The Guest Lodge, red with pine-tree shutters, on its hill above Santa Claus Lake

Temple, Maine · On Santa Claus Lake

The lake that looks like Santa. The Lodge that feels like home.

From the sky, our lake is the spitting image of Santa with his pack on his back — and on its shore sits The Guest Lodge — Christmas red, pine‑tree shutters and all — waiting for your family.

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Welcome home

Christmas colors, all year round.

The Lodge is Christmas red. The shutters are hand‑painted with green pines. And the quiet, spring‑fed lake out front belongs to the loons, the trout, and you. Our family has been on this hillside since the 1960s — and families like yours have been coming back ever since.

Sleeps 6In the main house
PrivateDock & beach
7 kayaks4 adult · 3 kids
Canoe& rowboat
DogsWelcome
GigabitFiber WiFi

The Guest Lodge

You’ll know it by the pine‑tree shutters.

Christmas red with crisp white shutters — each one hand‑painted with a single green pine — the Lodge has welcomed families to this hillside for more than fifty years. Inside: warm knotty‑pine walls, a full kitchen, two cozy bedrooms, and everything you need to settle in for a week of doing wonderfully little.

Getting here is half the charm: a mile and a half of winding dirt road, delivering all the rural peace of Maine — with all the amenities of a luxury cabin waiting at the end of it. Bring the dog. Bring the kids. Bring the quads — ATVs are road‑legal in Temple, and the Lodge rides straight out to the Temple Trail Riders club trails and Maine’s statewide network. Or bring nothing to do at all.

The Guest Lodge seen across Santa Claus Lake in autumn
The knotty-pine living room with the stone fireplace Cozy lodge bedroom
HIS HEAD THE PACK THE GUEST LODGE HIS BOOTS ESW

Santa Claus Lake, exactly as the chart draws him — north up, mid‑stride at his own jolly angle.

Where the name came from

Yes — it really is shaped like Santa.

Look down at this water from the air and there he is: Santa mid‑stride, pack slung over his shoulder, boots and all.

Rob’s father spotted him in an aerial photograph more than fifty years ago, and the name stuck. The road in is called Christmas Lane. And though the charts still say “Staples Pond,” everyone around here knows exactly whose lake this is.

As for the Guest Lodge — you’ll find it at the end of Christmas Lane, off Lake Drive, tucked right below his pack on the western shore. Pull up the satellite view on your way in; you’ll see him too.

Our story

It started with a canoe.

In the 1960s, Rob’s grandfather paddled across this water to start clearing a lot by hand. There were no roads, no power lines — just the woods, the lake, and a family with a plan.

1960s

A canoe and a plan

Grandfather crossed the lake by canoe and began clearing the land by hand. Every tool and every board came over the water — and that same aluminum Grumman canoe still sits at the water’s edge today. Yes, you can paddle it.

1970

The first guests

Rob’s father and grandparents raised the Lodge and welcomed its first guests. A local stonemason spent a year gathering fieldstone for the fireplace — every rock exactly as nature made it.

’70s–’90s

A loyal following

Word spread of the finely kept lodge on the quiet lake. Families returned summer after summer through the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s — many beginning traditions that continue today.

Late ’80s

The first renovation

The Lodge underwent its first real renovation — refreshed and readied for its next generation of summers.

Early 2000s

A new steward

Care of the Lodge passed from the second generation of our family to the third.

2013–14

Renewed, not replaced

A careful renovation brought in modern comforts — heat and AC, a full kitchen, WiFi — while keeping the Lodge’s original simplicity and charm.

2017

The fourth generation

The Lodge welcomed the first of our family’s fourth generation — the newest keeper of the place learning it the way we all did: barefoot, on the dock.

Today

Generations strong

Guests who first came as kids now bring a third and even fourth generation to the same dock — and we keep at it, adding something new to the Lodge every year.

Our vision

A lake house for the generations — ours, and yours.

The Lodge is now passing into our family’s fourth generation, and our vision is a simple one: to keep making it better, year after year — continually updating it with modern amenities while never letting go of the rustic charm that makes it the Lodge. A family lake house, cherished and cared for, and handed down through our family’s lineage in perpetuity.

