Great Gateway to Moosehead Lake, Maine - Lily Bay State Park
Written: Oct 01 '04 (Updated Oct 01 '04)
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Pros: Pleasant campsites, Nice beach, year-round activities
Cons: Can be very crowded on holiday weekends
The Bottom Line: The park is well worth a stop either as a day-use area, or as a camping base to explore the rest of the Moosehead region
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| jps246's Full Review: Lily Bay State Park |
When I lived in Greenville, ME (don’t tell me, I already know I was on the edge of God’s Country back then), Lily Bay State Park was a great place to access Moosehead Lake, spend the night camping with some friends and in the wintertime, was a great “quick-stop” for cross-country skiing.
You’re probably wondering why someone who lived on the edge of the great North Woods would bother stopping at a small (roughly 900 acres) state park along the shores of Maine’s largest lake. Well the problem was, especially when I had friends up and we wanted to do something – you don’t want to have to drive hours, or explore unchartered territory sometimes just to do something quick and easy. Lily Bay State Park was only about 10 miles north of downtown Greenville (yes, there’s a downtown) and it took me about 15 minutes on a good day to get up there.
Beyond having two campgrounds, there is a nice area to swim, along with a day-use area for people to relax, picnic, or otherwise enjoy the day and a boat-launch area for people to launch smaller boats (no one will be putting in their cabin cruiser here). In the wintertime the park’s roads are open to snowmobiles and to cross country skiers.
Basics
Campground
There are two distinct campgrounds (though not managed separately and not really separated by that much distance) at Lily Bay State Park with a total of 91 camp sites between the two. Reservations are usually needed for the busiest weekends, but most other times there are some sites available to people who stop in looking to spend the night. The fees for camping are quite mild - $10 for Maine residents and $13 for non-Maine residents. Generally the campgrounds are open from about Labor Day in the spring until Columbus Day in the fall – but that depends on the weather. It’s best to call ahead if you’re going in the spring or the fall to make sure the campgrounds will be open.
The sites in both of the campgrounds are fairly nice – you’re not really on top of your neighbors, but you’re not that far either. There are restrooms with showers though there are no hookups at the campsites for electricity or sewer. There's water at some of the sites and there are water spigots scattered throughout the campground for everyone to use. The sites are really designed for tents or small trailers or campers. People with big monster camper vans and trailers probably will have a hard time fitting (though I have seen a few – so call ahead and see if your camper will fit).
Beach
There’s a very nice beach at the park that’s a great way to get your feet into Moosehead Lake. In a lot of places along the lake’s shore, it is rocky or there’s so much private development that you can’t get down to the water.
The beach isn’t usually very crowded (except for those busy weekends) and there is a life guard there during the day supervising everyone swimming.
Boat Launch
There are two boat launches at the park that provide basic boat launch services. That is you can get your car up to the boat launch and either carry your boat down to the water, or back your trailer down so the boat can slip into the water. These boat launches are designed for smaller boats – so if you’ve got your big boat – launch it down in Greenville, or go around the other side of the lake to Rockwood.
Day Use Area
Basically it’s a glorified field, along with some more forested picnic areas. There’s also a playground on the site and it’s a good place to just relax and enjoy an afternoon between swims. There are picnic tables scattered throughout the site along with charcoal grills if you want to BBQ.
Trails
This park is mostly campground and day-use facilities, but there is a trail that runs along the shoreline of Moosehead Lake. The trail isn’t challenging and runs for maybe a mile at the most. While not long or challenging, it is a nice walk, especially for families with small kids who want to give their children some sort of walking/hiking experience. You’ll also get great views of Moosehead the entire time.
Winter Activities
The parking lot for the park is maintained year-round, which provides access for snowmobiles and skiers in the wintertime. The parks trails are open to cross-country skiers and the park’s roads are open to snowmobiles and skiers.
The park also provides access out onto Moosehead Lake where you can snowmobile and ice fish (that’s a really big thing up there).
None of the trails or roads are going to challenge a skier (or a snowmobiler), but they’re pleasant and they make for an excellent few hour diversion from whatever you’re doing. I think mostly locals ski there – as no one is going to drive all the way to Greenville just to go skiing at Lily Bay State Park.
Fees
The park does charge a day-use/parking fee in the summertime of a few dollars. In the wintertime there is no fee to use the park.
Experiences
Being the resourceful person (and low paid state employee) that I was at the time, whenever friends would come up to visit, I tried to plan activities that everyone could enjoy. Spending a few nights at the private campgrounds or sporting camps in the area could add up quickly (you’d never think that a primitive wilderness adventure would cost so much), so I often fell back on Lily Bay State Park for both my overnight and day trips.
Like I said the campground is quite nice, with several spots down by the lake and the rest scattered through well-wooded areas. There are no services on the sites, so this tends to keep out the bigger campers and trailers and the majority of people there are tent-camping, which is a nice change compared to some campgrounds.
I loved the beach at Lily Bay State Park, as did most people I brought with me. While there were the expected loud and obnoxious children, the beach was one of the easiest and best ways to enjoy swimming in Moosehead Lake (without me having to take them half-way around to find the more private swimming holes I discovered).
I also really liked the day-use area – we’d go with some burgers and hot-dogs, set up the grill and have a great afternoon of fun. We could go swimming, lay out in the sun, and in general, just enjoy ourselves.
I also used Lily Bay State Park a lot in the wintertime for quick afternoon skis. The park was only about 10 minutes from my house and I could be up there and skiing around in no time flat. Even though I’d cover most of the areas in like an hour, that’s all I wanted and it was great to have it at my disposal.
For more information
The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands does have a basic website for the park with some information. You can also access the Statewide reservation system from the page. The park's website is located at:
http://www.state.me.us/cgi-bin/doc/parks/find_one_name.pl?park_id=17
Final Thoughts
I highly doubt anyone would travel to Maine and the Moosehead Lake region to solely go to Lily Bay State Park, but for anyone who lives in the area, or is planning on visiting Moosehead Lake, the park is well worth a stop either as a day-use area, or as a camping base to explore the rest of the Moosehead region.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: June-August
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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