For more than 100 years, the Belgrade Lakes have been known for their summer youth camps. The very first one opened in 1900 on Great Pond. That was Camp Merryweather. At the time, Camp Merryweather not only was the first youth camp on Great Pond but also the first...
Founded in 1902 by Clarence Colby, Pine Island Camp occupies a wooded island in the middle of Great Pond, the largest lake in the Belgrade Lakes region. From its earliest years the camp’s location — accessible only by boat — reflected Colby’s belief that boys would...
Camp Bomazeen is located on the eastern shore of Great Pond in Belgrade Lakes and has operated for nearly eighty years as an important youth camp in central Maine. The camp formally opened in 1945 as a Boy Scouts of America camp. Its dedication drew Scouts from ten...
A Legacy by the Lake: The History of Abena Camp for GirlsIn the heart of Maine’s lakes region, nestled along the serene shores of Great Pond in Belgrade, stood a place that for generations of young women was more than just a summer retreat—it was a sanctuary of...