Rowell Cove Campground — Lily Bay State Park

Lily Bay is located nine miles north of the town of Greenville and in one of the best regions to explore Maine’s wilderness. The park sits on the shoreline of Moosehead Lake and provides plenty of outdoor activities. There is a nice, fairly short (2-3 mile) hiking trail along the shoreline and through the woods and there are many other great mountain hiking trails in the area (like#4 Mountain and Whitecap Mountain). Two boat launches are adequate to launch trailered boats and great for kayaks and canoes. There are floating docks so you can leave your boat in the water during your stay. Other amenities include a swim beach and playground. Ice and firewood are available at the gatehouse which is convenient because there is not too much immediately surrounding the park. Grocery, gas, restaurants, etc. are located about 10 miles away in the town of Greenville. 

All sites are primitive with no water or electricity with water spigots and vault toilets scattered throughout. The park is divided into two loops with a “comfort station” that is a bathhouse with toilets and free hot showers (located between the two loops). It is a bit far to walk to from campsites but there is parking in front of the building. A dishwashing sink is located at the comfort station which is handy. There is a dump station with potable water and non-potable water to flush your tanks before you leave but there is only one sewer outlet so it gets pretty busy when there are a lot of check-outs on Sunday morning so you may have a bit of a wait to dump. The campground is heavily treed and gets pretty dark so a flashlight or headlamp is a good thing to bring along. 

This campground is pretty quiet with spacious sites are spacious and lots of trees for privacy and shade. The campground has walk-in tent sites and other drive-in sites suitable for RVs and tents. Generators are allowed so if you are tenting you may want to book a walk-in site away from where RVs park. The best sites are those right on the water which provide superb views of Moosehead Lake. While most of the RV tent sites are long enough to fit big-rigs, beware that park staff does very little in the way to trim trees along the roads and at the sites and you will scratch your rig navigating around the loops. The road to, and inside, the park was recently paved and are smooth and easily traversed. 

Lily Bay is a nice quiet place to hang out, fish, paddle and enjoy the surrounding trails. Nearby is the B-52 Memorial Crash site being an interesting place to visit. Kokadjo is the closest town to the north and has a general store/deli so you can pick up something to eat on your way to exploring the beautiful Maine north woods. Rum Pond is a nice place to hike if you are interested in seeing moose. We saw tons of droppings along the trail and finally saw a beautiful bull moose in one of the ponds.  The second weekend in September is the International Seaplane Fly-in in Greenville which is a wonderful event attracting hundreds of seaplanes.

Sites decently spaced, friendly staff and beautiful views of the lake from select sites.

Very nice campsite. Out site was away from the lake so we only had access to outhouse but could drive to the lake and comfort station with plumbed toilets and showers. Some nice trails around the lake but did see a snake which cut our walk short.

The campground is probably the best maintained Maine State Park. There are very few undersireable sites. I stayed on site 25 with access to the water via a short path. Most sites are well spaced and fairly flat requiring very little leveling and would have given 5 stars except the camp host used a generator for long periods of time during the day and turned on a very large flood light in the evening which shone directly into our campsite. Reporting did nothing which was disappointing.

Very popular campground. We arrived the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend without a reservation thinking it would be easy to snag one of the 8 FF sites that fit RVs. There was only one site available, so we lucked out. Beautiful campground on the lake. Mostly full and partial shade, so don't plan on much solar. Sites are nice size and mostly separated. Verizon service poor with phone, but good with mobile router.

We have been pleasantly surprised with how well placed sites are set up.

Raw beach with gorgeous views.

Amazing clear water lake. 3 to 1 moose to human ratio, and abundant nearly tame birds and furry creatures. Haunting loon calls in the evening. Simple yet well maintained sites and facilities with responsive staff and relaxed, respectful neighbor campers. Sweet kayaking.

This entire area is amazing a little rough bit of drive down dirt roads but totally worth it!!

Campground Review:

This large state park has two loops located on the shore of Moosehead Lake in Greenville Maine. Many of the sites are on or have a view of the water. They are large and, in general, private. The campground map includes letters to indicate the rig size each site can accommodate. Tent only sites generally require you to walk in from a parking area, many taking you closer to the water.  When I arrived, it was quite windy and I was grateful that my site in the Rowell loop was a little farther away from the water. The sites are wooded. Both loops have boat launches. There’s a playground and beach. At night you can enjoy the call of the loons; that was the only sound I heard at night during my stay, but I had few neighbors so early in the season (late May)

Because of its proximity to the water, the toilets in the loops are all vault toilets. There is a centralized bathroom with flush toilets, showers, and dishwashing sinks.

This is a great location for fishing and boating on the lake or nearby ponds, hiking peaks as part of the Pinnacle Pursuit in the greater Greenville area, exploring the B-52 crash site memorial, or seeking out moose on small ponds and logging roads. If you want some assistance finding moose, check out the moose tours that run out of Greenville, but you’ll likely have success at Lazy Tom Bog, the Maine DOT lot on your way into Greenville from the south, or on any of the logging roads at sunrise or dusk.

2-bar cell service on Verizon at some areas in the campground (I had coverage at my campsite, but not in the more central locations and not on Lily Bay Rd).

Product Review

As a ranger for the Dyrt, I sometimes get to review equipment that is useful when camping. During this trip, I was able to review a GCI Roadtrip Rocker. I already own (and love) a Freestyle Rocker and wanted to compare it to the Roadtrip.

The Roadtrip Rocker has a taller back and a deeper seat, so it’s more comfortable, providing greater support under the thighs. They both have a cloth pocket for holding drinks. The rocking mechanism seemed less consistent…depending on the terrain, it didn’t always seem to feel as smooth. Shorter friends found it less comfortable.

The Roadtrip folds up into a bag which means I can toss it into my camper without worrying that it will bring dirt in with it, but it’s heavy and tall. It does take a little longer to get it into the bag. They’re both great for sitting around a campfire.

Camped in one of the walk-in sites in early September. There was a large selection of lakeside spots, we were spoilt for choice. Park staff were extremely friendly and full of great advice. Wood and ice sold right at entrance to park.

We spent two nights st Lily Bay, on the Rowell Cove side of the park. The sites are beautifully arranged along the cove, with almost every outside site with water access. Not as private due to the terrain (trees are less dense in the waters edge) but nonetheless a gorgeous place to camp. Put kayaks in right from the campsite.