Wednesday, June 3, 2015



Karen and I were in a meeting the other day downtown discussing how much there was to do in Camden when it occurred to me that I give guests this document and thought it would be a good idea to share it here to show how many adventures guests could have in Camden staying with us.

Four Days (and more) in Camden Maine.

First Day: Getting a sense of the place
Drive, bike, or walk Yankee Magazine’s “most beautiful walk in the world” from Rockport to Camden along the shore on Mechanic, Calderwood, Chestnut & Bayview Streets.
See the famous belted Galloway cattle on saltwater Aldemere Farm
Visit the Childrens’ Chapel and garden at Vesper Hill, overlooking the Bay.
See the Camden coast from the top of Mt. Battie
Buy a picnic lunch in town and choose a picnic table along the rocky coast on the water side of Camden Hills State Park (alternatives: Laite Beach along Chestnut, or the Camden Harbor Park.
Drive out Mountain Street (Rt 52) to Lake Megunticook (where the cliffs rise above the lake):
Climb Maiden Cliff for incredible views
Walk the paths through Fernald’s Point
Rent a kayak and explore long stretches of serene water.
Have dinner in Camden at one of our many excellent restaurants.
Catch a show:
Live comedy
Music
Lectures at the Camden Opera House,
A Bay Chamber concert at the Rockport Opera House,
A movie at Camden’s Rockland’s multiplex.
Day Two: Exploring the shops (Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville) and the harbor.  Start your Christmas shopping early at beautiful specialty shops along Main, Bayview, and Mechanic Streets.
Visit the shops and galleries at Lincolnville Beach (6 miles north of Camden)
Just north of the beach, visit Windsor Chair, the showroom and workshop where beautiful furniture is made.
Have a personal wine tasting at the vineyards and barn shop at Cellar Door Winery just inland from Lincolnville Beach.
See the coast from the Bay.
Take a 2 hour schooner ride on Surprise, Olad, or Appledore out of Camden.
Take a 2 or 3 hour cruise (including a lobster roll lunch) on Heron, out of Rockport Harbor, just a mile south.
Watch lobstering and learn about coastal wildlife aboard Lively Lady, a lobster boat out of Camden.
Take a book and an ice cream cone to Harbor Park and watch the harbor. Listen to crying gulls and the Megunticook River as it falls into Camden Harbor.
Day Three: A day for the arts and lighthouses
Tour area artists’ and craftsmen’s studios.
Have lunch: at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the harbor in Camden or Rockland with a picnic packed by any of several places in Camden and unpack it at one of many parks with a harbor or bay view.
Visit the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, a world-class museum with a sizable Wyeth collection. Drive afterwards to Cushing to see the Olsen House (free with your Farnsworth admission), where Andrew Wyeth painted “Christina’s World” and many other works.
Visit the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum.  http://owlshead.org
Along the way you can visit some scenic lighthouses and enjoy a lobster pound.
Rockland Breakwater light.  http://www.rocklandharborlights.org
Marshall Point light (of Forest Gump fame).  http://www.marshallpoint.org
Pemiquid Point light (on the Maine quarter).  http://www.bristolparks.org/lighthouse.htm
Day Four: Island hopping. Choices!
Take a car-ferry to Islesboro (leaving from Lincolnville Beach every half hour).
Take a bicycle (rental places in Camden) or drive the coastal road looping the island: beautiful views, lovely homes.
Take a picnic lunch or buy sandwiches at the small general stores on the island.
Take the ferry to Monhegan Island (no cars on the island) out of Port Clyde, leaving at 10, returning by 5. Ten miles at sea, stunning cliffs, great hiking trails, dolphin sightings, lovely summer homes, a fishing village, many artist studios, lighthouse.
Pack a picnic or buy a simple lunch at two or three small stores.
Take a car ferry to Northhaven or Vinalhaven, both year round communities with villages to explore and lovely drives for sightseeing. Leaving from Rockland.
Rent a kayak, with or without a guide. Skim along the coast and Curtis and Indian Island lights and inland lakes.
So much to do! When will you ever find time for hiking the miles of marked trails, playing golf & tennis, reading a book on a rock, watching the tides…?

And still more!
Camden is mid-way on the Mid-coast

Day trips from Camden to wonderful villages and harbors are easy:

Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park 1.5 hours north

 Castine, Blue Hill 1 hour north

Damariscotta-Newcastle half hour south

Pemiquid Peninsula and New Harbor 1 hour south

Boothbay Harbor 1 hour south

Freeport (LL Bean and outlets galore) 1.5 hours south