Sebago Lake is the water source for Greater Portland, 15% of Maine's population. Sebago Lake is exceptionally clear and soft - clean enough to be exempt from the expensive filtration process required with most surface water sources.
The lake covers 30,000 acres. The watershed is more than 50 miles long, stretching from
Clearly, the lake is one of
Sebago Lake is comprised of several sections.
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The Big Bay or Great Basin is five miles in width.
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Jordan's Bay is 2 miles in width.
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The Basin is a small water body accessed from the south east end of Jordan Bay.
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Lower Bay is a restricted area due to the PWD water supply intakes. In this area there is no swimming but boating is allowed. There is also a public boat launch in that area.
Chart information compliments of the University of Maine Pearl website
| Lake Name: | Sebago Lake |
| MIDAS Number: | 5786 |
| Acres: | 30513 |
| Perimeter (ft): | 33699 |
| Mean Depth (ft): | 107 |
| Max Depth (ft): | 316 |
| Volume (Acre/Feet): | 3224233.44 |
| DeLorme Atlas: | 5 |
| USGS 7.5 Quad: | Sebago Lake |
| Watershed: | Sebago Lake |
| Surrounding Towns: | Casco, Naples, Raymond, Sebago, Standish, Windham |
| County: | Cumberland |
Sebago Lake was called the "Queen of the Inland Water". Sebago means "great waters". Nathaniel Hawthorne called it the "Garden of Eden in his writings and found great solitude and freedom when spending time on its shores. The largest island on the lake is Frye Island. It is about 990 acres and has seven miles of shoreline and 11 beaches. It was named after Captain Frye, an Indian hunter from Scarborough Maine. Captain Frye jumped from the highest point on Raymond Cape, when being chased by Indians and fled to the island. That cliff is called Frye's Leap and there are images painted on the water side depicting that leap and other scenes. Indians used the lake as a direct route along the Sebago Trail from Canada to the Atlantic. Sebago is the home of the land locked Salmon. Sebago Lake State Park fronts on the North Shore. It borders both sides of the Songo River at the locks. Lumber was originally carried down Sebago Lake along the canal to Stroudwater. Point Sebago is a 200 acre compound on Kettle Cove. It features a golf course, golf and R.V. community. Songo Locks accesses Brandy Pond and the lock is the origin of the Songo River.
