Directions: From Route 3, bear right at the trafic light onto Route 102/198. Stay on Route 102 heading toward Southwest Harbor. You'll pass through a traffic light and the village of Somesville. Echo Lake will appear on your right. Begin looking for Ikes Point on your right. The boat launch is at the end of the short road to Ikes Point. Unload you boat at the launch area, and park your car in the parking area you passed on the way to the boat launch.
Paddling Information: Echo Lake is fairly active. There is a little boat traffic, but not much. Cottages line the shore in one section, and there is a day camp, an Appalachian Mountain Club camp, and a very busy beach which is part of Acadia National Park. People swim at the boat launch to avoid the crowd at the National Park's beach. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant place to paddle and the cliffs above Echo Lake Beach are quite picturesque. As with all of the lakes on Mt. Desert Island, sea breezes come down the lake from the southwest many afternoons. It can get somewhat choppy, but not usually terribly so.