Peaceful lakefront cottage nestled among towering pines and hemlocks!

Enjoy life in the Maine woods. Sit on the dock or deck and watch osprey and bald eagles fly overhead and loons and great blue heron catch fish. Enjoy a refreshing swim out to the float and lie in the sun. Canoe down the lake to numerous private coves and picnic spots. (There are five cottages south of us then the rest of the shoreline is under resource protection and has no cottages.) End your day snug in bed, listening to the tremolo call of the loons. Long Pond is a ten mile long lake in Central Maine. It is located in the towns of Mount Vernon, Belgrade and Rome. The cottage is on the southern, quieter, half of the lake. The village of Belgrade Lakes is on the northern half of the lake and is accessible by water if you wish. The two halves of the lake are connected by a narrow passage under a bridge at Castle Island. Fishermen can catch large and small mouth bass, northern pike, perch, pickerel and brown trout in its waters. Fishing boats can be rented at Castle Island Camps a few miles across the lake. Larger boats for water skiing are also available from other locals. There is a state boat landing at Castle Island if you bring your own boat. The cottage was rebuilt in 1990 with knotty pine paneling throughout. It has a large living-dining-kitchen area with cathedral ceiling overlooking the lake. There are two bedrooms on the main floor and a loft upstairs. The small bedroom has two twin beds. The master bedroom, also with a cathedral ceiling, has a king size bed (two twins bolted together so can be separated if you wish). The master bedroom also has a triple sliding glass door opening onto the private side deck overlooking the lake. The loft has two twin beds and a day bed. The cottage has two bathrooms, one with a shower and the second with a washer and dryer. There is electric heat in both bedrooms as well as a woodstove in the living area to keep you comfortable on cool summer mornings. You are welcome to use the gas grill on the deck but no other outdoor fires are allowed. The side deck wraps around a large rock and is private because we own the two adjacent lots on that side. The property includes 300 feet of lakefront part of which is a small sandy beach that is perfect for young children to swim or for launching your canoe or kayak. There is a dock with tie ups for two boats as well as a float to swim to. The town of Mount Vernon is a ten minute drive. There you can find a gas station, very well stocked country store and the Post Office Cafe for delicious breakfasts and lunches overlooking Minnehonk Lake. There are also several gift and antique shops. Augusta with several shopping malls and supermarkets is about 30 minutes away. There are hiking trails just out the back door of the cottage plus many more within a short drive. The Kennebec Highlands is a network of trails and protected land nearby. Mount Vernon is nicely situated in an area of hills and lakes. We are a little over an hour from picturesque coastal communities such as Camden, Boothbay, Pemaquid Point and Portland. We are also a little over an hour from the western mountains such as Tumbledown which is a spectacular moderate climb with a lake on top for a cool dip. While not close by, visitors to Maine often want to visit Acadia National Park and Mount Katahdin, Maine's highest mountain and most incredible climb. Acadia is about 3 hours east. Katahdin is about 4 hours north. Keywords: Long Pond, Mount Vernon, Maine,