Welcome to Bradford Camps in the North Maine Woods, a picturesque retreat on the market and one of Maine’s oldest established sporting and fishing camps dating back to the 1890s. The North Maine Woods is an iconic wilderness of over 3.5 million acres and one of the last remaining unbroken forests in the eastern United States. Nestled on Munsungan Lake, a private and undeveloped lake (where many guests opt to fly in by commercial floatplane), guests at Bradford Camps enjoy some of the best fishing in Maine with plentiful salmon in the lake and wild brook trout in outlying ponds and streams, and trophies up to four pounds. Bradford Camps has been featured in esteemed publications like Travel + Leisure, where it was recently profiled in July as one of the “5 Best All-Inclusive Resorts in Maine.”
This off-grid remote oasis is located on approximately 20 acres of leased land under a long-term contract and includes 8 historic hand-hewn log cabins with full baths, a main lodge with a commercial-grade kitchen, 4 docks, and a large garden. Generators power the main lodge and owner cabin, and each of the guest cabins feature hot water, beautiful gas lights, and wood heat. While the camps have been in existence since the 1890s, the original cabins were replaced and/or rebuilt in the 1940s and have been meticulously maintained over the years.
Bradford Camps also includes two outpost guest camps: one cabin on Bluffer Pond and two cabins on Reed Pond in the largest old-growth forest in New England, giving anglers access to the elusive blueback charr. An established guide service is in place to provide guests with the best hunting and fishing experiences. Bradford Camps serves fishing groups, hunters (birds and game), and vacationing families, and hosts up to 24 guests in the 8 cabins.
“There is great fishing, hunting, and exploring in the North Maine Woods, but not many lodging amenities in the area. Guests are drawn to these woods for the sporting opportunities and the chance to stay at Bradford Camps is somewhat like stepping back in time,” says Glenn Jonsson, the Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty agent who is representing the sellers alongside agent Heidi Steele. “With no cell signal or wifi, it’s a very relaxed, unhurried pace. Plus, this is the only set of camps on Munsungan Lake, which is four miles long, so the beautiful lakefront is completely unspoiled. The camps were built in the 1890s and have been incredibly well maintained and cared for over the years.”
Maine’s storied history of sporting camps showcases rustic, back-to-nature experiences that have brought visitors to Maine from across the world for centuries. “Maine sporting camps are generally off-grid, typically in very remote and unspoiled settings, and the best ones have access to areas that are not accessible to the general public. The back roads may be gated, or just so far away that it eliminates the possibility of running into visiting day-trippers,” says Jonsson. “This is the case at Bradford Camps, which is so remote many visitors must come by float plane or travel miles of logging roads.”
Agent Heidi Steele highly recommends visiting the camps by float plane. “We were picked up at Shin Pond, the closest plane access point, about a 20-30 minute plane ride to Bradford Camps depending on the weather,” says Steele. “The views were amazing over the Maine Woods and the pilot, Igor Sikorsky, shared his knowledge of the land owners below and how they manage their forests, the names of the hills, streams, and lakes, and the history of logging in the Maine Woods. Landing on the water was beautiful and thrilling, and it was such an easy way to access the camps. We landed and pulled up to the dock in one minute.”
The fishing opportunities are unparalleled. “Bradford Camps has access to a lot of remote trout ponds that you couldn’t easily access unless you were staying at this particular camp. And since it is the only camp on Munsungan Lake, the lake is virtually unfished by anyone other than their guests. They also have two remote outpost camps, which are fly-in only. One of these ponds has the rare blueback trout, which is only found in a handful of ponds in Maine. Bradford Camps was instrumental in the reintroduction of the blueback trout, also known as the elusive arctic charr, into the pond,” says Jonsson, who is an avid outdoorsman, certified fly-casting instructor, and registered Maine Guide. Reed Pond is one of only 14 ponds in the continental US that holds the rare blueback charr, readily caught.
Other media features include “A Rare Catch” in the September 2020 issue of Maine Mag. The profile in Travel + Leisure highlights the off-grid experience:
Detox from tech and the world’s woes at Bradford Camps, an off-the-grid (no cell, no Internet, no television) and traditional Maine sporting camp deep in the North Woods wilderness. Since 1890, Bradford has welcomed “sports” — or, men and women ready to fish, hike, hunt, and enjoy the great outdoors. Today, Igor Sikorsky III and his wife, Karen, extend a summer welcome to anyone wishing to simply reconnect with nature as well.
Bradford’s main lodge (with generator-powered electricity) and eight log cabins, which are equipped with wood stoves and gas lanterns, hug the shore of undeveloped Munsungan Lake. The nine-mile-long lake and nearby waterways provide swimming and paddling opportunities, plus limitless fishing, thanks to landlocked salmon and lake trout. The woodlands offer plentiful hiking as well. For an unforgettable adventure, book a floatplane tour, go stargazing, hire a guide for a moose safari, or paddle a section of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.
To get here, guests either drive rugged logging roads or fly in by floatplane. And on a related note, if the name Sikorsky rings a bell, that’s because Igor’s grandfather, a Russian immigrant, earned renown building flying boats and making the helicopter viable.
The turn-key property also includes an owner/manager cabin, staff cabins, and other necessary outbuildings and equipment. Bradford Camps has been fully booked for years without advertising, and guests are made up of 85% return customers and new customers come from word of mouth. “Business growth is as easy as saying yes to the steady stream of inquiries,” says the seller. “There are very few sporting camps left in Maine of this caliber, and rarely do they come up for public sale. It is completely turn-key.”
“The lessors would like the camps to remain as a commercial sporting camp so the next owners will need to be like the sellers: passionate about the outdoors and passionate about bringing guests to the camps to experience the strong hunting and fishing in an unspoiled beautiful part of our state,” adds Jonsson. “The combination of great amenities and the pristine location make Bradford Camps one of, if not the most, desirable sporting camps in Maine.” Bradford Camps is a charter member of the Maine Sporting Camp Association.
Bradford Camps is offered at $1,600,000.
