What sets the Blue Hill peninsula apart? Some would argue it’s the scattered bits of settlement, the shingled cottages and tumbledown barns and old stone walls that seem to cling to the land only lightly. Others might insist it’s the water: all those sheltered bays, the cruisers’ paradise of Eggemoggin Reach, the gnarly vein of the Bagaduce River. But let’s make a case for the trees. They’re what first permitted settlers to thrive in this corner of the Wabanaki homeland — sawmills speckled the peninsula’s streams before shipyards sprung up along its coasts, before granite quarries were blasted or copper mines excavated or rusticators’ lodges built. The lush, mixed woods cradled every one of these pursuits, and patches of old growth still persist. In and around Castine, a few hundred American elms still thrive, a miraculous pocket, resisting the blight of Dutch elm disease. In Blue Hill, a pear tree planted some 215 years ago continues to bear fruit. And in the fall, the pines and spruces notwithstanding, the peninsula’s quiet, two-lane roads become corridors of color, inviting long, lazy drives with no particular destination.  

From left: the 1859 Italianate schoolhouse housing the Castine Historical Society; waterfront homes in Blue Hill.

From left: one of Castine’s great elm trees, a rare New England sight, alongside the town dock; a vintage Chevy in a Castine driveway.

From left: a shingled Penobscot barn; where Camp Stream meets the Bagaduce River, in Sedgwick.

From left: along the Benjamin River Harbor, at the Sedgwick town landing; a birch-shaded driveway in Brooklin.

Get all of our latest stories delivered straight to your mailbox every month. Subscribe to Down East magazine.

On his three journeys into Maine’s north woods, Henry David Thoreau three times skirted the ragged chain of peaks that cuts a northeasterly course from the little town of Monson to the foot of Katahdin. The Wabanaki have been at home in the terrain for thousands of years, and Thoreau’s indigenous guides, Joseph Attean and Joe Polis, led the transcendental adventurer along old canoe routes, to either side of those mountains, as swift rivers and broad lakes were more easily navigated than deep woods and steep climbs.

Today, though, the Appalachian Trail traverses directly through that imposing stretch — and connects to a wider network of trails — drawing outdoors enthusiasts who know the area as the 100 Mile Wilderness. It’s the most remote section of all 2,160 miles on the Appalachian Trail, even though a network of logging roads crisscrosses it. The majority of thru-hikers will spend at least 10 days slogging through.

Most of the 100 Mile Wilderness, though, is accessible to day-trippers too. A handful of lodges and sporting camps are scattered about, and surrounding towns offer a mix of inns and hiker hostels. To navigate the warren of rutted back roads, where cell service is scarce, visitors will want a vehicle with decent clearance, plus a good spare tire, a full tank of gas, and some reliable maps — say, a Gazetteer and a detailed trail map, like the one the Appalachian Mountain Club publishes. They’ll also need to stop at gatehouses on their way in, to register and pay the access fee ($11 per day per Maine resident, $16 per non-resident) to the consortium of timber companies and others that own swaths of the forest.

After that, the quiet ponds, sheer gorges, and rocky summits await. “The mission of men,” Thoreau wrote in The Maine Woods, “. . . seems to be, like so many busy demons, to drive the forest all out of the country, from every solitary beaver swamp and mountain-side, as soon as possible.” The 100 Mile Wilderness is less a wilderness than it was in Thoreau’s day, certainly. But the forest has, by and large, held its ground. — W.G.

Clockwise from left: the ATC visitor center; enjoying a pint with the locals at Turning Page Farm Brewery; gearing up at Poet’s Gear Emporium. Below: pancake breakfast at Shaw’s. Photos by Cait Bourgault

