My Maine

My Maine

Driving along the coast of Maine, going from one place to another generally might take longer than you might think because you are constantly dealing with Peninsulas. Just be aware and enjoy the scenery. 

I visited the Pemaquid Peninsula a couple times and really enjoyed the area. This information is from those trips and the information might not be completely accurate, just check on-line.  I camped in the Sherwood Forest Campground and spent most of my time in the New Harbor area. If you go there - don't miss the lighthouse on the tip. The Pemaquid Lighthouse was chosen to represent Maine on the quarters issued for the States.

 In New Harbor is the famous Shaw's restaurant - if you buy a lobster, check out the tank in bottom part of restaurant - you can choose a big one and they'll cook it there.  I didn't buy the dinner because, I didn't need the side dishes - I just wanted
one huge lobster although, the onion rings are the best I’ve eaten.  If you are sitting on the outside deck watch for the seagulls, they steal your food.  The deck on Shaw’s is wonderful - overlooks the harbor and you can watch the lobster boats coming in and going out. You can take a day trip to Monhegan Island - great trip and the boat docks at Shaw's. 

If you are aware of Rachel Carson, you might be interested in the Salt Pond Preserve in New Harbor where she did a lot of research for her book "Edge of the Sea".  New Harbor is very small but a great place to visit.  For more information about the Pemaquid Peninsula, go to my entry "Off To Maine - Again".

I enjoyed the Pemaquid Peninsula but it’s the area north of Bar Harbor that I love the most. I've spent about 8 vacations in the part of Maine known as Down East and farther up, the Bold Coast.  This is the part of Maine I truly love and I highly suggest, if you go to Maine, you spend time in this area.  Many people travel to Bar Harbor but not a lot continue up Route 1. The area north of Bar Harbor and up to Eastport is what I consider the “true” Maine. I take 95 up to Bangor and then Rte. 1A to Ellsworth. There’s an L.L. Bean Outlet store in Ellsworth (FYI). From Ellsworth you can drive over to Acadia National Park which is on Mt. Desert Island.  

Also on the Island is Bar Harbor – lots of stores and lots of tourists (not my favorite place but my girls loved it).  In Acadia, you can bike or walk the carriage trails - go for a horse drawn wagon ride that takes you around the carriage trails - go to the Jordan Pond House for popovers and tea (a little pricey but good for the "soul") and take the trip up to Cadillac Mountain for a wonderful view of the surrounding area including the sea.  There's much more to do in Acadia - you can check on-line.

As you make your way back to  Ellsworth,(on the Trenton Bridge) there are lobster pounds - good for lobster dinners, etc. On the road to the Schoodic (Rte 1) you can stop at Wimpy’s for a good seafood dinner. From Rte. 1, take Maine State Hwy. 186 to Winter Harbor.  As you go through this small town, stop at the Winter Harbor 5&10 - famous for the huge variety of items for sale including lots of shirts. There’s a nice coffee shop across from the dime store.  I have to admit, I love the Winter Harbor 5&10. 

Winter Harbor is small but worth a visit. Take a left from186 and it will take you to the entrance of Schoodic section of Acadia.  There’s a one way road that goes around the park. I don’t believe motor homes can drive through it – check on this if your driving one.  Stand at the tip of the peninsula and you can experience the power of the sea.  Waves crashing on the granite rocks - if you are lucky, you will be there after a storm - huge waves.

There is a fairly new campground in the Schoodic Park but I don’t know what it’s like. As you leave the park, you enter Birch Harbor and you’lI drive by Ocean Wood Campground.  This was the campground I originally went to on my first trip to Maine at age 60.  It’s on the coast and probably one of the best Campgrounds in U.S. (my opinion).  It was closed for awhile and is now owned by Roxanne Quimby (Burt’s Bees) and should be reopened in 2018. If you drive through Birch Harbor, try out the Pickled Wrinkle Restaurant but don’t eat the pickled wrinkles (ugh!).  

Continue up Rte 1 and you'll come to Milbridge.  I rented a cottage known as Two Jetties in July 2016 and 2017.  I rented it through VRBO. I could write a whole post just on Milbridge and probably will.  For now I’ll just write about a few favorite spots.  Chipman’s Wharf is a good place to buy fresh lobster (right off the boats).  There’s a campground (Mclellen) in Milbridge but I really only like one site. I do recommend it as a place to visit for a picnic right on the rocks overlooking Narraguagus Bay.  I like the Vazquez Mexican Restaurant in town.  The Mexican dinner is about $8 and really is enough for 2 people.  They make the tortillas right there.  

Look up this restaurant as it has an interesting history. River Lilly’s is a fun place to shop. Petit Manan Wildlife Refuge is close by and the Hollingsworth Trail is a nice walk out to the coast.  Driving away from Milbridge going north on Rte. 1 you might want to stop at the store that looks like a giant blueberry - called Wild Blueberry Land in Columbia Falls.

As you might expect, they sell everything related to wild blueberries which are a major crop in this area.  The wild blueberry barrens are beautiful in the Fall.  Continuing north on Rte. 1, don’t miss Jasper Beach in Machiasport. It’s off the beaten track – you definitely need to check on-line to find it.  I love this place – billions of beautiful stones.  I went four times and each time carried off bags of them.  It’s not just the stones, the beach is also beautiful.  It’s on a cove – if you walk to the end of the beach you might even want to go for a swim near the tidal stream that flows into a large wetland.  Jasper Beach is one of my favorite spots to visit. Again heading north up near Lubec is Cobscook State Park.  Jill and I camped there one year.  It’s a beautiful area and has some great campsites – no electric.  Going to Lubec and Eastport is another great experience - Lubec has the beautiful lighthouse with red and white stripes - also you can hike on the coastal trail starting near the lighthouse.

  Eastport is the eastern most point in US - you can watch first sunrise to hit the US.  Also, from Lubec, you can cross the International Bridge and go to Campobello Island (New Brunswick, Canada) - it’s about a 3 minute drive.  I’m going to do a whole new post that will deal with Campobello as it was one of my all time favorite places to camp. You need an enhanced license or passport to enter Canada and if taking a dog, check the requirements – probably up to date shots and for sure, rabies.  The girls and I took a whale watch tour – Island Cruises Whale Watching located on Campobello and Jill and I took a tour out of Eastport (Eastport Windjammers) both are excellent.

You might want to take a hike on the Down East Sunrise Trail which is a 87 mile multi-use corridor from Ellsworth to Ayers Junction in Eastern Maine near Eastport.  I walked parts of it.

There are so many things to see and do along the coast of Maine north of Bar Harbor and FYI, technically north of Bar Harbor is considered East but that’s a whole different story.  You can check on-line for more on that subject.  Anyway, I’ve mentioned many places I love to visit and you can check on-line for more info about them and for more spots to visit. 

There’s no doubt about it – I love Maine and will probably be heading back next summer.

“Maine days, days so wonderful you’ll want to do them over and over again.”  Quote from the movie, Fallen Angels.