36 Hours in Camden and Rockport, Maine (and Environs)
On the central coast of Maine, visitors will find a beguiling nexus of arts, dining and outdoor activities.
By Melissa Coleman
If Maine’s much-debated slogan, “the way life should be,” were a place, the towns of Camden and Rockport and their surroundings might be it. On the Eastern Seaboard, where mountains meet ocean, the area has long attracted rusticators and “vacationlanders” who far outnumber residents in summer. These clapboard-and-brick towns sit two miles apart on schooner-spotted harbors next to rounded mountains and sparkling freshwater lakes. What more does a rural getaway need? In this case, it’s a vibrant community of year-round locals who’ve created a nexus of arts, dining and outdoor activities to rival some cities. The area’s charm lies in an authentic belief in family businesses, locally grown food and ingenuity against the odds. Not to mention, they made it through the winter, and summer is everyone’s reward.
Friday
1) 3 p.m. Beans and books
The Owl & Turtle Bookshop Café in Camden is the place to dish or talk books and coffee with the owners, Craig and Maggie White, and their amiable staff. They’ll wax rhapsodic about the Coffee on the Porch beans, roasted at home by a local teacher and brewed here, or upcoming readings with local authors like the best-selling crime novelist Tess Gerritsen and the children’s book author and illustrator Chris Van Dusen. The former boat shop on Bay View has been renovated to include nooks with chairs and beanbags for relaxing with lattes and books. For those considering a move to the area, grab “Ditch the City and Go Country,” by the local writer-photographer-blogger Alissa Hessler.
2) 4 p.m. Lay of the land
The view from the top of Mount Battie inspired the words that launched Edna St. Vincent Millay’s career as a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. “All I could see from where I stood was three long mountains and a wood; I turned and looked the other way, and saw three islands in a bay.” Accessed by a 1.4-mile trail and road, there’s a stone World War I commemorative tower at the top and a hawk’s eye perspective of Camden and the islands of Penobscot Bay. Also visible is Camden Snow Bowl, the community-owned ski mountain that hosts the U.S. National Toboggan Championships every February. Admission ($6) to Camden Hills State Park includes the network of hiking trails, a campground with hookups, plus picnic tables and grills near the rocky shore. Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/travel/what-to-do-in-camden-rockport-maine.html
