can be, and the breeze often grows stronger as you ascend, helping to keep you cool and comfortable.

Alas, the solitude could not last forever. While we took a break at the summit a group of trail runners arrived (and frankly made us feel a little lazy for merely walking up the mountain). We also passed a few more hikers while we made our descent. But overall this was a wonderful, quiet hike with fantastic scenery. It's incredibly convenient to Rangeley and the price can't be beat. We absolutely recommend a trek up Saddleback to anyone in the Rangeley area who wants to spend a couple of hours doing a serious hike.

Getting there: The parking area at Saddleback is approximately 8 miles from downtown Rangeley, about 15 minutes by car. From Route 4 (Main St. Rangeley) take Dallas Hill Rd. to Saddleback Mountain Rd. and just follow that right to the resort. There is signage along the way so it's difficult to get lost. The base lodge will be on your left as you enter the resort area and the parking area will then follow almost immediately on your right. Click here for a map.

The route: There is a box with trail maps near the front doors of the base lodge. These are the same as the online map, though the maps at Saddleback are easier to read than the online version. To start your trek to the summit go around to the back of the lodge and follow the short chair lift up the Wheeler slope. When you reach the top of Wheeler there is a path through the trees that bears left. This path opens up onto the Gray Ghost slope, which is where you'll spend most of your time climbing. At the top of the Gray Ghost several slopes converge, but just continue in the same direction you were going and you'll find a wide gravel trail that bears to the left. This is the Tri Color. After a short time there will be an obvious fork in the trail. At this point you'll bear right for a final, steep ascent to the summit. You'll know when you've reached the highest point as you'll be at the top of the highest chair lift, with a ski patrol hut right behind it. This is a nice spot for a break and a photo, and if you feel like it you can continue to follow the trail along the summit for additional views. You will descend the same way you came up.

Keep in mind: In terms of distance, it's approximately 2 miles of hiking from the base lodge to the summit. Over that span you'll gain about 1500 feet of elevation. We're fairly avid hikers and it took us about 1.25 hours each way. Bring enough water with you and use the bathroom before you leave Rangeley, as the base lodge is closed in the summer and there are no facilities along the way. Trekking poles are not a necessity but are certainly helpful on this route. Ski slopes are obviously very exposed, so take appropriate precautions against the sun.

Brought to You by Haley Hideaway

Welcome to the Rangeley Excursions blog! We love spending time enjoying the many activities that the Rangeley region has to offer, but we've also found that it can be difficult to find good online information when you're trying to plan your day. To do our part to help remedy that situation we started this blog where we can post details of some of the area excursions that we've found particularly enjoyable. We hope you find this information useful and that you have a great time exploring Rangeley.

If you need a place to stay while you're in the area we hope you'll consider Haley Hideaway, a gorgeous lakefront cabin conveniently located right in the town of Rangeley. It's a perfect place to relax and a great base of operations for a variety of outdoor pursuits. For more information please visit www.haleyhideaway.com.