Sunset Lodge

June

June is a great time to come to the lake for fishing. The days are warm and the evenings are cool. The temperatures are only a few degrees less than in August but there are fewer visitors to the lake, making it ideal for fishing.

September

September is a wonderful time to be at Sunset Lodge. Some say that September has the most beautiful weather of the year. The crowds are gone and the lake is quiet. Sailing is beautiful. It is a great time to visit.

October

October is peaceful and quiet with fall in the air and color in the trees. You'll need the wood stove in the evening or sit around a cozy fire. Available the first two weeks in October, Sunset Lodge is a good base for viewing fall colors.

Area Information

Lapping water and the haunting cry of the loons will lull visitors to sleep after long chats by a fire, while daytime activities may include a visit to the sandy beach in Jefferson a mile down the lake in Damariscotta Lake State Park for hiking, bird-watching, picnicking and water sports. If visitors are inclined to leave Sunset Lodge's lakeside peace, Camden, Rockland, Boothbay, Augusta and Bath, where you will find antiques, arts, crafts, and museums, are all close by. One can also follow the lake down to the Damariscotta River and on to the Salt Bay and ocean beyond. On the Pemaquid Peninsula, a half hour's drive away, you will find the Pemaquid Light House with its Fishermen's Museum and the picturesque yachts of Christmas Cove. You can eat lobsters on the deck at Shaw's Fish & Lobster Wharf and look out on the working lobster boats moored in New Harbor. Visitors may also enjoy the picturesque village of Damariscotta for shopping, eating theater, and music concerts at the Roundtable Center of the Arts. Craft fairs and auctions are commonplace in Mid-coast Maine. But at the end of the day you will be happy to return to the peace and quiet of Sunset Lodge. Damariscotta Lake and Sunset Lodge still capture the hearts of those who vacation here, as they have done for nearly a century.

Availability & Rates
Email: sunsetlodgeonlakedamariscotta@gmail.com - Telephone: (510)524-5277

The Story behind Sunset Lodge

The charming and rustic Sunset Lodge, on Lake Damariscotta, is a waterfront family vacation paradise on private lakefront property in Midcoast Maine. It started in 1919 as a fishing lodge with cabins surrounding the main dining room and kitchen. The Lodge is a place where families have come for generations to fish, swim, play and relax.

Lodge & Cabins

Sunset Lodge is a perfect place for families or larger groups to retreat together from the crowds and pressure of everyday life. The Lodge and surrounding four cabins sit on the waterfront in a grove of trees on a slight outcropping of land near the widest part of the lake, where the water deepens quickly (eventually reaching 114 feet) making it ideal for fishing and swimming. The property has 510 feet of water frontage. Originally built in 1919, on an ideal site for water views and fishing, the buildings sit close to the water, offering beautiful views of the lake, the far shore and the stunning sunsets. Large lawns next to the water are great for games and the two large docks are ideal for swimming and boating.

The property includes a large Lodge and four smaller cabins. The five bedroom, four bath Lodge has a large common room where everyone can gather for evening games or sings, and a smaller living room with fireplace for more intimate gatherings. There is a newly remodeled and enlarged kitchen that is well-equipped for groups. The bedrooms all have lake views. The four cabins in addition to the lodge make it ideal for family reunions, retreats and groups who enjoy vacationing together but also having some privacy. Each cabin has its own kitchen, bathroom and screened porch. There is a wonderful outside shower which provides views of the lake. The lawn provides plenty of space for badminton, croquet, shuffleboard, barbeques and relaxing and contemplating the lake.

Boating & Windsurfing

Today, Lake Damariscotta is one of central Maine's most pristine lakes. Available at the lodge are canoes, and kayaks, for use from the two docks while motorboats for fishing or water skiing may be rented in the area and moored off shore. The lake is a great spot for windsurfing. Take off from the dock, the lake is a mile and a half across and twelve miles long. Great for advanced as well as beginner wind surfers.

Fishing at Sunset Lodge

Sunset Lodge is fortunate to be located on Damariscotta Lake, one of the great fishing lakes in Maine.  At over 4,000 acres, it is large enough and varied enough to please any fisherman, as it has pleased this fisherman for over thirty years. The Native American word which gives Lake Damariscotta its name means “abundance of little fishes.” The lake sports Brown and Lake Trout, Coho Salmon, Northern Pike, Pickerel, Smallmouth & Largemouth Bass and White Perch, among others. It is popular with fisherman. In the summer, fishermen find salmon in the deep trench that is several hundred yards off our beach.

