Maine Lakes Close to Boston? Try the Sanford Lakes Area

The Sanford Lakes Area is in northwest York County, Maine's southern most county. It is the lakes area that is closest to Boston in both mileage and minutes. This lakes area gets it's name from the Town of Sanford which is the regional shopping area for the entire lakes area.Sanford is only one hour and forty five minutes from downtown Boston but it's a world away from the hustle and bustle.

Although smaller in size than the neighboring Sebago Region to the north, the Sanford area features several fine lakes and ponds. Here's a quick travelogue sampling.

Heading northwest from downtown Sanford/Springvale on Routes 109/11 you soon will come to a large fork. I first came to this fork fifty years ago and still get goose bumps as I view the length of Mousam Lake. The right fork, Route 11, will take you to Shapleigh, North Shapleigh and on to Newfield. Along the way you'll travel along the east shore of Mousam Lake and Square Pond. These two lakes rank high on the list of the area's finer lakes. The left fork, Route 109, will take you to Acton, the home of the Acton Fair. Here you'll find Wilson Lake and the magnificent Great East Lake which sprawls over the border into New Hampshire.

Leaving Sanford on US 202 takes one north to Alfred. In Alfred you'll come to the intersection of US 202 and Route 111. If one proceeds North on US 202 you will enter Waterboro. Taking Route 5 will take you by Little Ossipee Lake, a true gem of a lake. From Alfred one can head east to Lyman on Route 111. Route 111 forms the southern boundary of an area in Lyman that contains a group of small, but lovely, ponds - Bunganut, Kennebunk, and Wadley to name a few.

Directly west of Sanford is West Lebanon and beautiful Northeast Pond which we share with our friends in New Hampshire. Directly east of Sanford you'll find Estes Lake. As we mentioned, all of lakes are a short drive from Boston and within easy reach of the Maine Turnpike.

If you are interested in taking a closer look at lakefront property in the Sanford area, try our search feature, Lakefront Locator. You can search by town, lake, lake size, and price and see all the current listings.