Long Pond South Boat Launch

Long Pond South Boat Launch is a south-end access to Acadia’s longest pond, a roughly four-mile freshwater lake on Mount Desert Island’s west side. A short gravel path leads from limited parking to a gently sloping sandy shore. It’s a useful choice if you want sheltered freshwater without coastal wind or ocean tides; the appeal is a straightforward shore launch, not a full-service marina.

Follow Highway 102 to Long Pond Road toward Long Pond Trailhead. Parking beside the shore is limited. Nearly half of Long Pond’s shoreline is private or local land and may not be open to visitors, so don’t assume you can land anywhere around the lake.

You may also see this lake called Great Long Pond, which distinguishes it from a smaller Long Pond near Seal Harbor. Its long north-south basin is part of Acadia’s glacial landscape: continental ice carved the island’s troughs, leaving long ponds and rounded hills as it retreated.