Ice Skating on real ponds in Maine (Lewiston, Waterville: appointed, college)

[Misty108]

Does anyone here know of any ponds or rivers on which there's skating in winter in Southern or Mid-Coast Maine or adjoining areas? I'm talking about natural water bodies and not artificial outdoor rinks. Thank you.

[nm9stheham]

This mentions a few that are ponds but many are manmade; sounds like all are outdoor. https://thesunriseguide.com/outdoor-ice-skating/


Rangeley is a long way to go but it has a winter rink on Haley Pond. And Round Pond up on Rt 4 north of Lewiston has ice fishing but I am not sure if they skate there too.

[OutdoorLover]

From the Pen Bay Pilot online: "Where to go ice skating in the Midcoast"
https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/...idcoast/112029

[nm9stheham]

Here is another list.... it has a lot of artificial rinks but also lists some 'ponds', some of which may be natural. Example: Johnson Pond at Colby College, Waterville, is a real pond.... not sure if it is a manmade pond or natrual.

https://untamedmainer.com/maine-ice-...g-rinks-ponds/

Let us know what you find! Been a looong time since I skated on a natural pond (in VA, believe it or not).

[mainegrl2011]

Just my 2 cents' worth... last time I skated on a really large real pond, it was very bumpy. I surmise that the wind must have been blowing (creating ripples and waves) while the water was freezing. On the other hand, a small ice covered frog pond made for excellent skating.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

We are having an unusual winter. Ice thickness is thin. Now we have heavy snow. The weight of the snow can crack the ice below. Then water flows through the crack and is absorbed by snow. We call this "wetting up".

If you are snowmobiling and you see grey snow, that is slush. Don't ride on slush. If it's too late to stop gun it and ride straight across onto white snow and get away from that area. Streams running into lakes cause thin ice. Know the ponds around your area. Follow other people's snowmobile tracks. They are also good places to cross country ski.

Going through ice is a life threatening situation. even if you get away from the hole, you are in big trouble in a soggy snowmobile suit. You will be losing body heat far faster than you can produce it. Head for a camp with a light on or a public road. If you can't get into a building or vehicle soon, you will die.

OK, you get bo safe place and get out of your wet clothes, get warm and get dressed. Your problems are not over. YOU are responsible for getting the snowmobile out of the lake. You have 72 hours to get it out. Lots of snowmobile clubs have experts at doing this. There are inexpensive underwater cameras. that can be used.

There are also commercial experts who remove cars, snowmobiles and skitters from lake. It is not cheap, but it is your responsibility to get it done.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

About 20 years ago, a camp owner arrived at his camp on the lake. The door had 9 panes of glass. The one over the door knob had cardboard covering the opening. The owner was disappointed. He had never had a problem. There was a tan paper bag on the table.

"Mister, I'm sorry I had to break in. I fell through the ice when trapping and if I didn't' break in I would have died. Here is $20 for your window pane and the 2 cans of soup I heated and ate. Took a while to dry my clothes."