The Community Is Built in the Hours In Between

I came out at 20 while I was living in Provincetown, and I didn't realize at the time how lucky that was. The clubs were amazing. My friends and I danced, drank too much, and then stumbled down Commercial Street to Spiritus Pizza to hang out after hours, night after night, like it was our job.

The clubs were so fun, but that isn't where the community got built. It got built in all the hours in between. It was going to the beach with friends in the afternoon, and sitting on the post office steps knowing the faces that walked by, half of them stopping to chat. In that town every line blurred, between friends, co-workers, the guys who came back every summer, and the ones who never left. It all came together into something that felt like community, the kind where you belonged just by showing up.

I didn't know it then, but I was spoiled. That kind of place doesn't exist everywhere, and for most gay men it doesn't exist anywhere near home.

Why it matters

These days a lot of us meet other men through a phone screen. You scroll, you chat, maybe you meet up, and then you're back to scrolling. The apps can get you a date, but they can't give you a place to belong. Gay bars have done so much of the heavy lifting for our community for decades. They're where a lot of us first walked through the door, found our people, and felt safe being ourselves, and if you have one near you, support it. What we do at the Lodge is take that one step further. Instead of a night out, come stay for a whole week, or if you have an RV, book an extended stay. Give yourself the time when nothing in particular is happening and you're just around each other long enough to really get to know someone. That's where community gets built, in the hours in between.

That's the feel we've found here at Twin Ponds Lodge. And no, it certainly isn't Provincetown. We're in the woods in Albion, Maine, not on the tip of the Cape. We're one campground, not an entire town with all that pedigree and history behind it. But we're a few thousand members strong, and it's a real community, and it has that same easy feel. You can grab a cup of coffee in the morning, sit down anywhere, and you'll be surrounded by friends and friendly people. Guys who came up for a day pass end up staying for the potluck. Strangers at the campfire turn into the guys you text to ask if they're coming up next weekend. The same faces keep coming back, and after a while one of those faces is yours.

If you live close enough to come up to Albion often, this is the kind of place that gets better the more you show up. You will find your tribe here.

How to become a member

If you've been on the fence about becoming a member, here's how it works.

Start by getting to know us. Spend some time on our website: look through the photo album, read a few blog posts, check the events calendar, and get a feel for the place before you ever pull into the driveway. Then ask yourself honestly whether you're a fit. Our members are adults who live and identify authentically as men, and who support what we're building here: a men's-only, clothing-optional space where men can socialize, unwind, and connect. We're not looking for people to fill campsites. We're looking for men who want to build community and be part of something real, right here in central Maine.

If that sounds like you, the first step is to read and sign our Membership Agreement, right on the Memberships page of our website. Read the whole thing before you sign. It explains who we are, how the Lodge works, and what we expect from each other.

You don't pay for your membership until you get here. You pay your yearly dues the first day you check in, and that's when the clock starts: your membership is good for 365 days from that date. If you want to book a stay, you can do that online even before your membership is finalized. The process is the same either way. Read and sign the agreement, then pay your yearly dues when you check in.

Then come hang out with us in the woods. Grab a coffee, pull up a chair by the fire, and stay a while. It's in those hours in between that you'll find what I found all those years ago.