A longtime Maine sporting camp that hosted renowned professional athletes is on the market for just under $1.1 million.
Established in 1898, the South Branch Lake Camps is perched on a roughly 6-acre peninsula, offering more than 1,670 feet of private shoreline on South Branch Lake.
The property in Seboeis Plantation, roughly 45 minutes north of Bangor, contains 11 furnished cabins varying in size from 330 to 550 square feet, said Michaela Kinghorn of Realty of Maine, the listing agent for the property.
Each cabin has a half bathroom, heating and screened-in porches with gas grills and camp stoves, Kinghorn said. The three larger cabins offer full kitchens.
The 2,600-square-foot main lodge in the center of the camp offers a commercial kitchen, dining space, tackle shop and two guest suites. Another recreation center offers pool, poker and foosball tables.
The site was used as a sporting camp for decades and hosted celebrities including Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Bobby Orr and Jerry McKinnis, creator of “The Fishin’ Hole,” a television show that aired for 44 years on ESPN. An episode of the show was filmed at the camp in the 1980s, Kinghorn said.
It’s the second oldest running sporting camp in Maine, according to its website.
Aside from offering guided hunts for bears and other game, the camp is known for its bass fishing, Kinghorn said. In one building, there’s an autographed picture of Babe Ruth fishing on the lake.
The property’s other buildings include two shower houses, a dock house and garage. There’s also a large fire pit on the property.
With three seasonal dock systems, the property is being sold with six 14-foot aluminum boats, four outboard motors, two canoes and three kayaks.
Every building comes fully furnished, meaning a buyer could easily continue operating it as a sporting camp or keep it for their private use.
“You could do whatever you have in mind,” Kinghorn said. “If someone wants a big place for their whole family to stay, they could rent it out while they’re not using it.”
The seller continued operating it as a sporting camp after buying it in 2024, Kinghorn said. It was listed last summer for more than $1.1 million, then taken off the market in December after a series of small price cuts, Zillow records show.
The camp hit the market again last week with an asking price of nearly $1.1 million and Kinghorn said she has received a few calls from prospective buyers.
“It’s a great fit for anyone who appreciates the Maine wilderness but also the community aspect,” Kinghorn said. “The neighbors on the road have helped the seller. They know and look after one another.”
The property feels very remote and peaceful, but being 15 minutes from I-95 makes the camp accessible and convenient for visitors, Kinghorn said.
The seller is also open to selling off the cabins in a fractional ownership agreement. This means buyers would get unlimited access to however many cabins they purchase as well as the site’s many amenities, though they would share communal spaces with other owners.
In this arrangement, the smaller cabins cost roughly $113,000 while the larger cabins have a $170,000 price tag. Buyers would pay an annual fee of roughly $2,000 to cover taxes, utilities, maintenance repairs and other expenses.
“You can’t find anything close to this for that price point,” Kinghorn said.
