Lake Cabins/Kayak camping in NH/ME?

Greetings!

I hope this post is in a proper place. I'd appreciate any pointers to other resources if it's not.

My wife and I, as we do every year, will be camping and hiking in the Presidentials between mid-September and October 15th, or so.

We thought that it might be a nice touch to see if we could find a decent cabin (or campsite) on a lake or pond, in a somewhat remote setting in NH or Maine, but not so far out that it would be a major expedition just to get there. Nothing too commercial or "resort-y," either. It would be added fun if we could rent kayaks (we're experienced in kayak camping) or a canoe in order to get there, although we wouldn't be averse to driving up to the location.

I've considered Lake Umbagog and their remote campsites, but haven't found an outfitter for boats nearby. Any ideas?

I suppose what we're really looking for is a place to chill at a quiet cabin for a couple of days while we rest up the legs for more hiking.

I'd appreciate any insight on this... Google just didn't turn up anything that seemed reliable.

Thanks!
Rob

PS: Shout out to Dave Metsky, from kyoa::hanson

Richardson/Mooselookmeguntic/Aziscoos/Umbagog

There are a number of excellent locations in Western Maine in the Rangeley area. You could also consider Lake Umbagog. Bear in mind that late in the season it can get mighty cold and windy on the lakes of Maine, so having access to both lake and river paddling is a good plan. Here is a link for the Rangeley Area. I think this should give you a place to start:
Website: Rangeley Maine Area Campgrounds

For Lake Umbagog, you also get the Magalloway River offering some nice easy paddle options up to 17 miles in length. The section from Wilson's Mills to Lake Umbagog is quite nice, but after Culvert Camps, the flow gets much slower, so more work

Here is the State Park website (note: closes around Columbus Day):
Lake Umbagog State Park
Another site:
http://beoutside.com/magallo.html

Pittsburg, NH has a lot of cabin rental places on Back Lake and 1st Conn. Lake, they're probably more "resorty" than what your looking for but I thought I would mention it. You can check out the goods and services page here: http://pittsburgridgerunners.org/

If the Barlett, NH area, this is a nice place, always quiet when we've been there. Cabins clean, owners friendly. Lots of good hiking up Rt. 302 and off the Kanc. or up Rt. 16.

http://www.abetterlifecabinsandcampground.com/
dottie

Here's a link for renting kayaks for Umbagog.
Northern Waters

We'll vouch for Northern Waters as well. We just used their services for 4 kayak rentals in August and they were very good to us.

Thanks

Thanks, all!

We'll be leaving in just a couple of days, so if there are any other suggestions, please feel free.

We've already hooked up with Northern Waters and will likely try to do a couple of nights on Umbagog, probably earlier in our trip than later in order to get warmer weather. I'll also look into places in Pittsburg.

We're planning to take a look at the Bartlett cabins when we go by, but that's probably not nearly as "remote" as we were looking to find... thanks for the suggestion.

Enjoy...
Rob

Magalloway River and Umbagog Lake

We rented kayaks at Northern Adventures a few weeks ago and can also attest to their service. My only complaint was that the rudder on the tandem was missing and the little tub didn't track all that well, a desireable characteristic for lake and flatwater conditions.

We stayed at Magalloway River Inn Cabins, Wentworth Location, roughly halfway between Wilson Mills and Errol with a put-in on the Magalloway across the road. Very nice cabin in a strategic location.

We spotted our car at "steamboat landing" in the Androscoggin River, not a developed site by any means. It is "advertised" as 4 miles downstream from Umbagog but, in either direction, it seemed much shorter than that.

We also camped on one of the islands (#29) which was directly across the channel from a bald eagle nest and roost. Two adults, two immature ... they can be noisy critters and I need to get a bald eagle dictionary to learn what all the chatter was about. The loons were also a welcome part of the seranade at campsite # 29. We saw lots of other wildlife, too, and were most notably in constant company with one or more great blue herons.

For a break in the paddling, Aziscohos Mountain and Bald Mountain over near Rangeley offer easy dayhikes with good views. Good chance of seeing moose on rt. 16 so be careful at night.

We are already planning to go again next year with more time to explore a few side tributaries and Lake Aziscohos and the upper Magalloway branches.

Northern Adventures will provide a map and The Northern Canoe Trail map covers the area well but for exploring those out of the way places I suggest the topo of Umbagog (north). A stop at the U.S. Wildlife Reserve HQ on rt. 16 in Wentworth Location is worthwhile ... if they're open.

I don't know the migration schedules of the waterfowl but you should consider that, if possible, in your timing.