     "Take your kids, a few worms, and motor down only a couple of minutes from the cabins. Schools of perch feed in the evenings. Smallmouth and largemouth bass can be found along the shorelines throughout the lake. If you like to troll, brown trout, lake trout and land-locked salmon hide in the deeper parts of great bay, straight out from the cabins.  There are also large yellow perch, catfish and pickerel.  Over the years, it's been a pleasure to fish this lake. Come to Sunset Lodge and share the pleasure."    -- Don Dougherty

Weddings, Retreats, Conferences & Reunions

Sunset Lodge is ideal for small retreats, conferences, or reunions. The best month for this is September or the first weeks in October because of availability. The setting is a rustic, charming 1919 fishing camp on the edge of beautiful Lake Damariscotta, 1 hour from Portland. The lodge and cabins have a total of 13 bedrooms that will sleep up to 26 people. The grounds are lovely - level and grassy for sitting, croquet, or badminton. Parking is ample and easy.  The lodge's 80' long screened porch overlooks the lake. A big common room is perfect for group meetings. Each of the units has a kitchen and bath; the Lodge has a larger well equipped kitchen with two refrigerators and two dishwashers. There are 2 big private docks and a beach for swimming, fishing, and loon gazing, plus kayaks and canoes available for an additional rental fee. The Lodge has high speed internet with wifi. There is an additional large room for gatherings and games with pool and ping pong tables.

Birds at Sunset Lodge

This recording of Loons was recorded on October 9, 2018 on the dock at Sunset Lodge.

TESTIMONIALS

eptember 2, 2019.  Charming in every way, this beautiful group of cabins and lodge is the perfect place. Our family reunion gathering here fit perfectly - group meals and gatherings in the lodge, and up-close lake views and access from every cabin. Sunset lodge had everything we needed!

Aug. 27, 2017. Perfect spot in so many ways. Location is everything here. Good fishing, boating and relaxing. It's amazing from sunup to sundown. Go here.

October 5,2014. Our retreat found a magical place at the Lodge. The kitchen allowed us to cook for 24, not an easy thing to hold! There was so much space for us, it was wonderful.

June 14, 2014 A Perfect Family Vacation. We rented the whole place for our family reunion of 18 people. The description was very accurate- it was a beautiful, private place. It is so well equipped with games- indoor and outdoor and swimming, fishing and kayaking. We had beautiful sunsets every night while we ate on the huge screened in porch. The kitchen is awesome. The place is clean and well maintained and the manager was very accommodating. If you want lobster the fish market in Damariscotta will cook them for you and you can bring them back to the lodge for a feast! We would all recommend this property and hope to come back again!

October 15, 2012, The Perfect Rustic Getaway, We had our first stay in the Lakeside Cabin at Sunset Lodge in late September, 2012, and I'm already trying to think of times and occasions when I might return. It is everything a rustic retreat should and shouldn't be. It's peaceful, comfortable, and has everything you need for a restful, contented stay without having any of the fancy distractions that just add up to so much busyness. We were two couples and one twenty-something young adult in the Lakeside Cabin, and there was plenty of room in this well-equipped cabin. We were treated to gorgeous sunsets, blissfully quiet dark nights, and a curious loon who came near the dock to check us out. Sunset Lodge and Cabins is a treasure of a place, and I'm thankful the owners have taken on the enormous task of preserving this remnant of a bygone era. Their willingness to continually make upgrades and repairs gives me hope that visitors like us will have a chance to enjoy this little piece of heaven for many years to come.

October 21, 2012, A Family Tradition Sunset Point has become a tradition for my family of 4 – our first stay in the Lakeside Cabin was in 2007, and we've returned every year since. (That says a lot, because we usually prefer visiting "new" places instead of repeating our tracks.) But we can't get enough of this piece of heaven on earth! The lake views, shoreline, and sunsets are beyond compare, often with loons calling in the background, bald eagles soaring nearby, and an occasional turtle or mink in the foreground. The setting is incredibly peaceful. The location is perfect for swimming, fishing, and boating, no matter what your age. My boys were 5 and 6 during our first visit, and this year they'll return as 10 and 11 year olds – as eager as ever to find their seats on the dock and around the campfire. In some years, their grandparents have joined us too, so we have three generations sharing time at the lake or taking easy drives to Damariscotta, Camden, or Pemaquid Point, where there are restaurants, museums, bookstores, hiking paths, etc. The cabins are comfortable and have all that's needed in terms of basic requirements (hot water, coffee pots, cooking utensils, blankets, books & games, etc.). If we're not outside, chances are we're on the large screen porch, playing games or gazing at the lake. There's no TV in the Lakeside Cabin (thank goodness!) and we leave our computers home, so this is one week of the year when we truly "un-plug" from the usual fast pace of life and enjoy the tranquility of the best of Maine. Over the years, the property owners have made improvements and upgrades to make things even better for guests (drinkable water, new bathrooms, new stove, new docks). It's clear that they love the place, are good stewards of it, and enjoy sharing it with others. Whenever we have questions or needs, they are quick to respond. The only downside is that our week there always flies by! So when it's time to go, we cheer ourselves up by thinking about next year… We're never disappointed and feel so fortunate to have discovered this lovely place.