A black and white historical photograph of men in front of a log cabin at a sporting camp near Ashland, Maine, with several deer hanging from a wooden rack.

Historic Sporting Camps

Sporting camp near Ashland. Photo: Raphael Tuck & Sons.

In the late nineteenth century, stories of fishing so good in the wilderness of Maine it couldn’t possibly be true were passed word of mouth through the hunting and fishing circles of the urban northeast and in articles in sporting magazines such as Forest and Stream. Then as now, the promise of a 10-pound brook trout was enough to send anglers racing to the nearest train station to secure tickets to a sporting camp in the Maine woods.

Nestled along remote lakes and rivers, sporting camps sprang up across Maine, but particularly throughout the interior of Maine, beginning in the late 1800s. Most camps were built with logs and clustered near the water around a main lodge where “sports” as the guests were called, gathered for bracing meals and to outdo each other with tales of their adventures, which were often led by guides.

These camps, even the more “luxurious” were primitive, with no running water or indoor plumbing, and with much of the ingredients for meals coming from the camps themselves: caught in nearby waters, hunted in the surrounding woods, and grown in their gardens.

Maine had hundreds of sporting camps by the early 1900s, but the Great Depression, World War II, and changes in how people traveled slowed the demand, causing many to close. But the tradition never went away. Today, dozens are in operation, including a handful that originally opened during the late 1800s boom. Anglers and hunters dominate the spring and fall seasons as they did 150 years ago, but the camps also attract leaf peepers, paddlers, bird watchers, and photographers who can opt for a more “rustic” off-grid experience with outdoor privies or more comfortable arrangements with flush toilets and screened-in porches.

Author: Stephanie Bouchard

Tim Pond Wildnerness Camps

A black and white photograph of a large wooden sporting camp building with a wraparound porch at Grand Lake Stream, Maine, labeled "Prof White Camp." — Prof. White camp, Grand Lake Stream, ca. 1920. Photo: Maine Historical Society.

A pamphlet cover for Spencer Lake Camps, featuring a photograph of a log cabin in the woods and identifying the proprietor as Charles T. Bratten. — Spencer Lake Camps booklet, ca. 1920. Photo: Maine Historical Society.

n old, sepia-toned photograph of a group of men and women posing in front of log cabins labeled "Camp Wellington" at McPheters Camp on Ambajejus. — Group at Camp Wellington, Ambajejus Lake, ca. 1905. Photo: Norcross Heritage Trust.

A stereoview photograph showing a settlement of log cabins situated among tall trees in a clearing. — A general view of the Tim Pond cabins. Photo: Library of Congress.

The reverse side of a stereoview card, titled "Starbird's Views of Tim Pond and the Seven Ponds," listing various scenic locations and subjects available for viewing. — Tim Pond Cabins - back of the advertising card. Photo: Library of Congress.

A black and white photograph of a man standing on a dock by a seaplane, with a deer carcass strapped to the plane's floats, at McNally’s Sporting Camps on Fish River Lake. — Advertising postcard for McNally's Sporting Camps - Fish River Lake. There appears to be two deer tied to the pontoons. Photo: Penobscot Marine Museum.

A cabin at Togue Pond Camps, heavily buried under deep snow and hanging icicles, surrounded by snow-covered pine trees. — A view of a snow and ice covered cabin at Togue Pond Camps near the entrance to Baxter State Park. Photo: Penobscot Marine Museum.

« Back to All Atlas Entries