Town Line Camping on Damariscotta Lake

Sixty Years on Damariscotta Lake

Town Line Camping has been run by the same family since 1960. The campground sits on 160 acres directly on the shore of Damariscotta Lake in Nobleboro, about halfway between Portland and Bangor. It is the kind of place where families come back every summer for decades, kids grow up fishing off the dock, and nobody is in a rush.

Damariscotta Lake stretches 14 miles with three separate basins. The deepest point drops to 114 feet. The water is clean enough that you can see the bottom in the shallows, and the fishing is some of the best freshwater action in midcoast Maine. The campground has its own beach, boat launch, and direct lake access.

This is not a resort. There is no WiFi lounge or camp store with craft beer. It is a campground in the traditional sense: sites in the woods, a beach on the lake, a boat ramp, and not much else. That is exactly what makes it work.

The Lake

Damariscotta Lake is the main attraction and it delivers. Three basins connected by narrows give you 14 miles of water to explore. The lake is big enough that you can paddle or motor for hours without covering the same stretch twice, but small enough that it never feels overwhelming.

Swimming from the campground beach is good. The bottom is sandy in the shallows and the water warms up by late June. It is still a Maine lake, so “warm” means tolerable, not tropical. July and August afternoons are genuinely pleasant for swimming.

Fishing is excellent. The lake holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, brown trout, landlocked salmon, and lake trout. Smallmouth bass fishing is particularly productive. Work the rocky points and drop-offs in the morning. Lake trout sit deep in the main basin during summer and respond to trolling with lead core line or downriggers.

Boating is open. The campground has a boat launch for motorboats, canoes, and kayaks. There is no horsepower restriction on the lake, so you will see ski boats and pontoons on summer weekends, but the size of the lake spreads everyone out.

Sites and Rates

Sites range from $29 to $55 per night depending on location and type. Waterfront sites are at the top of that range. Interior wooded sites are more affordable and offer better shade and privacy.

The campground accommodates tents and RVs. Some sites have electric hookups. The facilities include bathrooms, hot showers, picnic tables, and fire rings at each site.

The 160-acre property means sites are not stacked on top of each other. There is actual space between neighbors, and the wooded areas between sites provide screening that many private campgrounds lack.

Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder

The Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder in Nobleboro is the number one tourist attraction in Lincoln County during spring, and it is free. Every May and early June, hundreds of thousands of alewives (river herring) swim up from the ocean through the fish ladder from the salt water of Great Salt Bay into Damariscotta Lake to spawn.

The fish ladder is a series of stone pools and channels built alongside a small dam. You can stand on the viewing platforms and watch the fish pour through by the thousands. Eagles, osprey, and herons line the trees waiting to pick off stragglers. It is one of those natural spectacles that sounds modest until you see it in person.

The run peaks in late May and early June. If you are camping at Town Line during that window, the fish ladder is a 10-minute drive and absolutely worth the trip.

Day Trips From Camp

The campground’s location in Nobleboro puts you within easy reach of some of the best spots in midcoast Maine.

Downtown Damariscotta is 15 minutes south. The village has a walkable Main Street with restaurants, an independent bookstore, an old movie theater, and shops that are not all aimed at tourists. Good lunch spots and an excellent bakery.

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse is about 30 minutes south. One of the most photographed lighthouses in Maine with dramatic rock formations where the waves crash against striped granite. The lighthouse museum is small but worth a quick stop.

Boothbay Harbor is 30 minutes south and east. More of a tourist town than Damariscotta but has boat tours, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, and plenty of lobster shacks.

Damariscotta Lake State Park is nearby and has a sandy beach with a lifeguard on duty in summer. Good alternative if you want a change from the campground beach or if you have a large group that wants more room.

Camping Packing List

Getting There

Town Line Camping sits on the Nobleboro-Jefferson town line, directly on Damariscotta Lake, about 90 minutes from both Portland and Bangor. The campground address is 225 Townline Road, Nobleboro.

From Portland, take I-295 north and continue on Route 1 through Brunswick and Wiscasset to Damariscotta. From downtown Damariscotta, head north on Route 215 toward Nobleboro, then follow signs via East Pond Road out to Townline Road. The campground is about a mile off East Pond Road, and the drive from Route 1 takes roughly 15 minutes.

From Bangor, take I-95 south to Augusta, then US Route 17 east toward Jefferson, then south on Route 215 to Nobleboro. Both approaches use paved roads the entire way and work for any vehicle or trailer.

The campground is open Memorial Day through Columbus Day. There are no reservations taken by email, and the campground does not accept credit or debit cards at any point, so stop at an ATM in Damariscotta before driving up. Cell service is decent at the campground, but the lake valley has dead spots.

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