Fundamentals
- Lake Arrowhead is owned by the State of Maine. It is not owned by the Lake Arrowhead Community, nor by the operator of Ledgemere dam that forms the lake, nor waterfront property owners.
- The lake is open for public use. That means anyone may use the lake.
- The removal of plants by waterfront owners can only be done under permit from the Maine DEP.
- The lake is not the source of the Lake Arrowhead water supply. LAC gets its water from its own wells.
- State laws apply, and are enforced by the Maine Warden Service. These include*:
- A 200' safety zone from all shores along the lake. Within the 200' safety zone watercraft (motorized vessels, boats, Jetskis, etc.) may only operate at headway speed, which is the minimum speed that allows the craft to be steered. Most of the lake falls within this safety zone.
- The entire shoreline is a no-wake zone.
- All motorized watercraft must be registered, even motorized kayaks, canoes & paddleboards
- All motorized craft must display a Lake and River Protection Sticker
- OUI alcohol limit for all craft is 0.08% (0% if under the age of 21)
- Lifejackets (PFD) must be present on kayaks and worn if under 10 years of age
- Powered vessels over 16' must also have a throwable PFD
- Powered boats must have white (stern), red (port), and green (starboard) lights.
- At night, human powered craft (kayaks, etc.) must have a white light available and shown to prevent collisions.
- All craft (including kayaks & paddle boards) must have a sounding device (such as a whistle).
- Vessels 16' or longer, or any with inboard motors, closed/permanent fuel compartments, must carry a fire extinguisher.
- Personal watercraft (PWC "Jetskies") may not be operated by anyone under 16 years (and from 2024, 16 year olds are required to have completed courses.)
- PWC users must wear a lifejacket
- PWCs may not be operated between sunset and sunrise
- Any craft towing someone (E.g. tubing) must have an additional person observing.
General information
Lake Arrowhead is a shallow dam (Ledgemere) that is almost entirely littoral in nature. The area of the lake is estimated to be between 779 acres and 1100 acres. In recent years the water level has risen slightly, thus increasing the area. The average depths is said to be 6' with some areas up to 25' deep.
Lake Arrowhead now has three invasive plants. Variable Milfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum), Naiad (Najas minor) and The Swollen Bladderwort, (Utricularia inflata).
The milfoil infestation is heavy and extensive. It is difficult to find anywhere in the lake that has no milfoil.
Nonprofit and volunteer efforts have been battling milfoil since about 2000 using suction harvesters, with some funding from the state.
The invasive Naiad is an annual plant and has been found from the southern end of the lake to the dam. It has not been found on the Brown Brook tributary. This Naiad is initially difficult to differentiate from the native species and really only becomes evident from late July through September. This leaves a very small window in which to locate and remove plants mechanically before it fragments and distributes its seeds in the fall.
The Swollen Bladderwort is a species new to Maine and is now listed by the Maine legislature as an invasive plan. The infestation is extensive (complete?) but only seems to flower in very shallow, still coves.
The lake is used extensively for recreational purposes, fishing, personal watercraft, wakeboarding, skiing, tubing, waterfowl hunting, (some) sailing, swimming and human powered boating.
There are three known boat launches.
- At the dam, (public) with Courtesy Boat inspection, (CBI) most of the summer.
- At Bay Cove, (open to LAC residents only) with CBI on weekends only in the summer
- Unimproved boat launch on private property at the south end, without any CBI.
Boaters are complaining about the infestation level of the milfoil interfering with their boating.
Conservation minded people are concerned about the invasive species and the shoreline erosion.
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