About Oxford County, ME

Located in the western Maine foothills of Oxford County and only minutes from Sunday River and Mt. Abram Ski Resorts are six pristine ponds you won't want to miss: North, South, Round, Twitchell, Indian and Bryant Ponds. The ponds are located in the towns of Greenwood, Woodstock and Locke Mills, where as a lakefront property owner you'll find small town atmosphere and natural landscape at your doorstep.

North Pond covers 284 acres and has a maximum depth of 37 feet. The fishing is excellent for both warm and cold water fisheries. A small picnic are off Route 26 provides access for canoes and car-top boats. Small trailered boats can be launched from the ramp at Round Pond and then pass through the culvert at Route 26 to reach North Pond. Pleasant views include Bucks Ledge, Moody Mountain, Kimball Hill and Wilbur Mountain.

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South Pond is similar in size and has a maximum depth of 71 feet. Anglers will catch smallmouth bass, landlocked salmon, trout and white fish here. South Pond also features an abundant smelt population. The state maintains a boat ramp located just above the South Pond Bridge. Views of Mount Abram and Tibbets Mountain can be enjoyed from the water. Littlefield Beaches Lakeside Campground is located on South Pond at 13 Littlefield Lane, off Route 26, about halfway between Locke Mills and Bryant Pond.

Round Pond is connected to South Pond via a small channel. Anglers will appreciate knowing that largemouth bass tend to be more prevalent in Round Pond. A boat ramp is located in Locke Mills. Greenwood lies on the shore of Round Pond and was the hometown of Leon Leonwood Bean, founder of LL Bean.

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Twitchell Pond covers 179 acres and has a maximum depth of 47 feet. Its pristine waters are so clear that except for the deepest points, you can see the bottom. A diversified fishery, Twitchell Pond is home to trout, smelt, perch, pickerel and smallmouth bass. You'll find a public boat launch near the dam off Twitchell Pond Road. Mountain views from the pond include Elwell, Uncle Tom and Oversett, plus Rowe Hill.

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Indian Pond is small at 68 acres, but the maximum depth is 62 feet. Brook trout are stocked annually. Anglers also catch splake and rainbow smelt here. Access is limited to small boats or canoes across private property down a dirt road off Rowe Hill Road. Be sure to respect the landowner's generosity by picking up after yourself.

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The largest of the ponds in Greenwood and Woodstock is Bryant Pond, also known as Lake Christopher. Bryant Pond covers 278 acres and has a maximum depth of 63 feet. The mixture of rocky and sandy shoreline make it popular amongst anglers who catch coldwater fish species including smelt, landlocked salmon and brook trout here. A public boat ramp is located next to the outlet at Rowe Hill Road. From the pond you'll enjoy picturesque sunsets, towering Norway pines, and views of Mt. Abram and the surrounding hills and mountains. The Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center, formerly the Maine Conservation School is located on Bryant Pond.

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All of these ponds provide year round recreational activities from swimming, boating and fishing on the water to mountain biking at Mt. Abram and on other nearby trails. If you own lakefront property here, you can easily golf at Sunday River or the Bethel Inn Country Club, hike in Evans Notch and Grafton Notch, ski, tube, and snowboard at Sunday River and Mt. Abram or snowshoe, snowmobile and cross-country ski on trails throughout the area.

Nestled in the western Maine Lakes and Mountains Region is Bear Pond in historic Waterford. Bear Pond is located only a mile and a half from Waterford Flats, the quaint center of Waterford where most of the buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The pond is surrounded by Bear Mountain, Hawk Mountain and Mount Tir'em, which provide a magical backdrop for a relaxing vacation.

At 218 acres, this small pond is Waterford's deepest lake with a maximum depth of 72 feet and a mean depth of 34 feet. The water quality of pond is rated in the average to moderate category by the Lakes Environmental Association.

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Camp Wigwam, a summer camp for boys, sits among a pine grove and hugs the northwestern shoreline, while Bear Mountain Inn is set on 52 acres of the northeastern shoreline.

