We spent the past month or more exploring the nooks and crannies of Maine’s spectacular coastline, including a getaway to perhaps our favorite destination: Campobello Island just across the bridge from Lubec in New Brunswick.

As we often do, we opted to get there via the ferries from Letete just past St. George in New Brunswick, to Deer Island and the quirky Island Hopper from Deer Island to Welshpool on the west shore of Campobello. Those rides alone make it worth the trip, not to mention the obligatory stop in St. Andrews for my favorite beer-battered haddock.

So it was time last week to engage in one of my favorite summer pastimes: picking a quiet inland pond for a day of paddling.

My none-too-scientific method is to lay out a Maine map on my desk, close my eyes and let my right index finger wander over it. When it stops, I open my eyes to see if it ended near a body of water I had never been on, and would be worthy to explore.

This process has never failed because Maine is so replete with beautiful lakes and ponds that lie within a 10-mile radius of my finger. I remember from my flying days that one of the great things about flying in Maine is if you lose your engine and you’re at least 5,000 feet above sea level, you’ll always find a body of water to put it down, given the shallow 10-mile glide slope of a powerless sea plane.

It’s nothing I ever had to test.

Last week my finger came to rest not only near but right in the middle of Sandy Pond in Freedom, a scant 20 miles from my midcoast home. A little research revealed a launching spot maintained by the Department of Conservation (now the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry) and the town of Freedom.

And digging a little deeper into the recreational options in the area, I found a newly opened preserve that would allow me to combine a short paddle with a nice little hike, my definition of a perfect outing.

To get to Sandy Pond, heading east on Route 137 from Albion, turn right on High Street in Freedom, then take Pleasant Street and the launch site is a short distance down on your right.

If you’re coming from the south on Route 220, take the Freedom Pond Road just below Knox and you’ll find the ramp just before the pond’s outlet dam.

My recent paddle on a midweek day, on the bathtub-warm and shallow 430-acre pond, maximum depth 11 feet, was unencumbered by another single boat, and the virtually undeveloped shoreline except for one quite spectacular cottage on a promontory and a few camps on the southwestern end made it feel like I was in some remote public lands preserve.

The marshy north central section has several floating islands extending out into the pond, and cattails, marsh grasses, yellow pond lilies and pickerel weed added to the allure of this special little pond.

Next it was off for a scant seven miles from the pond to a newly opened trail in the Freedom forest preserve, a short distance down the North Palermo Road just west of Freedom Village. Or, alternatively, about seven miles north on that road from Palermo on Route 3.

A project of the Sebasticook Regional Land Trust, (headquartered at 93 Main St. in Unity, this attractive piece of central Maine forest was generously donated by Jane Fasullo, and a loop trail of less than a couple of miles in length allows the hiker to not only pass close to and inspect several vernal pools, but through uniquely populated stands of beech and century-old hemlocks along with stately pines.

The trail departs from an old woods road a couple of hundred yards into the preserve, recently marked with a sign. Be aware that the trail’s so new, there’s no clearly defined path worn down by foot traffic, but pink and blue tapes, along with some strategically placed blue blazes allow the attentive hiker to stay on course.

Rock outcroppings and undulating terrain combine to make this a must-visit treasure right in the heart of Maine, close to a special little pond I plan to revisit when foliage season arrives.

John Christie is a former ski racer and ski area manager and owner, a ski historian and member of the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. He and his son, Josh, write columns on alternating weeks. He can be reached at:

jchristie@fairpoint.net

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