Local’s Summer – Labor Day Camping on Richardson Lake

Whether it’s the start of fall or the end of summer, Labor Day Weekend represents a turning of the tides. And the founders of The Maine Outpost got out to celebrate in true Maine fashion.

There’s a term percolating lately, or maybe I’m just behind the 8-ball, called “Local’s Summer.” Of course, as Mainers, we depend on the tourist economy, but the tension is real. Heavier traffic, our favorite spots blown out, the never-ceasing feeling that summer is fleeting and we must cram in all the fun-tivities before the end. It can be stressful; heck, it is stressful. Yet, Local’s Summer, as I understand it, it the glorious month of September where the hoards of crowds and mosquitos retreat, the water is still warm *enough* to swim, and the beaches and trails are approximating what one might consider tranquil. Labor Day Weekend represents the unofficial start of this period. 

So to celebrate, Greg and I loaded up his 1986 17-foot Seaway boat to explore Richardson Lakes and enjoy three nights of remote, lake-side camping. The plan was rough but simple enough: build confidence in a newly acquired boat, practice anchoring in choppy conditions, fish, explore around camp, and tire out our dogs. 

What We Did

With a fairly freighted boat, the winds on Richardson were pretty sporty, but we had sunshine and a few good hours of daylight on our side. Our site was 20-30 minutes up the western shore of the lake, near The Narrows. From the lake, sites are fairly well marked and easily seen. Now came our first test—an onshore wind, steep and boulder-filled shoreline, and a long weekend’s worth of gear to unload. 

We left southern Maine around noon on Friday with our sights set on South Arm Campground and boat launch. We brought tents, dry bags, camp kitchen tools, and, most importantly, current rabies certifications for our dogs, Hattie and Tucker—yes, they are serious about that request. It’s only about a two-hour drive from Brunswick, but as we were trailering a boat, had some last minute provisioning to do, and felt like we were racing dwindling daylight hours, we moved with some urgency. Check-in at the South Arm Campground was smooth, and they recommended a pivot in campsite location due to seasonally low lake levels. We were choosing between landing in a mud flat or a rocky, north-facing site. We picked the latter, which served us pretty well, and kept the dogs from needing a bath every day. 

The launch is largely sandy, and fit for small boats. Anything of size might have been unwieldy. We moved gear from the truck to the boat before launching the boat. The predominant north wind conveniently kept our boat flush with the dock as we tied off and brought the truck and trailer back to their parking area—a few hundred yards from the launch.

What We Learned

It may seem obvious, but it’s much easier to camp out of a boat if you can land it on a nice sandy beach. Our site was decidedly not sandy. Boulders lurked just under the surface of the water, and the shore was a mess of ankle-twisters. Our first go-around, we took turns, one guy held the boat steady as the winds tried to push it closer to the rocky shoreline, the other guy hefted gear out of the boat and onto the shore. It worked, and as we unloaded, the boat got lighter and easier to hold. 

But the process was awkward and left little margin for error. We feared one large wave or a moment of inattention would push the boat onto the rocks. But we were committed. In order to use the boat out on the lake, a main goal of the weekend, we had to load and unload from the rocky shore. Fortunately, as the weekend unfolded, we realized that with our anchor set, we could slowly let out anchor line to control how close the boat got to shore. So that’s what we did. Greg would paddle the inflatable SUP he brought along out to the boat, untie the anchor line, and let the wind blow the boat towards land. When the stern was a few feet from shore, he tied the anchor fast and the boat stayed where it was. A stern line tied to a tree on shore added an elevated level of precision and kept the boat where we wanted it. Once loaded or unloaded, we just pulled the boat back out into deeper water until we could lower the engine and motor off. We also realized we could just tie the SUP to the anchor when we went out on the lake, saving us from having to reset the anchor each time we used the boat. 

We finished unloading the boat around 5:30 p.m. or so and got to work setting up camp and dinner. 

✅Fire

✅Tents

✅Hammocks

✅Chairs

✅Loons, stars, and moonlight

Saturday Day Two

The brisk breeze sustained through the overnight hours and into the morning. Turns out at different points throughout the night, Greg and I both crawled out into the dark to check on the boat. Though raucous, it looked like our anchoring was holding strong. Huzzah! By mid-morning, the wind hadn’t yielded so we made the call to test our legs rather than the boat’’s capabilities in choppy water. To fuel up, Greg had prepped some homemade sourdough bread with which we made avocado toast with a few eggs.

Upslope from the lake, a logging road provided access to Pond in the River, which became the destination for our jaunt. Off we went, cutting along the edge of a relatively recent clear cut until we linked up with the road. Shrouded in clouds and on-again off-again rain showers, the pond looked like a welcoming spot for a paddleboard excursion for another day. On our way back to camp, our bushwacking route proved challenging, but we were rewarded with some tired dogs and a nice shed off of a mature buck deer.

With steadfast whitecaps and retreating sunshine, we settled into camp, casted our spin rods from shore, and sipped cocktails under the setting sun. 

Sunday Day Three

A weather window presented itself with calm waters and low wind, enough that we felt confident to explore the lake by boat. With Hattie and Tucker in tow, we poked through The Narrows and into Upper Richardson Lake, checked out the dock at Middle Dam, and scouted the other backcountry campsites scattered along the shore – many (most, even?) with lovely sandy beaches – before returning to camp. As we hefted the dogs off the boat, whitecaps reappeared with the rising winds. Glad we took advantage of the calm morning, and with the warm late-summer sun shining down on us, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon exploring the lakeshore from camp.

By early evening, we decided to try trolling, and headed back out in the boat, with our much-improved load-unload process making the transitions from land to lake as smooth as we could hope. 

Departure Day

Our last morning dawned calm and clear. As we packed camp, indulged in one more camp breakfast, and cleaned up our site by dousing the fire, prepping some firewood for the next guests, and double checking that we took out what we brought in, Greg and I both felt ready for the transition of seasons to come. 

The building wind made the ride back a nice final adventure. Rolling and bucking, but dry and steady, the boat performed great, and we made it back to South Arm Campground without incident. 

We were all smiles as we pulled out of the campground and pointed our rig south. Warm sunshine spilled through the open windows, even if the dogs were too tired to stick their heads out. We threw on some tunes and chatted through the weekend, both agreeing that it proved a great bridge between easy summer adventures and the more technical, layered fun that “Local’s Summer” serves up.