Dude's Ranch Campground

Smithfield, ME

This is a little gem of a campground, located in Smithfield Maine, about 30 miles northwest of Waterville, Maine.

The horses get covered stalls with a small run out area. There is also a good-sized round pen available for turn-out.

We have a full hook-up campsite. We are getting a bit spoiled with the campsite amenities in Maine. There is also really nice high speed WIFI. We have a picnic table and fire ring, but it has been raining on and off, so we are not spending too much time outside in the rain. Our LQ has sprung a leak in the gooseneck area and I had some water dripping onto my side of the bed. Ari went up on the roof and put some sealing caulk on the seams, so hopefully that will hold. I had already planned on scheduling an EquineKool application to reseal the roof while we are in Florida in a couple of months.

Ginny, the owner, took us out of the trails twice. Her horse is named Dude and the campground is named for him. He is a 7 yo quarter horse. He is still figuring out the trails, but overall he is doing well. He spooked at a porcupine climbing a tree a good distance away from us. Sorry, no pictures of the porcupine.

The trails are fairly easy to ride. There are signs up.

We passed this stone wall. Ginny says it has been dated as over 400 years old. The theory is that it is either a property boundary built by settlers or a directional marker.

There is a lake you can ride to and swim with your horse. Too cold to do that right now and I am not keen on doing that. I don’t mind water crossings, but horse swimming seems dangerous to me.

A neighbor offered to take us on a boat ride on the lake. Ari was game, but when they got out to the dock, the engine wouldn’t start, so no boat ride for Ari. We head to Acadia National Park next.