Housing
This section of the BDN aims to help readers understand Maine’s housing crisis, the volatile real estate market and the public policy behind them. Read more Housing coverage here.
A lakefront campground in Naples that has been owned and operated by the same family for nearly 50 years is on the market for $9.8 million.
The Colonial Mast Campground covers 117 acres on the southwest edge of Long Lake, just north of Sebago Lake in Cumberland County. It holds 110 campsites for RVs, 23 of which are open year-round, according to James Oberg of Oberg Insurance & Real Estate Agency, the listing agent for the property.
The property includes a four-bedroom, one-bathroom owner’s house perched on the edge of the lake. While the roughly 2,800-square-foot home “needs a little bit of work,” it has heat and other necessities, meaning it’s able to be a year-round home rather than a seasonal cabin.
For campers, the site offers a series of amenities, including a bath house, laundry facilities and indoor heated pool — the only one in the area that’s open to the public, according to Oberg.
“It’s a local staple in the community,” Oberg said. “I remember going to birthday parties there when I was growing up and friends of mine took swimming lessons.”
The campsite’s main recreation hall has office space, a commercial kitchen and a small general store where visitors can buy groceries and other necessities. There’s also a large great room space with seating, pool tables and arcade games where campers can gather and socialize.
The property offers 2,500 feet of frontage on Long Lake, including sandy beach areas and an expansive docking system with 72 boat slips. For those not interested in the waterfront, there’s a nearby pavilion and playground area.
While the property is busiest in the summer, there are nearly two dozen campsites available year-round, as the campsite is roughly 15 minutes from Pleasant Mountain Ski Resort.
The sellers are a pair of siblings who have been running the campground since they inherited it from their parents, who bought the property in 1978, Oberg said. The siblings are selling the campground “with a heavy heart,” as they grew up with many of the visitors who return each summer, Oberg said.
“They have a lot of emotion that goes into this, but they’re ready for their next chapter,” he said. “It’s time to sell and have someone else take it over.”
The property hit the market in late June with an asking price of $10.2 million, but that was cut last week to $9.8 million. The listing has already gathered interest, both from other campground owners and developers, Oberg said.
While the lakefront property could easily remain a campground, the more than 100 acres could also be broken up for other uses.
“It’s perfect for someone who’s a campground enthusiast and can see the endless possibilities of 117 acres on the lake,” Oberg said. “This has been one of the premier — if not the premier — campground in this area and hopefully it can continue to do that or is moving on to the next venture that best fits the community.”