Tucked among the tall pines along the South Casco shore of Sebago Lake is a gem of an experience called Migis Lodge.

Migis Lodge, which has operated continuously since 1916, is a place to relax, splurge, and pursue a vacation of good food, good conversation, and good living.

“Migis” is Abenaki for “the place to steel away and rest.” And obviously Migis Lodge lives up to its name.

Owned by Tim and Joan Porta since 1984, Migis Lodge offers its summertime residents a full American plan taking care of every client’s whim and fancy from sun-up to sun-down. Tennis, boating, swimming, lobster bakes on a Sebago Lake island, and beautifully rustic cabins are just some of the pursuits the lodge offers its guests.

“There used to be a lot of similar properties around the region similar to the level of quality Migis Lodge offers but either they’ve burned down or faded away for one reason or another,” said Lodge General Manager Jesse Henry. “Everything’s taken care of here.”

Henry said guests to Migis Lodge in yesteryear could board a train in New York City’s Grand Central Station, stop at Sebago Lake Station in Standish, and from there board a large steamer which would carry them and their baggage up the eastern shore of Sebago Lake disembarking at the lodge’s boat dock. Modern visitors use Route 302 turning left at an old sign pointing the way to the lodge grounds.

The lodge follows in the tradition of the great hotels of the White Mountains and Bar Harbor where service was paramount. Henry said city-weary people from the 1920s onward sought places like Migis Lodge to flee the rat race (and heat of city streets). The shady Maine woods was a source of solace for those city people. Today’s Migis Lodge is no different. The license plates of the vehicles parked at the lodge reveal that many summer visitors are fleeing from the realms of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

And most of the people that come are well-to-do.

“We have a lot of movers and shakers, especially in the financial world, although we’ve had a few movie people as well,” Henry said. “We have a lot of affluent families and couples from New York and Connecticut who come here. It’s a great escape for them.”

The camp is open from mid-May to the end of October. With 98 people on the Migis payroll, service is obviously a top priority. Many of the employees return season after season either holding local jobs in the winter or migrating to southern resorts in pursuit of seasonal employment.

The camp averages 135 guests a night with a week being the average stay. Many visitors are either couples or families that rent out cottages. Many are also repeat vacationers, making Migis an annual family tradition.

“The thing with Migis Lodge is this: Of the people here right now, I probably know 95 percent of them,” Henry said. “People come here year, after year, after year. And most of the guests stay in the same cottages year, after year, after year.”

The food at Migis is something special, too. Perhaps, according to some residents, the food may indeed be the best part of the experience.

Henry says that Migis has its own special recipes and its own bake shop that produces all kinds of breads and pastries. The kitchen staff, many of whom gravitate toward Florida kitchens in the winter, boasts award winning chefs. Migis’ Sunday morning pancake breakfast has even been featured in the famous Bon Appetit magazine.

There’s also a place for the kids. The camp puts on programs geared toward kids from noon to 5 p.m., five days a week.

“The programs are great for the kids, they love it, and it’s good for the parents because they get a little break,” Henry said.

But Migis doesn’t come cheap. All this pampering costs big bucks. Henry said the average is between $275 and $325 per person, per day. But for the price, campers get full access to manicured grounds, motor boats, sailboats, a fitness center, a sauna, canoes, kayaks, horseshoe pits and paddle boats.

“This is the best place around. I love it,” said Porta. “I mean where else can you get the kind of pampering we provide? That’s why people come back year after year. It’s just a wonderful place to visit.”

Repeat guest William Wondriska and his wife Karin agree. The Wondriskas are from Concord, Massachusetts and have come to the lodge for eight straight summers.

“I think this place enables one to suspend reality for a little while,” said William Wondriska, a retired design consultant. “It’s a good place to come and do what you want to do. Whether that be reading or swimming, or boating, or whathaveyou.”

Karin Wondriska likes coming to Migis because of the friendships she and her husband have developed with fellow guests over the years.

“I love it. We’ve made friends here and every year we get to bump into the same folks we’ve come to know in previous years,” Wondriska said. “And the food is amazing. You can tell the waitstaff enjoys what they’re doing.”

Liz and Neil Cole of New York City are two guests that visited Migis this summer to enjoy nature’s beauty and to get away from the confusion of the Big Apple’s concrete jungle.

“It gives us the chance to slow down and get rid of the tension and hustle and bustle of the city. We come up here to relax and let it all go,” said Liz Cole, who attended a nearby camp as a youngster. “It sure is different from our 30th floor apartment in Manhattan.”

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