For some Bridgewater families, the best kind of exploring starts with getting away from the noise, trading busy schedules for fresh air, open space and time together. For longtime Bridgewater-Raritan friends Ken Kunich and Michael Palonis, that love of outdoor adventure eventually led all the way to Lakeville, Maine, where they now help others experience the same kind of escape.
Along with Ken’s wife, Bevin, their son, Evan, and Maine native Kurtis Marsh, that shared connection to the outdoors became Wild Fox Cabins and Campground, a wilderness retreat set on 155 pristine acres. Located two hours northeast of Bangor, Wild Fox offers a balance of off-the-grid living and the comforts of home, surrounded by 300,000 untouched acres near Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribal lands.
Wild Fox offers eight log cabins with lofts and open floor plans that accommodate up to seven people. Each fully furnished lakeside cabin is decorated with a rustic theme and equipped with heat, air conditioning, electricity, linens and showers with adjustable hot water heaters. Kitchens include refrigerators, gas stoves, coffee makers and essential cookware, dinnerware and utensils.
The cabins are situated on private wooded lots with space for vehicles, boats and trailers. Guests can enjoy lake views from the large back porch or gather around a family-size picnic table beside the fire pit in the spacious backyard. All cabin rentals are pet friendly, and Wi-Fi rental is available in a limited number of cabins.
For those seeking a more immersive experience, Wild Fox also offers 11 tent or RV campsites with privacy and proximity to hot showers. A new exclusive glamping site on Horseshoe Lake includes a queen-size bed, fully equipped camping kitchen, solar shower and complimentary kayak use.
Activities abound year-round, with adventures for every age, ability and interest. Tent and RV sites are open from mid-May to mid-October, and cabin rentals are available all year, with a brief hiatus in April.
In summer and fall, guests can enjoy fishing, kayaking, canoeing and swimming, or explore miles of wilderness trails on four-wheelers or nature hikes. Winter attractions include heated ice-house rentals on Junior Lake for ice fishing and snowmobile rides on the frozen lake and groomed trail systems. Guests can book guided fishing trips, hunting excursions and lake tours, or explore on their own by renting a boat, kayak, canoe or e-bike.
Since 2017, Wild Fox has been owned and operated by lifelong friends Ken, Bevin and Evan Kunich, Palonis and Marsh. Palonis relocated from Bridgewater to the Bangor area in 2003, while the Kunich family, now of Somerville, continued visiting Maine and exploring new terrain over the years.
The friends first discovered Wild Fox in 2014 and quickly fell in love with its undisturbed, remote natural beauty. Although they started out seeking a lakeside cabin for their own use, their plans took an unexpected turn when the former owner prepared to retire and approached them with the opportunity to become the new owners.
Ken and Bevin have instilled their love of Maine in Evan, who considers himself fortunate to have experienced the camping lifestyle throughout his childhood. Now a rising junior at Somerville High School, some of Evan’s favorite Wild Fox experiences include fishing, campfires and riding ATVs through miles of wilderness trails.
“It’s an opportunity to escape that allows me to do a lot of things I can’t do here,” Evan says. “There’s plenty of room, a lot more than here.”
For Bevin and Ken, the family-centric atmosphere of Wild Fox is one of the greatest rewards.
“It’s great to see kids being kids, running around, playing, laughing and enjoying the outdoors,” Bevin says. “Attitudes change at Wild Fox. Families reconnect and have fun together.”
Although unexpected, becoming the owners of Wild Fox Cabins and Campground has been a natural progression of their love of Maine and a chance to make new discoveries as a family.
“It makes me happy to know that we have been able to give Evan this experience and that he will continue to visit Maine throughout his life,” Ken says. “For us, it’s about reconnecting to what’s really important.”
For more information or to book a stay, visit WildFoxMaine.com.