Sherman Lake, Edgecomb

By Mike Perry

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Paddle name: Sherman Lake Nearest town: Edgecomb Region: Midcoast Water type: Lake Difficulty: Advanced Beginner Length: Various, depending on tide Put-in: Put-in is under the Route 1 bridge adjacent to the rest area in Edgecomb. Take-out: Same as put-in Other: Putting in two hours before high tide allows plenty of time to explore, and still have enough water to get back to your vehicle. Maps: Get driving directions from MapQuest. View a topo map from Maptech MapServer.

How many times have you driven by the Sherman Lake Rest Area adjacent to Route 1 in Edgecomb and wondered how the paddling is on Sherman Lake? It's even better than you imagined. Put in under the Route 1 bridge adjacent to the rest area.

You have three exceptional options here: Sherman Lake south of the highway, and Deer Creek and the Marsh River north of the highway. For the latter two, be sure of the tide situation. The waters of each are connected to the tidal ebb and flow of the Sheepscot River. Putting in two hours before high tide allows plenty of time to explore, and still have enough water to get back to your vehicle.

Sherman Lake was not always a freshwater lake. It was once a saltwater marsh. The building of Route One in the 1920s created the lake. A few saltwater farms dot the meadowed slopes to the east of the lake, but for the most part the shoreline is undeveloped. Red-winged blackbirds play in the reeds along the edge.

The lake is shallow, with floating mats of pickerelweed suspended on the surface. Steep, forested hills line the western side of the lake. You will encounter a number of beaver lodges in the northern reaches of the lake. Anglers looking for bass and pickerel are courteous and quiet.

A conspicuous cove on the eastern shore leads under a small bridge and into a secluded backwater. Follow the brook up to the ruins of an old grist mill. This was a busy spot more than a century ago. A nearby ferry used to transport farm produce and raw materials down to Wiscasset, where they were transported onto schooners for the journey to Boston markets.

Under the Route 1 bridge, you can see the ruins of the old highway and the low dam that created the lake by halting the twice-daily flush of the tide. A fish ladder helps alewives make their annual spring trip up over the dam and into the lake.

If you choose to explore the tidal marsh north of Route 1, you can go a couple of miles up Deer Brook encountering osprey, kingfisher and a multitude of shorebirds along the way; or paddle to the left up the Marsh River, which connects into the Sheepscot River four miles away. Just keep the tides in mind.

Michael Perry is former director of the L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery Program and founder of Dreams Unlimited, specializing in multi-media programs about the outdoors. This article first appeared in the VacationLand Guide, July 23, 2000.