Local lore gives us two stories about the name "Bear Pond." One story claims it was named after a bear that was killed in its waters during early settlement. Another story is just slightly different-In the early spring of the late 1770s, a mother bear fell through the ice and drowned. Her young cub survived. We don't know what happened to the cub, but that spring the mother's body was recovered and the pond was named out of respect for her spirit.

Whatever the reason, you'll certainly refresh your own spirit when you spend time on Bear Pond. Fish, bird watch, kayak or canoe, tube, waterski, and stargaze. Hiking trails plus rock and ice climbing opportunities await on the surrounding mountains.

Bear Pond is only one hour from Portland, 45 minutes from tax-free shopping in North Conway and minutes to the White Mountains. Let this inspiring setting satisfy your craving for lakefront property in a scenic, natural environment.

Bear Pond provides excellent habitat for cold and warm water fish. Anglers will find fifteen species here, including lake trout, smallmouth bass, splake, salmon and brook trout. Though the latter two spawn successfully in a branch of the main inlet called Mutiny Brook, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife regularly stocks them. During winter months, Bear Pond takes on the look of a village because many people ice fish here. For the rest of the year, you'll find a steeply sloped, paved boat access on Route 35, which follows the eastern shoreline of the pond.There isn't a public beach, but in the Lewiston Sun Journal's March 7, 2010 report of the annual town meeting, Leslie H. Dixon wrote that Waterford voters, "went along with the Selectmen's recommendation to keep a three-quarter-acre parcel at the south end of Bear Pond for public access . . . Officials said the benefits of retaining the land for residents far outweighed the money that it could bring in in taxes or through a sale. The parcel cannot be built upon."

Sparkling clear water defines Worthley Pond in Peru, Maine. Surrounded by a ring of hills in the Western Maine Lakes and Mountains Region, Worthley Pond is one of the cleanest and clearest lakes in Maine.

This sandy-bottomed pond covers 350 acres with a circumference of approximately five miles. The maximum depth is 49 feet in this hour-glass shaped pond, which has two separate basins connected by a narrow section of water.

For the past 18 years Bruce and Sharon Eastman have conducted water quality tests, which they submit to the Maine DEP. The water quality of Worthley Pond is above average. Tom Placey, president of the Worthley Pond Association (WPA) writes in their newsletter, "We have had the pond tested once a year, but it has been recommended to test the pond twice a year, which we feel should be done to protect the pond."

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Located 45 minutes from Bethel, 30 minutes from the New Hampshire border and 3 hours from Boston, Worthley Pond offers a 4-season vacation spot. The pond itself is perfect for sailing, waterskiing, fishing and kayaking. Some of the surrounding hills, including Tumbledown Dick, The Pinnacle, Poland Mountain, Allen Hill, Trask Mountain, Browns Mountain and Thompson Mountain, offer trails for hiking and snowmobiling. Downhill and cross-country skiing opportunities are nearby.

Over the years the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife manages Worthley Pond for both warm and cold water fishing. They annually stock it for brown and brook trout. A few years ago Rainbow trout were introduced and have thrived. Most anglers access the pond via the dirt access off Route 122, east of the outlet culvert.

The WPA works to protect and preserve the beauty and health of the pond. The Association participates in the LakeSmart program, and offers a buffer program to lakefront property owners to plant and establish plants near the shoreline of their lots to capture phosphorus before it enters the water. This is a matching grant up to $150. They also monitor for invasive plants and are happy to note that to date there is no milfoil in Worthley Pond.

Tim Placey says, "Environmentally, we have a lot to think about in keeping Worthley Pond safe, but we should never forget the first three rules of life. The first is have fun, the second, have fun and the third, have fun." The WPA hosts several events in this spirit throughout the summer including a Welcome Back Social, Annual Meeting, Around the Pond Yard Sale, Christmas in July, Golf Outing and Ice Cream Social. Here's hoping that you will have fun at your lakefront home on Worthley Pond.

Summer vacations at Whitney Pond in Oxford, Maine were a treat when I was a kid. After a long ride in the back seat of the station wagon Dad would turn off Route 26 and find the way to the dirt road that led to the Milletts' cottage.

