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,
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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
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Along the way you can visit
some scenic lighthouses and enjoy a lobster pound.
Rockland Breakwater light. http://www.rocklandharborlights.org
Owl’s Head light. http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/owls-head.html
Marshall Point light (of
Forest Gump fame). http://www.marshallpoint.org
Pemiquid Point light (on the
Maine quarter). http://www.bristolparks.org/lighthouse.htm
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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