Basecamp: Monson

It’s the southern gateway to the 100 Mile and the last town northbound thru-hikers pass through en route to Katahdin. Fittingly, it hosts the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Monson Appalachian Trail Visitor Center (6 Tenney Hill Rd.; 413-200-0313), offering maps and guides, Wi-Fi, and savvy staff who can update on trail conditions, suggest hikes, and field questions. Pick up apparel, ultra-light hiking gear, and trail chow at Poet’s Gear Emporium (13 Pleasant St.; 207-997-3597), run by the thru-hikers who own Shaw’s Hiker Hostel next door (see below). They do gear repairs too. Thru-hikers are among the guests at The Lakeshore House (9 Tenney Hill Rd.; 207-997-7069), a hostel with private and shared rooms and a great pub overlooking Lake Hebron (fun cocktails and a good lobster roll). The Quarry (15 Tenny Hill Rd.; 207-997-3486) is the spot for a nice dinner out, while Turning Page Farm Brewery (842 North Guilford Rd.; 207-876-6360) offers a more rustic hang: a beer garden overlooking a goat pasture. Try the beer-boiled bratwurst, and take home some of owner Tim and Joy Bueschen’s artisan chèvre. Don’t leave town without visiting the gallery at Monson Arts (8 Greenville Rd.; 207-997-2070), now showing pairings of work by prolific landscape painter Alan Bray and former Maine poet laureate Wes McNair. Browse the gallery’s brand-new shop for woodworking, ceramics, and other functional pieces by local and other New England makers. — A.P.

Hostel Territory

In Monson, an oasis for thru-hikers, run by thru-hikers.

In the spring of 2007, Kimberly and Jarrod Hester set out northbound from Georgia on the Appalachian Trail, her trail name “Hippie Chick” (inspired by her wardrobe) and his “Poet” (he left a haiku in each logbook along the way). Six months later, the couple arrived in Monson, hustling toward Katahdin as the hiking season neared its end. Still, they stopped long enough to pop into the trail-famous Shaw’s Hiker Hostel, the oldest continuously operated boarding house along the AT(17 Pleasant St.; 207-997-3597). When the place hit the market, in 2015, the pair of seasoned thru-hikers bought it. Now, they’re also seasoned hostel owners, providing tuckered trekkers with laundry, hot showers, comfy beds, and resupply drops, plus heaping breakfasts and a general aura of camaraderie. We asked the Hesters to, ahem, wax poetical about their experience. — B.B.

Has your time on the trail helped you with running the hostel?

Jarrod: Well, for instance, people really enjoy what we call “shakedowns” in our gear shop, helping people pack lighter. They come in after lugging 50 or 60 pounds through the 100 Mile Wilderness, and they’re ready to quit. To watch somebody later put on a pack that has a base weight of less than 20 pounds, it’s like they almost come to tears. That’s a big part of what hiking is about, learning that sometimes the best time you have in your life is when you have the least.

Do people usually do the whole 100 Mile Wilderness once and that’s enough for them?

Kimberly: We actually get to meet a lot of people twice, and that’s really nice. They come back to this section again because they either went through too fast or the weather wasn’t good or whatever. And because it’s a beautiful section of the trail.

And it seems the town and the trail get along nicely.

Jarrod: You can tell when you thru-hike whether or not a town is hiker-friendly. Every visitor tells us this is one of the most hiker-friendly towns, which feels great. The people who live here are accepting of people’s differences.

Kimberly: Plus, we have a ten-year-old and a six-year-old. We love raising them here because of the amount of people they see every day, from different walks of life.

Jarrod: Earthy, hardworking people living out their dreams. We can’t think of a better group to raise our kids around.

Basecamp: Greenville

The western gateway to the 100 Mile, at the southern tip of Moosehead Lake, Greenville is a launchpad for outdoorspeople of every stripe. The ones with a flair for history crash at the Greenville Inn and Cottages (40 Norris St.; 207-695-2206), an 1890 mansion on the National Register of Historic Places, with original leaded-glass windows, fireplaces, and other fixtures. Downtown, the Dockside Inn & Tavern (17 Pritham Ave.; 207-695-3663) is the place for fried appetizers, strong drinks, and a lakeside deck with the best view in town. Farmers and vintners Denise and Allen Preston grow their own grapes (also rhubarb, strawberries, plums, and, um, parsnips) for the often-surprising natural wines from Spotted Cat Winery (158 Scammon Rd.; 207-695-2870). No on-site tasting room, but the bottle shop has something for your picnic basket. When it comes to gear, Northwoods Outfitters (5 Lily Bay Rd.; 207-695-3288), can sell or rent everything you need for a hiking, biking, paddling, or fishing excursion. Plus, half the staff are Registered Maine Guides, with plenty of good advice, even if you don’t sign on for a moose safari or guided paddling trip. — A.P.

