Knickerbocker Lake in Boothbay. (Paula Roberts photo)
(Directions: From the roundabout on Route 27 in Boothbay Center, turn right onto Corey Lane. Drive 0.3 mile and turn right onto Barters Island Road. Drive 0.2 mile and turn right onto a dirt road by a boat launch sign. Park by the changing room/outhouse.)
Knickerbocker Lake Public Access, owned by the town of Boothbay, is a carry-in site to 105-acre freshwater Knickerbocker Pond. The carry to the lake is less than 100 yards long and is a wide, gravel path with portions covered in wood chips. There is a nice, shallow beach area and floating dock on-site for easy access by a canoe or kayak.
The launch site is a popular swimming spot.
Lily and pads in Knickerbocker Lake. (Paula Roberts photo)
There is a 10-horsepower limit on motors in the multiuse lake, which also serves as a water supply for the Boothbay Region Water District. The inlet for the water district is on the east shore about 100 yards north of the boat launch. The inlet is marked by four white buoys and a large sign on a building on shore. The area between the buoys should be avoided, as it is the intake area for the water company and is hazardous.
It takes about an hour to paddle around the perimeter of the pond. The island across from the boat launch is owned by the Boothbay Region YMCA, but there are no established trails on it.
The west side of the pond is mostly undeveloped, with occasional camps set way back off the water. The peaceful, quiet paddle on the west shore gives one the feeling of being in a remote wilderness. The east shore is heavily developed. All along the pond are gorgeous large rocks and ledges, water lilies, and other wetland plants, including highbush blueberries.
A large rock outcropping on the west shore of Knickerbocker Lake. (Paula Roberts photo)
The pond has an average depth of 15 feet, with a maximum depth of 32 feet. The pond is stocked by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife with both brook and rainbow trout.
There is a small walking trail near the parking area, which starts on the right-hand side of the access road by the outhouse. A small footbridge is broken, but the area can easily be crossed. The trail goes to a stone wall along a field, turns left, then left again, and comes out on the carry-in trail to the water. The property on the other side of the stone wall is private. The short trail is a five-minute walk.
