The Guest Lodge at Santa Claus Lake

Entire cabin in Temple, Maine

  1. 6 guests
  2. 2 bedrooms
  3. 4 beds
  4. 1 bath
Hosted by Robert A
  1. 11 years hosting

Listing highlights

On a quiet Maine lake, far from it all

A secluded cabin on an 81-acre lake with only a handful of camps around, none within sight

Private dock with boats and kayaks

A private dock, rowboat, canoe, and kayaks included, all just steps from the cabin door

A place guests keep coming back to

Guests return year after year, praising the peace, the lake, and hosts Rob and Beth by name
Secluded, log-sided cabin just 40 ft. from pristine lake shore. In addition to modern amenities, comes with lovely stone fireplace, private swimming dock, an enclosed outdoor shower with dressing room, a rowboat, canoe, kayaks and loons to serenade you!

The space
The cabin was built in 1970 by Rob's father and grandparents when there was no Lake Drive or Christmas Lane; they brought the materials across the lake by boat and cleared the lot by hand to start. Then they built Lake Drive to make it easier. The mason who built the stone fireplace for them did so by hand, using stones he spent over a year searching for and finding one by one within 20 miles of the Guest Lodge; none were hewn, but used just as they were found. The Lodge was since renovated in 2013 and 2014, adding many improvements while carefully maintaining the cabin's original simplicity and charm. There are families who have been coming to the Guest Lodge since the 70's, with children who now return as adults with their families. The 81-acre lake, known by locals as 'Staples Pond,' was immediately dubbed Santa Claus Lake by Rob's father upon seeing an aerial view - it looks just like Santa with his pack on.
Whether your great love is hiking, biking, swimming, canoeing, antiquing, fishing, riding an antique steam train, renting a jet ski, or photographing the beautiful mountains, lakes and wildlife, the Franklin County area holds many interesting and fun things to see and do. Although many guests simply prefer to rest and enjoy the mesmerizing peace and quiet, wildlife and fishing or hiking right on this beautiful forest property, and only leave to go to Giffords' for some ice cream.

Guest access
You will have the whole cabin and property to yourself, private access to the lake with swimming dock, and use of the canoe, row boat, kayaks and enclosed outdoor shower. (Note: outdoor shower is in use between Memorial day and Labor Day.) You will see a small building/shed to the left of the Lodge that is owner-access only.

Other things to note
There's a charcoal grill on the back porch you are welcome to use. There is no cable service in Temple, Maine at all, but we have a DVD/BlueRay player (with some movies) and Apple TV (use your own NetFlix/Apple/Prive accounts) and Televisions in the master bedroom and living room. The television in the living room also has a VHS player and Roku. The bookshelves are filled with books, and some games and puzzles are in the bench under the window in the dining area that you are more than welcome to enjoy. There is a printer/scanner/copier on the desk in the living room. The great room has a big, strong ceiling fan which is wonderful when the temperature rises and keeps the heat circulating when the weather is cold as well. There is central A/C that keeps the temperature down on those rare hot days in Maine, as well as two ceiling fans out on the back porch. And central heating keeps the cabin warm when the weather turns chilly in the Fall.
We are a seasonal property - open from Memorial Day through Thanksgiving and closed during the winter months. During the summer we rent only by the week (Saturday to Saturday), and in the fall we have a 3-night minimum.

Where you’ll sleep

1 of 2 pages

What this place offers

Lake view
Beach access – Beachfront
Kitchen
Wifi
Free parking on premises

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Rated 4.98 out of 5 from 60 reviews.

Guest favorite
This home is a guest favorite based on ratings, reviews, and reliability

Overall rating

  1. 5 stars, 98% of reviews
  2. 4 stars, 2% of reviews
  3. 3 stars, 0% of reviews
  4. 2 stars, 0% of reviews
  5. 1 stars, 0% of reviews

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for cleanliness

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for accuracy

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for check-in

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for communication

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for location

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars for value

Guest reviews mention

Where you’ll be

Temple, Maine, United States
This listing's location is verified and the exact location will be provided after booking.

Neighborhood highlights

The Lodge is at the end of a dirt road surrounded by woods on an 81-acre lake about 20 minutes drive from the nearest town (which is Farmington, a fun little college town). There are about 9 camps around the lake, but none within sight of the Lodge except for the cabin across the lake. The tap water in the cabin flows from the well and tastes like Poland Spring (which is not that far away).

Meet your host

Host
60 reviews
4.98 out of 5 average rating
11 years of hosting
Lives in Stamford, Connecticut

Host details

Response rate: 100%
Responds within a few hours
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