One of the biggest parts of Belgrade Lakes is summertime! You get to enjoy the hiking trails, the lake, barbecues, the farmers market, walking and browsing the village on a nice sunny day. As much as the Belgrade lakes depends on the summertime we also enjoy the winter time. Now many may ask, “what is there to do in the dead of winter in a small town in Maine?” Well that’s a great question and you will get a verity of answers, I can promise you.

But for a Belgradeian I think that answer is simple, much like the life here, you must create your own fun. Something that most people, that aren’t from around here, don’t understand is that the community in this town is not something that you can find anywhere else. The people are incredible, everyone is family (in the sense of the word), and everyone loves to have a good time. One of the best things to do in the winter is to stop in and chat with the local business owners and hear about what is going on in town. Or to stop at the local watering hole to catch a game.

Living in Belgrade one might say it is the perfect location. You are an hour away from Portland, an hour away from Bangor, an hour away from Sugarloaf, and the lake is in your backyard. One can really not complain about these things unless you really don’t enjoy riding in a car for any period of time. During the winter months most people enjoy Sugarloaf. It is the mountain that you want to be on if you’re living in Maine or visiting. After being recognized as one of the best mountains in North America by both Insider and Forbes  it is very hard to not take a day and head to mountain for endless runs, a burger at The Bag, a pit stop at Bullwinkles during your last run, and a beer at the Rack when you have finished your day.

While Sugarloaf is on the top of the list of things to do in the winter, that doesn’t include that amount of activities that people enjoy doing on the lake. Some will tell you that the best part of winter is taking a shack out onto the ice, cutting a few holes, and throwing some ice traps down to fish. And if being on a solid piece of ice, that isn’t in danger of floating away, isn’t enough of a thrill for you then you have to try smelting. Smelting is done on the Kennebec River in tiny shacks with holes cut through the bottom of the shack into the ice. Then again some people may tell you that ice fishing is too cold so you should just jump on a sled and ride the snowmobile trails for the day and make pit stops along the way. There is always snowshoeing, ice skating, sledding, and cross country skiing that you can do on trails and hills in the area.

So if asked what there is to do in Belgrade Lakes in the dead of winter remember our motto,  “You create your own fun!”