Clockwise from left: One of Greenville’s many moose; the view from near the summit of Number Four Mountain; Gulf Hagas is home to a series of waterfalls. Photos by Benjamin Williamson (moose) and Chris Bennett (Gulf Hagas, Number Four Mountain)

Basecamp: Millinocket

Even though it’s the gateway to both the Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area and Baxter State Park, Millinocket proper is a little light on touristic assets. But what the downtown lacks in quantity it makes up for it in quality, starting with the Millinocket Memorial Library, which, in addition to books, also loans out mountain and fat-tire bikes, canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards (plus snowshoes and cross-country skis in winter) at its Katahdin Gear Library (215 Penobscot Ave.; 207-200-4767). Annual memberships cost $45 per person or $150 per family (but are free to Katahdin-region residents), and non-members can opt to pay for rentals by the day or week instead. Right across the street is the stalwart Appalachian Trail Cafe (210 Penobscot Ave.; 207-723-6720), a long-running diner that dishes up fortifying breakfasts and lunches — and welcomes successful thru-hikers to sign a ceiling panel. A little ways outside Millinocket proper, the New England Outdoor Center (207-723-5438) provides satisfying meals at River Drivers Restaurant (gastropub-y food) and the new Knife Edge Brewing (house beers and wood-fired pizzas) and also provides lakeside lodging options at its Ktaadn Resorts (well-outfitted but pricey cabins) and Penobscot Outdoor Center (rustic mix of tent sites, cabin tents, and bunkhouses) — all within close proximity to each other. One of the last stops on the way into the 100 Mile Wilderness is Golden Road Crossing (1605 Baxter State Park Rd.; 207-723-4326), a deli, convenience store, and souvenir shop that recently added a double-decker outdoor bar that gets sunset views across Ambajejus Lake — actually, maybe it’s better thought of as one of the first stops on the way out. — W.G.

Deb Reckoning

In more ways than one, the Debsconeag Lakes is the crown of the 100 Mile Wilderness.

At the north end of the 100 Mile, the ​​Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area is some of the state’s truest backcountry outside of adjacent Baxter State Park — some 46,000 acres, almost entirely roadless, of placid lakes and ponds, portage trails, gorgeous lakefront campsites, and so very many loons. Fifteen miles of the Appalachian Trail wend through “the Deb,” but the best way to experience it is on a paddling trip. The Nature Conservancy stewards the property (which it acquired in 2002, from Great Northern Paper), and in contrast to Baxter and the gated North Maine Woods lands, it’s little regulated, with no permits, reservations, or fees; campsites are available on a first-come basis. Access is via a handful of trailheads and three carry-in boat launches at the edges of the preserve. The Golden Road skirts its northern edge, and both Nahmakanta Lake Wilderness Camps (​​207-731-8888) and Chewonki’s Debsconeag Lake Camps (207-882-7323) are just outside the reserve’s southern boundary if you’d rather not full-on rough it. But you really should rough it: it’s an easy paddle from the Debsconeag Deadwater, off the Golden Road, onto First Debsconeag Lake, which has three immaculate campsites, a gentle trail to the fascinating Debsconeag Ice Caves, and so much potential for wildlife spotting. This is some of Maine’s moose-iest country. — B.K. 

Above: A boardwalk trail near the Debsconeag’s Rainbow Lake. Photos by Chris Shane (boardwalk, canoe) and Chris Bennett (lake)

Not Your Average Jo

There are gems to be found along the oh-so-bumpy roads of the KI Jo-Mary Forest.

East of the Appalachian Trail — and outside the lands owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club — lies the bulk of what’s officially known as the KI Jo-Mary Multiple Use Management Forest. “Management” here is a euphemism for logging, and the eastern reaches of KI Jo-Mary are decidedly a working forest, full of clearings with parked timber-harvesting machinery and crisscrossed by industry-maintained roads down which logging trucks regularly barrel (these always have the right-of-way). Access is administered by North Maine Woods, Inc., which charges day-use and camping fees at one of two checkpoints off Route 11 — Katahdin Iron Works (hence the KI), to the south, and Jo-Mary, to the north. While the area has less recreational infrastructure than elsewhere in the 100 Mile, a few standout sites are well worth a visit.

