Graham Lake Ellsworth Maine (Mariaville, Eastbrook: appointed, sale, mobile home)

[patsfan]

Originally Posted by crb01

The wife and I purchased a 1.4 acre lot on the Northern end of the lake (Mariaville) about 7 years ago and now have a camp with well, septic and electricity. We recently purchased a 6 acre lot about ¼ mile up the lake as an investment. To say it is a quiet area would be an understatement. Though the lake has become more populated in recent years, there have been times when several days would go by without seeing another person. The bass fishing is very good and my kids have pulled some rather large ones from right in front of the camp. We also have a pair of Bald Eagles we see from time to time, and yes, there are many Loons on the lake. You can hear them from miles away at night.
As stated in other posts, the lake is not considered “Prime” waterfront, but then it all comes down for what you are looking for. The prices are right too. We live only 3 hours away, in the southern part of Maine. A piece of waterfront like the one our camp is on would have cost 15 times more money, and it would have been on a conjested lake. Myself, I’ll keep the solitude

I've heard alot of negatives about Graham and have to say I've never been to keen on it since I was told it was man made, but you all seem quite happy with your property. I was wondering what the shore line is like, is the bottom mucky or gravel based? Is the water clean enough that you can see bottom? Are there alot of Bass? We have a spot on Beech Hill, right next to Graham and pass by on the way to Ellsworth. It is a pretty lake and I've wondered what it was like to live on. It sounds like it may be a good investment with prime ponds and lakes outside the reach of most. Thanks for any info.

[mkzs]

We have a sand beach and bottom where we are currently. The lake is always in motion and flushes something like 4 times a year where as a more stagnent natural lake flushes 1 to 1 1/2 times, this can cause the water to become more colored at times. This has no effect on how clean the water is . You can get information on the union river on line. Most of the clarity is judged by seiche readings, and much of or all of the available information that I have found on the direct clenliness of the lake is years old. From those readings the "cleanliness" has much improved over the years, but this is not so for many "Natural" lakes in the area ie.,sewage dumped directly from camps, boats etc. One of the attractions to the lake is the oportunity to keep it clean, protect it and improve it. Coming from a city in the US where I've seen two bedroom homes go from 150000 to 600000 in five years I'd say the image of a prime spot is subjective and might be overrated...

[lgmmmd]

There are alot of bass in Graham. We have only owned the property for less than a year but the 2 times I had fished I caught a large bass and some pickeral in a time of 30 minutes...Yes, it a clean lake I checked it our before we purchased there...some spots are not as clear but where we are, we can see the bottom at about 3-4 feet. I am very happy with our place!! it is definatley a great investment!! It may be man made but not the whole lake, it is part of the union river....

[American girl]

As I've said in ealier posts if you grew up in Ellsworth in the 70s Graham Lake was last on the list of lakes you'd want to live on. But lakefront property on deep, fresh water lakes and ponds was CHEAP back then. I bought my Graham Lake property five years ago and couldn't be happier with it. All of my childhood misconceptions were just that. I have 500 feet of sandy shorefront. When the lake is low it's a little slippery underfoot when swimming but not bad. I wish I had the cash for a good aluminum rolling dock. It's a pain having to move the one I have out further when water levels drop. Last summer PPL, the company that owns the damn, worked on the damn and kept the water levels high. The year before they dropped them as low as they ever have in August when they generated electricity during a hot spell. The lake is blissfully quiet, always good for shallow boating, kayaking and island hopping. Beautiful heaths have an abundance of intresting flora and fauna including a species of meat eating flowers. Eagles abound. Bass can be caught right from the dock and many people enjoy eating the pickerel (not me!). On the hottest summer weekend you might see three boats all day long. The sunsets are fabulous. When you can buy all of this for $125,000 how could you not possibly love it?

[American girl]

15 inches of snow last night! The lake will be high for a least a few weeks this spring. Graham Lake is a winter paradise today. Unfortunately not enough ice or frozen ground under the snow to make for good skiing, might try snowshoeing tonight. It's slow going for the guy that plows our road. He has been mired in a ditch for a good part of the morning. We're all good natured, though, because we know it can't last.