And that promise isn’t only for our family. Many of the families who stay with us are on their third and fourth generation of summers at the lake — kids who learned to paddle here now watching their own kids learn on the same water. Our hope is that the Lodge remains their second home too: the same red Lodge at the end of the lane, the same loons at dusk, the same dock waiting at the end of the drive — a cherished family lake house for their generations as well.

See you at the lake — this summer, and for all the summers to come.

On the water

Rest, and enjoy the mesmerizing quiet.

Swim off the dock or the sandy beach, paddle out at dusk — there’s a kayak for everyone, kids included — cast for brown trout, or sink into one of seven red Adirondack chairs by the water — four full‑size, three just for kids — and watch the light go.

Getting down is the easy part: four‑foot‑wide wooden steps run from the Lodge all the way to the water’s edge, with a walkway straight to the outdoor shower — gentle going for every generation, from toddlers to grandparents.

Guest reviews

Five stars, season after season.

★★★★★

Rated 5.0 out of 5 on Google and Exceptional — 10/10 on Airbnb. But we’d rather let our guests tell you.

Our stay at the Guest Lodge was a dream. It was the perfect balance of being immersed in nature while still having all the creature comforts.
— Marcia
This was the most wonderful place we have ever stayed! It was the most relaxed I have felt in over six years.
— Kristen, Bill & Presley
Such a special place. Listening to the loons on the lake, fishing, a quiet board game or a book on the porch — nature at its best!
— Sara, on Google

Read all of our reviews on Airbnb →  ·  See all our pictures →  ·  Follow along on Facebook →

MAINE AUGUSTAPORTLANDBANGORPORTSMOUTHMANCHESTERBOSTON THE GUEST LODGE

Where we are

Western Maine — closer than you think.

The Lodge sits in the mountains of Western Maine, about ten minutes from Farmington — at the end of Christmas Lane, off Lake Drive, Temple, ME 04984.

Closest airports with commercial service (approximate drive):

Augusta, ME (AUG)45 miles · about 45 min
Portland, ME (PWM)90 miles · about 1 hr 45 min
Bangor, ME (BGR)105 miles · about 2 hrs
Portsmouth, NH (PSM)145 miles · about 2 hrs 10 min
Manchester, NH (MHT)165 miles · about 2 hrs 40 min
Boston Logan (BOS)195 miles · about 3 hrs

For pilots — general aviation airports nearby:

Lindbergh Airport, Avon (grass strip)20 miles · about 30 min
Central Maine Regional, Norridgewock (OWK)30 miles · about 40 min
Steven A. Bean Municipal, Rangeley (8B0)45 miles · about 1 hr
Auburn‑Lewiston Municipal (LEW)45 miles · about 1 hr

Good to know

The details, at a glance.

SleepsUp to 6 in the main house
Bedrooms2 · 1 queen, 2 singles, 1 sofa bed
Bath1 full bath (+ outdoor shower in summer)
Check‑in / outAfter 4 PM / by 10 AM
SeasonApril – the week after Thanksgiving
Summer staysSaturday‑to‑Saturday weeks, Memorial Day – Labor Day
Spring & fallShorter stays welcome
IncludedFull kitchen, gigabit fiber WiFi, heat & AC, linens, 2 TVs with Apple TV & Roku
On the waterPrivate dock & beach, 7 kayaks, rowboat & Grandfather’s 1960s Grumman canoe
ATV & side‑by‑sideRide out from the Lodge — Temple Trail Riders & statewide trails · snowmobiling in winter
On‑property trailsPrivate trail network for hiking & riding; trailer parking up top
Easy access4‑ft‑wide wooden steps to the water & walkway to the shower
GrillingWeber gas & Weber charcoal grills
Outdoor showerMemorial Day – Labor Day
DogsHousebroken, well‑behaved dogs welcome
Rules & informationRead the Lodge rules →

Reservations

Come stay with us.

Book instantly on Airbnb or Vrbo — or reach out to us directly and we’ll help you find the right week. For accurate, up‑to‑the‑minute availability, check the calendar on our Airbnb listing.

or book directly with us

Open from April (mud season permitting) through the week after Thanksgiving. Memorial Day – Labor Day we book Saturday‑to‑Saturday weeks; shorter stays are welcome the rest of the season.