On the south end of Upper Jo-Mary Lake, a long sandy crescent next to RV-friendly Jo-Mary Lake Campground (207-943-6255) is one of Maine’s more picturesque beaches, with Katahdin etched against the skyline on the far shore. From there, it’s a two-mile paddle, tracing the lake’s eastern edge, to reach Balancing Rock, a massive glacial erratic poised on a ledge poking out of the water, like a gnarly sculpture on a pedestal. Off the wide, dusty Jo-Mary Road, a tangle of forest roads accesses a string of lovely primitive campsites along the East Branch of the Pleasant River. The best are just upstream from Gauntlet Falls, where the river plunges in a series of cascades through a cool slate canyon. Trails lead from a day-use parking area to rocky ledges overlooking the river (heavily spray-painted by generations of Piscataquis County teens) and a few soaking pools. Fly-fishermen chasing native brookies love the East Branch, as well as B Pond, 14 miles from the Jo-Mary Gate, which has a boat launch on its northern shore and is a fine place to drift in a canoe and admire the green whaleback silhouette of Jo-Mary Mountain. — B.K

Tree Huggers 

The Hermitage is a rare patch of venerable forest — and the legacy of more than a century of human caretakers.

One of the most spectacular parcels in the 100 Mile Wilderness was none too wilderness-y throughout most of the 20th century. In fact, its consistent human presence helped save the six-acre plot of majestic old-growth white pines known as the Hermitage. At the eastern outlet of the Gulf Hagas river gorge, the stately grove took its name from the solitary residency of one Campbell Young, who built a cabin among the then–young-ish trees around 1890. We don’t know much about him except that he was Scottish, red-headed, and apparently misanthropic enough to adopt a hermit’s life along the West Branch of the Pleasant River.

After Young moved on, the Pleasant River Pulp Company owned the land, but while its loggers felled pines elsewhere around Gulf Hagas, it leased the hermit’s old haunt to rusticators for camps. And it may have helped stay the axes that the company president built his own swank hunting lodge there.

Then, in 1941, the company sold the land to Sara Green, a jill-of-all-trades among the region’s rough-and-tumble lumber camps. Green had lost her husband in 1929 to a sawmill accident on the site of the defunct Katahdin Iron Works, six miles east of the Hermitage. For decades after, she was known as the “mayor of Katahdin Iron Works” (a tongue-in-cheek honorific, as it was essentially a ghost town) and “the last of Maine’s truly pioneer women.” She bossed lumber crews, delivered mail, staffed a warden’s station, and ran a sporting camp at the Hermitage, where she forbade the cutting of trees. In 1967, two years before her death, Green donated the property to the Maine chapter of the Nature Conservancy. 

TNC removed the cabins and other structures and, in 2002, gave the property — including 29 surrounding acres of kettle ponds and river frontage — to the National Park Service, which administers the Appalachian Trail. All that stands on the site today are sentinel pines over 150 years old, some more than 120 feet tall and 10 feet around. Gulf Hagas hikers coming from the east pass through the cathedral-like woods, and while there’s no camping among the pines, a spur trail leads to good riverside sites a quarter mile east, with fire rings, decent outhouses, and covered picnic tables. — B.K

Get all of our latest stories delivered straight to your mailbox every month. Subscribe to Down East magazine.

No two waterfalls are alike, of course.  And, as Maine guidebook author Greg Westrich reminded us recently, they can change quite bit throughout the season, particularly in Maine, with its thin soil and widely distributed granite bedrock. Still, waterfall gurus have undertaken to broadly categorize falls by the manner in which the water descends. Here are six you’re likely to encounter in Maine (and here are 25 of our favorite falls, all across the state).

Horsetail 

When water stays in contact with the rock beneath it, falling in long, thin strands. In Farmington, water trickles down 45-foot Mosher Hill Falls in a classic horsetail formation.

Cascade

Like many small falls one after another, cascade-type falls descend a series of steps, but without pools for each tier to splash into. Typically, the calmest or lightest-flowing types of falls. Lovell’s Kezar Falls, tumbling down staggered rocks into a deep ravine, is a fine example. 

