Where to relax for a week in coastal Maine?
January 5, 2020 5:55 PM Subscribe
Where should I rent a house for a week of hiking, lobster, and fun in coastal Maine?
I'm trying to figure out where to rent a house for a week's vacation in Maine. This would likely be in mid-June. We have traveled to Mid-Coast Maine before, and done lots of driving and lobster rolls and hiking, and have spent plenty of time in Acadia. We want to go back and plant ourselves in one place for most of a week renting a house. We will have a dog with us.
Things we'd like to have available:
Hiking, on beaches, forests, and/or mountains. Cold weather does not bother us.
Fun places to eat within a reasonable drive (the more lobster the better)
Odd roadside/tourist attractions: On our last trip we visited the "Desert of Maine"
Where should I look? I am heavily considering St. George, but I'd like to know if there's anything I'm missing.
I'm trying to figure out where to rent a house for a week's vacation in Maine. This would likely be in mid-June. We have traveled to Mid-Coast Maine before, and done lots of driving and lobster rolls and hiking, and have spent plenty of time in Acadia. We want to go back and plant ourselves in one place for most of a week renting a house. We will have a dog with us.
Things we'd like to have available:
Hiking, on beaches, forests, and/or mountains. Cold weather does not bother us.
Fun places to eat within a reasonable drive (the more lobster the better)
Odd roadside/tourist attractions: On our last trip we visited the "Desert of Maine"
Where should I look? I am heavily considering St. George, but I'd like to know if there's anything I'm missing.
I asked about Maine spots a couple of years ago here. We ended up renting a house on the water across from Acadia near Trenton, ME. It was a nice spot - memail me and I can send you details if you are interested. We drove into Acadia for day hikes, hit restaurants around Trenton and Ellsworth and on MDI, and had a great time.
posted by Mid at 7:37 PM on January 5, 2020
posted by Mid at 7:37 PM on January 5, 2020
Monhegon Island! One of my favourite places in the world.
posted by frumiousb at 5:49 AM on January 6, 2020
posted by frumiousb at 5:49 AM on January 6, 2020
Best answer: Hello! I personally think St. George is a great option.
I'm assuming if you've done the Mid-Coast, you've done Camden/Rockport. Camden has some of the best hiking in the state (Camden Hills State Park) and good restaurants and is overall a cool town.
I will say, however, that as someone who lives here year-round, our favorite place to spend a quiet week away would be Eastport. Passamaquoddy Bay is breathtakingly beautiful, you're very near Campobello, and overall it is so much less expensive and less touristy than a lot of the locations farther south. It is a pretty significant trip to get there, though.
posted by anastasiav at 7:20 AM on January 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm assuming if you've done the Mid-Coast, you've done Camden/Rockport. Camden has some of the best hiking in the state (Camden Hills State Park) and good restaurants and is overall a cool town.
I will say, however, that as someone who lives here year-round, our favorite place to spend a quiet week away would be Eastport. Passamaquoddy Bay is breathtakingly beautiful, you're very near Campobello, and overall it is so much less expensive and less touristy than a lot of the locations farther south. It is a pretty significant trip to get there, though.
posted by anastasiav at 7:20 AM on January 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
There are islands in Casco Bay that are part of Portland with access to great restaurants, etc. Peaks is pretty busy, other islands offer more quiet and a reduced ferry schedule.
Boothbay Harbor
Pemaquid Point
The Muscongus Bay region is quiet and beautiful.
The coastline is ragged, so you get out the beautiful areas, and then getting to other places requires driving, probably on wildly-congested-in-summer Rt. 1.
June is inconsistent and may be rainy and wet.
Bring a lobster pot, butter, good bread, wine, buy local farmstand vegetables. Lobster's easy, and there may be a lobster fisher who will sell them directly. I have done that and also gotten the butter we forgot.
posted by theora55 at 7:58 AM on January 6, 2020
Boothbay Harbor
Pemaquid Point
The Muscongus Bay region is quiet and beautiful.
The coastline is ragged, so you get out the beautiful areas, and then getting to other places requires driving, probably on wildly-congested-in-summer Rt. 1.
June is inconsistent and may be rainy and wet.
Bring a lobster pot, butter, good bread, wine, buy local farmstand vegetables. Lobster's easy, and there may be a lobster fisher who will sell them directly. I have done that and also gotten the butter we forgot.
posted by theora55 at 7:58 AM on January 6, 2020
I've been going to the same place on mid-coast Maine for the past five years or so. It's on Pemaquid Point, which is a ~25 minute drive to civilization (e.g. Damariscotta), but only a mile or so from a general store/ice cream stand, and another mile or so to Shaw's Wharf, the best lobsterin' this side of Nova Scotia. You're an hour out from Booth Bay, and about the same from Wiscasset, both of which are excellent day trips. Shaw's also serves as port for the boat that goes to Monhegan Island twice a day, which I would strongly recommend visiting.
MeMail me if you want the name of the cottages we rent! I can't recommend them highly enough--they back onto the ocean coast (rocks, not beach), and the owners are a family that have been running things for nigh onto a century. There's also no cell service, which is glorious.
posted by Mayor West at 8:25 AM on January 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
MeMail me if you want the name of the cottages we rent! I can't recommend them highly enough--they back onto the ocean coast (rocks, not beach), and the owners are a family that have been running things for nigh onto a century. There's also no cell service, which is glorious.
posted by Mayor West at 8:25 AM on January 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
When it comes to lobster I usually find a lobsterman that steams at his house. Mine likes me to call him in the am or when he's on his boat and tell him how many pounds I want. I let him know when I'll be by and he gets them ready and I pick them up. Someone stays back at the cottage and preps the butter and I drive up the road and get them and hurry back with the lobsters all ready to go.
My favorite area is Brunswick to Damariscotta and the peninsulas South of those towns (just not Boothbay- too busy for me). Popham and Reid State Parks are lovely. Memail if you end up there I will send you a couple secret spots and a lovely couple that will take you out on a great private sail on a charming wooden boat.
posted by beccaj at 8:40 AM on January 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
My favorite area is Brunswick to Damariscotta and the peninsulas South of those towns (just not Boothbay- too busy for me). Popham and Reid State Parks are lovely. Memail if you end up there I will send you a couple secret spots and a lovely couple that will take you out on a great private sail on a charming wooden boat.
posted by beccaj at 8:40 AM on January 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
On the roadside attraction front there is Eartha, the world's largest rotating globe. It's adjacent to a highway exit of 295 so it couldn't be easier for you to visit.
Farther south, there is the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport. Plenty of lobsters, restaurants and beaches around there, not so much on the mountains and forests. You can walk a large portion of the Eastern Trail. If you want to rent an inexpensive (not directly on the beach) cottage in Kennebunk, drop me a line.
posted by mikepop at 12:52 PM on January 6, 2020
Farther south, there is the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport. Plenty of lobsters, restaurants and beaches around there, not so much on the mountains and forests. You can walk a large portion of the Eastern Trail. If you want to rent an inexpensive (not directly on the beach) cottage in Kennebunk, drop me a line.
posted by mikepop at 12:52 PM on January 6, 2020
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posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:09 PM on January 5, 2020