Looking for an ice-free pond? Here’s a list for you

Getting sick of the cold weather? Looking forward to putting your boat in the water and trolling your favorite lake in search of landlocked salmon or lake trout?

The ice recedes at Green Lake in Dedham. John Holyoke

Me, too.

Luckily, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has made it simple to monitor the status of the state’s lakes, even if they’re far from your own front door.

The department hosts a site that details the ice out dates of the state’s lakes, and that database is updated each weekday as new information becomes available.

Sadly, according to Monday’s entries, we’ve still got some waiting to do before the ice has retreated from most of our lakes. Gardners Lake in East Machias, Chickawaukie Lake in Rockport and Rockland, the big bay of Sebago Lake in Caso, Paradise Pond in Damariscotta and Pemaquid Pond in Nobleboro are the only waters listed as open.

And up in The County, spring still seems weeks away: The builders of what’s being billed as the world’s largest ice carousel on Long Lake found the ice was 28 to 30 inches thick.

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.