[wildthing]

I just wanted to thank everyone for all your coments about Graham Lake. My husband and I have been looking at property at the lake and its great to hear everyones perspective about it. We are looking for something secluded and quiet where we can enjoy nature and the wild life. We are a little skeptical about the water level. Has anyone built a house recently? If so how are was is to get approvals to build? Also has anyone had any experience with the water level encroaching far onto their property with the change in level?

We are very excited and will be coming up in the next few weeks to check out the property. Any advice or comments are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Mainelover]

I'm so glad to hear about the Loons being out in force as well as the eagles. I'll be coming up over Memorial Day weekend, and have a feeling it could be a bit cold, but thats fine. And as far as the other more expensive areas on natural lakes, we looked at many houses that we didn't even want to step foot into because they were so awful, with no land to speak of. Some of them should have just been torn down. It was getting very depressing But when we saw this cottage on Graham Lake and it's setting, we just couldn't believe it. Man made or not, it was beautiful and peaceful. I have a feeling that as the other areas price themselves too high in this market, that Graham Lake and properties might even appreciate. Who knows. All I know is that we finally have the lake cottage we always wanted and I can't wait to start "summering" up there!

[American girl]

You will have to purchase flood insurance if you borrow money to build/buy on Graham Lake. If you build a new place the set back rules will keep your house dry. (I'm not up to date on those rules). My place is very close to the water and my basement hasn't flooded or even been in danger of that since I bought it 5 years. The water level is high right now because of all the snow and rain. It will gradually go down over the summer months and if we're lucky PPL won't generate a lot of electricity in august which really draws the lake down. There are some erosion issues but I haven't experienced anything worrisome yet. Most people are more concerned about low water levels. As I've said before it's beautiful and quiet no matter what level the water is at.

[Isle Girl]

We've built a Camp (WIP) on property we bought about three years ago on Hardwood Hill Isle on Graham Lake. My husband and I love it there and go year round (excluding when we can't boat or sled over to the Island). When those few inaccessible months occur, we just bide our time for Mother Nature
to work with us. The natural beauty of the area is astounding. Eagles are a daily occurence as well as Loons. I've taken some of my best photos ever there and my husband has rarely fished without catching a few Bass.

[Fewta Mayna]

I should be closing on a lot on Graham Lake soon. This lot is in the new Oxbow Point sub. in Waltham. It's about a third of the way up on the east side of the lake off 179.

It's great to read so many positive posts. I spent two seperate weeks looking for real estate in the Ellsworth area. My first trip up there I had lunch with two realtors and they warned me to stay clear of Graham Lake.

This past week I spent 4 days looking at lots from Brunswick to Sullivan. I looked at close to 200 lots and didn't see anything I really wanted. I deliberately avoided Graham Lake. I was going to leave and try a third trip. Just to get to know the area I decided to drive around Graham Lake and came across some property for sale. I looked at it and couldn't believe the price for waterfront property. I'm hoping this deal doesn't fall through. It's so quiet and beautiful and it's great that it isn't congested with cottages, homes and boats.

Does anyone know how far back from the shoreline the DEP and local townships make you build? My realtor thinks 250', her realtor friend thinks it's 100', a rep with the DEP thinks 100'. She believes that Graham Lake is exempt from the new 250' law. The seller of the lot won't comment for legal reasons. The DEP website sais that it's 250 feet' for ocean, lakes, ponds and rivers.

I've been trying to get ahold of John Cullen with DEP out of Bangor. I'll try again Tuesday. He's the DEP rep that covers Graham Lake for shoreline zoning. If it's 250', that's close to a football field away and not waterfront. In fact it would barely be water view. Has anyone built since this new law went into effect a year ago?

I'll be living there year round and can't wait. I plan on getting about a 16' flat bottom jon boat with about a 35 hp engine. I figure it won't draw a lot of water which should come in handy at Graham Lake. Does anyone know if there are a lot of underwater obstructions like granite boulders? I'd like to explore the lake with someone that knows the waters before I get a boat. Is there so many underwater obstructions that boating can be really dangerous? I imagine you're fine boating straight down the middle where it's like 30' deep but it's closer to the shoreline that makes me nervous for boating with a motor.

Let's keep these posts going!! Thanks all for posting.