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Log inTake a day to paddle into Rangeley Lake's South Bog Cove
Take a day to paddle into Rangeley Lake's South Bog Cove
by Outspoken on Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:07 pm
Take a day to paddle into Rangeley Lake's tranquil South Bog Cove
By MICHAEL PERRY
Portland Press Herald
A paddler could easily spend a week's vacation in the Rangeley Lakes region, exploring a variety of lakes and ponds, moose watching at dawn and dusk, and exploring hiking trails leading into scenic bogs and up to windswept summits. If you have only one day, rise early and drive up Route 4 out of Farmington to Rangeley and explore a surprisingly wild and less visited part of Rangeley Lake, South Bog Cove. You will be following in the footsteps of history on the drive up, and on the lake.
On the left just before the Phillips-Avon line note the small airfield. Lindbergh Airport was named after aviator Charles Lindbergh, who landed here with his wife on Sept. 27, 1947.
Be sure to drive through the small town of Phillips, just off Route 4. There are many elegant buildings and homes that harken back to when Rangeley was a popular destination for summer vacationers, during its "Golden Age" of tourism in the 1920s and 1930s. Trains and buses transported vacationers to Farmington and Phillips on their way to summer relaxation and adventure in the grand lodges and inns that once dotted the shores of the area's lakes.
An exploration of South Bog Cove starts at Rangeley Lake State Park. Turn west onto South Shore Drive from Route 4 about four miles south of the town of Rangeley. Follow this road for 4.8 miles until you see the park entrance road on the right. At the entrance station you will pay a $3-per-adult fee to enter the park. The boat launch site is clearly marked. Consult the Delorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer, map No. 28, for help in getting to Rangeley Lake State Park.
The summer season sees a lot of boating traffic on the lake. That should not deter any paddler in search of outstanding alpine scenery and wilderness solitude. Leave the powerboats for the vast depths of the middle of the lake and follow the rocky shoreline west for three miles from the state park boat launch into the tranquil backwaters of South Bog Cove.
The launch site offers outstanding views east toward the elongated barrier of Saddleback Mountain. It is apparent from here how it got its name. Note the dimple of mountain north of the Horn, known as Potato Nubble. We were there on a hazy day but still could see the round ridgelines of the Crocker's and the peaks in and around the Reddington Range.
Paddle to the left up the shoreline. A few hundred yards from the launch site you will pass the swimming "beach" at Rangeley Lake State Park. It is quite unique. Sunbathers were casually scattered across a green slope, its grass cut as fine and short as that of a golf course fairway. Three wide wooden steps led down into the crystal clear water. It all looked quite comfortable and inviting. Despite the warm, sunny day there were very few people at the beach.
You will soon paddle by the park campground and start to head west. A mile out into the lake sits the South Bog Islands archipelago, composed of one large forested island and a number of rocky islets with small cottages on them. If the winds remain calm and waters placid, this makes a fun exploration. The islands have a San Juan Islands feel to them for those of you who have sea kayaked in this renowned area north of Seattle, Wash. The islet cottages take up all the available real estate, and a stay must be a lyrical one, with the constant sound of lapping water mixing with the call of loons.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=194748&ac=Outdoors
By MICHAEL PERRY
Portland Press Herald
A paddler could easily spend a week's vacation in the Rangeley Lakes region, exploring a variety of lakes and ponds, moose watching at dawn and dusk, and exploring hiking trails leading into scenic bogs and up to windswept summits. If you have only one day, rise early and drive up Route 4 out of Farmington to Rangeley and explore a surprisingly wild and less visited part of Rangeley Lake, South Bog Cove. You will be following in the footsteps of history on the drive up, and on the lake.
On the left just before the Phillips-Avon line note the small airfield. Lindbergh Airport was named after aviator Charles Lindbergh, who landed here with his wife on Sept. 27, 1947.
Be sure to drive through the small town of Phillips, just off Route 4. There are many elegant buildings and homes that harken back to when Rangeley was a popular destination for summer vacationers, during its "Golden Age" of tourism in the 1920s and 1930s. Trains and buses transported vacationers to Farmington and Phillips on their way to summer relaxation and adventure in the grand lodges and inns that once dotted the shores of the area's lakes.
An exploration of South Bog Cove starts at Rangeley Lake State Park. Turn west onto South Shore Drive from Route 4 about four miles south of the town of Rangeley. Follow this road for 4.8 miles until you see the park entrance road on the right. At the entrance station you will pay a $3-per-adult fee to enter the park. The boat launch site is clearly marked. Consult the Delorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer, map No. 28, for help in getting to Rangeley Lake State Park.
The summer season sees a lot of boating traffic on the lake. That should not deter any paddler in search of outstanding alpine scenery and wilderness solitude. Leave the powerboats for the vast depths of the middle of the lake and follow the rocky shoreline west for three miles from the state park boat launch into the tranquil backwaters of South Bog Cove.
The launch site offers outstanding views east toward the elongated barrier of Saddleback Mountain. It is apparent from here how it got its name. Note the dimple of mountain north of the Horn, known as Potato Nubble. We were there on a hazy day but still could see the round ridgelines of the Crocker's and the peaks in and around the Reddington Range.
Paddle to the left up the shoreline. A few hundred yards from the launch site you will pass the swimming "beach" at Rangeley Lake State Park. It is quite unique. Sunbathers were casually scattered across a green slope, its grass cut as fine and short as that of a golf course fairway. Three wide wooden steps led down into the crystal clear water. It all looked quite comfortable and inviting. Despite the warm, sunny day there were very few people at the beach.
You will soon paddle by the park campground and start to head west. A mile out into the lake sits the South Bog Islands archipelago, composed of one large forested island and a number of rocky islets with small cottages on them. If the winds remain calm and waters placid, this makes a fun exploration. The islands have a San Juan Islands feel to them for those of you who have sea kayaked in this renowned area north of Seattle, Wash. The islet cottages take up all the available real estate, and a stay must be a lyrical one, with the constant sound of lapping water mixing with the call of loons.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=194748&ac=Outdoors
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