Our first glimpse of the water would be through fluttering pines. I remember barely taking time to greet our friends, the Iveys, with whom we'd spend our vacation, before donning my swimsuit and jumping into the lake - only to jump right back out. BRRR, it was a delightful shock to the system. Harold and Muriel Millett, who owned the cottage, were also family friends. They stopped by daily to visit us.

My memories of the cottage include pumping water from the well outside the kitchen door, playing board games by the huge windows that overlooked the pond and leaning from my spot on the top bunk over the partitioned wall into the next bedroom to talk with my brother and his friend.

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Just beyond the Milletts' cottage, the land jutted out. Jane, a teenage neighbor, would sometimes treat us to rides in her motorboat and we'd get to tour the entire pond. Cottages were dotted about, but mostly it was undeveloped land.

I was in awe of Jane-she lived on the lake year round, had a motorboat and waterskied. One day she asked Dad if he'd like to try waterskiing. He'd never skied before. We all watched in amazement as he got up on the skis on his first try and circled around the pond. That was his first and last experience at it.

We'd spend most of our time in or on the water, but also explored Norway, South Paris or Oxford. I remember stopping to watch the TV in the window at Western Auto on Main Street in Norway when Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the moon. We drove up to Perhams in West Paris and purchased gems. And in Andover we visited the Telstar site.

A bar of soap and container of shampoo sat on the dock and every morning we'd scrub ourselves - it was a treat then to take a bath in the pond, but something we've since learned is not a good idea. Thankfully, despite our summer baths in the mid-1960s, the water quality of Whitney Pond is rated average today. At a maximum depth of 24 feet, this 170-acre pond has extensive expanses of very shallow water habitat. Anglers catch largemouth bass, white perch and chain pickerel. Next door neighbor, Hogan Pond, cover 177 acres and has a maximum depth of 34 feet.

Whitney and Hogan Ponds lay parallel to each other and are interconnected at the northern end. This outlet leads to the Little Androscoggin River and on to the Welchville Dam. Definitely a must do if you enjoy canoeing or kayaking.
Summer memories are made on Whitney and Hogan Ponds.

Most of all I remember the pond. It's long and narrow, with a marshy area at the northern end. We'd row about looking for painted turtles and muskrats. My brother was forever fishing from the dock or the row boat.

Saturday Pond sits in the heart of the Oxford Hills section of Maine's Lakes and Mountain Region. Located in the small village of Otisfield, Maine, Saturday Pond is only a 50 minute drive from Portland and Freeport, as well as North Conway, NH.

This 179-acre pond has a mean depth of 8 feet with a maximum depth of 25. A recently reconstructed dam allows better control to maintain the water level.

The water quality as measured by Certified Water Quality Monitor, Ruth Wilson, is slightly above average. Lew Wetzel of Casco conducts phosphorus and dissolved oxygen tests each year. The Saturday Pond Watershed Association (SPWA) was formed in 1993 "to preserve, enhance and protect the advantages of Saturday Pond and its environs."

In the SPWA fall 2009 newsletter, President of the Association, Eileen Altaliades wrote, "In August, Pixie Williams conducted our annual invasive plant survey. It is wonderful to hear that another year has gone by without the presence of milfoil and any other invasive plants in our beloved pond."

Sam's Landing on Rayville Road is a 100 x 100-foot parcel of land at the pond's edge given to the town by Sam and Helen Jaakkola back in 1946. The Jaakkolas specified that the lot be kept in perpetuity by the town as a public bathing beach and picnic ground. Today you'll find picnic tables, a swimming area and a boat access for hand-carried boats. The Landing is restricted to residents and tax payers only.

Saturday Pond is a great place to relax in the summer, reconnect with the family, enjoy nature, explore antique shops and listen to the call of the loons. During the winter months it's open to ice fishing and offers great skating and cross country skiing opportunities.

Steve Markarian, Vice President of the SPWA, says, "We love the peace and tranquility of Saturday Pond."

As the tall pines whisper above the crystal clear waters, Saturday Pond could work its magic on you.