What makes a spot swimmable is a bit subjective; what one person finds tolerable (muddy, slimy pond bottom with weeds), another person will not! A lot of the walks along coastal Maine take you to the shore where it’s possible to swim off of the rocky coast — although perhaps not the easiest or safest activity, particularly if you have bad knees. Some of these suggestions are of the “pack your bathing suit just in case” variety.
Also, this list is a little difficult to keep up because in midcoast Maine, there aren’t that many walk/swim combos — whereas in Western Maine, that’s all there is! (That’s a slight exaggeration.) So, if you do a search for ‘swimming’ on my site, you’ll find many more places that I’ve not included in this list but have tagged for swimming.
*See/Swim is a great resource for finding swimming holes.
Southern Maine (Cumberland and York Counties)
- Massabesic Experimental Forest, Charles E. Swett Trail, Alfred
- Timber Point, Biddeford
- Crescent Beach State Park, Cape Elizabeth
- Sebago Lake State Park, Casco and Naples
- Broad Cove Reserve, Cumberland
- Tidebrook, Freeport
- Shaw Park and Gambo Preserve, Gorham
- Butler Preserve, Kennebunk
- Mackworth Island, Portland
- Ferry Beach State Park, Saco
- Prouts Neck, Scarborough
- Spring Point Shoreway, South Portland
- Sebago to the Sea Trail, Section One, and Section Two, Standish
Midcoast Maine (Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo Counties)
- Cosima’s Preserve, Bristol
- Sproul Preserve, Bristol
- Cross Cushing Preserve, Cushing
- Dodge Point Preserve, Damariscotta
- Mt. Waldo and quarry, Frankfort
- Stover’s Point, Harpswell
- Mitchell Field, Harpswell
- Reid State Park, Georgetown
- Fernald’s Neck Preserve, Lincolnville
- St. Clair Preserve, Northport
- Craig Brook Fish Hatchery, and Great Pond Mountain, Orland
- Birch Point Beach State Park, Owls Head
- Sprague Pond Preserve, Phippsburg
- Morse Mountain, Phippsburg
- Denny Reed Trail, Phippsburg
- Robinson’s Rock, or Bumper Rock, and Totman Cove, Phippsburg (so, the place to swim is at the beach at Totman Cove, but this is restricted to Phippsburg residents)
- Bamford Preserve, St. George
- Clark Island Preserve, St. George
- Sandy Point Beach, Stockton Springs
- Swan Lake State Park, Swanville
- Peters Pond Preserve, Waldoboro
- Geele Farm Trail, Waldoboro
Central Maine (Androscoggin and Kennebec Counties)
- Hallowell Reservoir, Hallowell
- Beaver Park, Lisbon
- Jamie’s Pond Conservation Area, Manchester
- Range Pond State Park, Poland
- Round Top Mountain, Rome (on the other side of the trailhead parking lot, you can take a .7-mile trail down to Long Pond).
- Spectacle Pond, Vassalboro
- Gott Pasture, Wayne
- Bartlett Shore Trail, Unity
Western Maine (Mostly Oxford and Franklin Counties)
- West Mountain Falls, Carrabassett Valley
- Little Bigelow, Carrabassett Valley(you can swim in the river as well as in Flagstaff Lake, close to the trailhead parking)
- Brownfield Bog, Brownfield (in Saco River)
- Stevens Brook Trail, Bridgton (in Highland Lake)
- Goose Eye Mountain (via the Wright Trail), Grafton Notch State Park
- Step Falls Preserve, Newry
- Lake Pennesseewassee Park, Norway (take a short walk and a long swim)
- Singepole Mountain, Paris
- Bald Mountain/Speckled Mountain, Peru
- Bonney Point, Rangeley
- Tumbledown Mountain, Weld
- Blueberry Mountain and Rattlesnake Pool, White Mountain National Forest
- Little Deer and Big Deer Hills, White Mountain National Forest
- White Mountain National Forest — There are so many river pools to swim in!
- Four Ponds Trail on the AT, Rangeley Plantation
- Kineowatha Park, Wilton
Northern Maine (Somerset, Penobscot, Piscataquis and Aroostook counties)
- South Branch Pond Campground trails, Baxter State Park
- Trout Brook Farm Campground trails, Baxter State Park
- South Turner Mountain (along Sandy Stream Trail), Baxter State Park
- Katahdin Lake trails, Baxter State Park
- Pierce Pond Stream Falls, near Bingham
- Houston Brook Falls, Bingham
- Bigelow Preserve tarns: There are two ponds along the Bigelow Range Trail, Horns and Cranberry. Horns Pond is swimmable and delicious!
- Blackcap Mountain, Eddington
- Woodchuck Hill, Eddington
- Barren Mountain to Cloud Pond, Elliotsville Township
- Little Wilson Falls Trail, Elliotsville Township
- Third Mountain, Chairback Mountain Loop, Near Greenville
- Lily Bay State Park, Greenville
- Mt. Kineo State Park, near Greenville and Rockwood
- Sally Mountain, near Jackman
- Slidedown Falls, near Jackman
- Pleasant Pond Mountain, The Forks (in Pleasant Pond or Moxie Pond)
- Mosquito Mountain, The Forks (in Moxie Pond)
- Moxie Bald Mountain, near West Forks (in Moxie Pond)
- Cold Stream Falls, near West Forks
Downeast (Hancock and Washington counties)
- Ducktail and Partridge Ponds, Amherst
- Harriman Point Preserve, Brooklin
- Vining Lake Community Preserve, Cooper
- Barred Island Preserve, Deer Isle
- Lily Pond Park, Deer Isle
- Tunk Lake and Donnell Pond, Donnell Pond Public Land
- Schoodic Mountain, Donnell Pond Public Land
- Tunk Mountain and its hidden ponds, Donnell Pond Public Land
- Branch Lake Public Forest, Ellsworth
- Little Mayberry Cove Trail, Grand Lake Stream
- Fields Pond Audubon Center, Holden
- Acadia Mountain (in Echo Lake), Mount Desert Island
- Little Long Pond Natural Lands, Mount Desert Island
- Breakneck Road and Ponds, Mount Desert Island
- Sargent Mountain Pond (between Penobscot and Sargent mountains), Mount Desert Island
- Craig Brook Fish Hatchery, Orland
- Great Pond Mountain, Orland (in Craig Pond)
- Roque Bluffs State Park, Roque Bluffs
- Little Tunk Pond Preserve, Sullivan
- Baker Hill and Long Ledges Preserves, Sullivan
- Carter Nature Preserve, Surry
- Sandy Cove Trail, Trescott (sandy beach, but might be cold!)
- Rocky Lake Preserve, Whiting
what an interesting site! Thanks for doing all this work!
Thank you! It’s a total and complete joy. I get out whenever I can, and have seen so much of Maine!