Lake George and Long Lake ?

[bigdog]

Has anyone been boated on Lake George in NY, or Long Lake in Maine ?

Would be interested in knowing more about these two lakes, and your experiences.

Thanks !

[TiltonBB]

Lake George, while very scenic and very clean, is long and narrow compared to Winnipesaukee. There are a couple of rocky areas to watch out for and overall it was interesting and we felt like we had seen the whole lake in a short time.

When we went I could only find two launch ramps but that was years ago, sometime about 2002. Even so, I paid $60 to launch and park for one day. It gave me the feeling that they discourage outsiders!

Many years before that (1975) I trailered a 22 foot boat to Lake George and camped on an island at a state owned site. At that time you could pay for a site that came with a wooden platform for your tent and a fireplace. We were on an island with only two other campsites. You couldn't see the others unless you went looking for them so it was not crowded at all.

I just found this site. It was really inexpensive at the time we went.

https://www.lakegeorge.com/lodging/camping-campgrounds/lake-george-islands/


I don't know if you were planning on taking a boat or renting one but I also found this Lake George Boating Guide:

https://www.lakegeorge.com/boating/

[Blue Thunder]

Long Lake is just that...long. 11 miles long and barely 1/2 mile wide at its widest point. The causeway from the lake into Brandy Pond has a couple of restaurants and shops. There is a Public dock. If memory serves me right there is no public ramp. Only marina ramps with a fee.

[jeffk]

I boated on Long Lake about 30 years ago with my in-Laws at the time. It was a nice lake and I don't remember any type of problems with rocks. There wasn't much there except for the town of Naples where there was a bunch of stores including a marina, restaurant, grocery, general store, and a few other shops. We spent most of the time at the house or sailing and powerboating with some water skiing. Things could obviously be quite different by now.

[Descant]

I understand Lake George is doing a great job with milfoil prevention, including wash stations by launch ramps. Wish we had their money.

[joey2665]

I understand Lake George is doing a great job with milfoil prevention, including wash stations by launch ramps. Wish we had their money.



That’s opens up a completely different conversation. Why don’t we have their kind of money. The property taxes for lake front certainly are high enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=92687)

[Water Camper]

One advantage to Long Lake is that you can boat to Brandy Pond and then via the Songo River also boat to Sebago Lake. Have made this run many times in years past.

Hope this helps,
Bill

[Mechanologist]

As Bill said the cruise on the songo river going through the locks into Sebago Lake is a great boat ride if you haven't done it you will enjoy it. We used to camp there many moons ago. We used to see a lot of Wildlife along that River I don't know if it's built up now

[Dave R]

I've been to both, but only once to Lake George.

Long Lake has at least two free launch ramps, one in Harrison on right near downtown on 117, and one in Bridgton on Powerhouse Road. There are public docks in Naples and Harrison. Harrison is much more laid back, but both are great stops with shopping, restaurants, ice cream etc. There's a nice sandbar/island right at the delta of Stevens Brook by the Bridgton launch ramp. As others have stated, going through the Songo Lock to Sebago is great fun. The downside to Sebago is the utter lack of ports to visit. I only know of one restaurant you can visit by boat there. It's called Frye's Leap Cafe on Frye Island by the ferry dock.

Lake George is beautiful. You'll need a visitor's sticker/permit that you should be able to buy where you launch. We launched and parked at a Marina on east Shore of the south end of the lake. We spent the night at anchor in Red Rock Bay with about 10 other boats sharing the anchorage. It was really nice and very protected. Lake George Village and Bolton are the only two ports I know of with public docks. The docks at Lake George village are not free, but they are not very expensive. The village is pretty big and like a cross between Hampton Beach and Weirs Beach. Bolton is vastly smaller and mellower, but a walk around the grounds of the Sagamore Hotel are worth a stop there. Here are some pictures from my trip to Lake George: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201244218699460.1073741829.1591328395&type=1&l=249849e151

If you happen to have a C-Map chart plotter, I have a chip for Lake George (and a ton of other places) that you can have. Ping me the next time you are visiting your buddy Don on Knowles Point and maybe I can meet you there...

[Knomad]

One added feature to Long Lake is that you can travel to Sebago Lake via the Songo Lock.
https://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19803

You can also find a number of videos on YouTube about this trip.

[Cobalt 25]

Lake George, like Winni, is very beautiful. Lake George, however, is far less developed. In the northern sections there are miles of shoreline that are uninhabitable because of the rugged terrain rising steeply to mountain ridges.

The southern section is more developed, but much less so than Winni and the lakeside homes are mostly older and more rustic- very few McMansions like on Winni. LG only has a few restaurants for boaters.

As stated, launch opportunities are less user-friendly at Lake George than at Winni. It is much more costly to boat at Lake George. We are lucky to have the launch facilities at Winni that we do.

The island camping at Lake George is awesome, if you are into that. Beautiful campsites, a small dock, some fairly isolated spots- all make for great camping opportunities.

PM for more info if you like...