For our final day, we journeyed up the west side of the lake. Though The Birches Resort was our final destination, we made multiple pit-stops to explore the shoreline on the way there and back.

First stop: Rockwood’s public boat launch facing Mount Kineo. In the summertime, this area on the water is alive with human activity, a ferry transporting hikers to the base of the mountain and back. During our winter morning, however, it was the ducks who stole the spotlight. A large flock of Mallards rested on the ice and floated nearby in the open water. Just looking at them made me cold!

Read the rest at the Natural Resources Council of Maine!