Punchbowl 

Tumbles into a roughly circular pool of water, which looks like . . . well, you get it. Often great for swimming, as at Gulf Hagas’s Screw Auger Falls.

Tiered 

Also known as staircase or multi-step, with falls stacked one on top of another and plunge pools beneath each step, as at four-tiered Katahdin Stream Falls, glimpsed along Baxter’s State Park’s Hunt Trail.

Slide

Like horsetail falls, they’re partly characterized by constant contact with rock, but they’re sloped rather than steep. If the rocks are smooth enough and conditions right, folks may even slide down them, as they’ve been known to do at eight-foot, 45-degree Tobey Falls, in Willimantic.

Block

Often wider than they are tall, block falls are long and rectangular, with broad rivers and streams thundering down. See Grand Falls, on the Dead River, in West Forks, which measures some 40 feet tall and 100 feet across.

Get all of our latest stories delivered straight to your mailbox every month. Subscribe to Down East magazine.

Get There

The quickest option is the Chebeague Transportation Company, which runs a ferry every couple of hours out of Yarmouth, early morning through evening (park at 1 Thomas Dr., Cumberland Foreside; 207-846-3700). Parking is in a satellite lot, and a bus connects to the dock before every departure. From the parking lot to the north side of the island, near the Chebeague Island Inn, the trip is all of about 30 minutes. Casco Bay Lines services the more scenic route, with an hour-plus ride from Portland more than half a dozen times per day (56 Commercial St.; 207-774-7871). The boat stops at other islands along the way, eventually arriving at Chebeague’s southern end. Buy tickets ahead for Chebeague Transportation Company or in-person for Casco Bay Lines — round trips are $18 and $11, respectively.

Explore

The best way to see the island is on two wheels. If you own a bike, bring it along — the only loaners available are for guests of the Chebeague Island Inn, and bringing a bike on the ferry costs just a few extra bucks. Cruise around the quiet island roads, stop at Hamilton Beach (17 Willow St.) for a bracing dip, and take in the many ocean vistas. The island is plenty walkable too, but it’s more than three miles long, north to south. That’s a lot of ground to cover, especially if adding in the low-tide-only jaunt across a sandbar to neighboring Little Chebeague, where 1.2 miles of trails traverse woods, beach, and an abandoned summer colony (access from Indian Point Rd.). For some island history, visit the agricultural museum at Second Wind Farm, in an old timber-frame barn — and buy some fresh produce from the stand (on Roy Hill Rd.). Or, if another type of greens is more your speed, play the nine holes at Great Chebeague Golf Club (16 Stone Wharf Rd.; 207-846-9478). The seventh is a short shot from one side of a cove to the other. Should be easy, right?

Eat & Drink

There’s no going wrong with either old standby The Niblic (24 Niblic Cir.; 207-846-1015) or newcomer Two Birds Café (412 North Rd.) for hearty sandwiches, baked goods, or coffee. For a full-service breakfast, lunch, or dinner, stop by the mod-meets-classic dining room of the 19th-century Chebeague Island Inn (61 South Rd.; 207-846-5155). From grits with oyster gravy in the morning to mussels in spicy sambal in the afternoon to butter-basted cod with rapini and salsa verde in the evening, the menus are interesting all day long. At sunset, enjoy a drink on the westward-facing porch.

Sleep

Apart from a handful of short-term vacation rentals around the island, the Chebeague Island Inn is the only show in town. Luckily, it’s a good one. Its shuttle will pick up guests at either ferry landing. And from the porch’s sweeping sunset views to the lobby’s towering fieldstone fireplace to the historic but light and bright rooms, the place is cozy and grand at the same time. 

Discover more weekend getaways in Maine.

Get all of our latest stories delivered straight to your mailbox every month. Subscribe to Down East magazine.

Get There

Peaks is the easiest of Maine’s unbridged islands to visit. Take Casco Bay Lines’ Peaks Island Ferry (56 Commercial St., Portland; 207-774-7871), which leaves almost every hour. Round-trip tickets can only be bought in person at the Maine State Pier terminal and cost $7.70 during the high season. The trip is just 15 minutes. (It’s possible to bring a car, but you won’t need it.)  

Eat & Drink

Grab a latté from Baba’s Café (79 Island Ave.), which opened last year in a 1901 Cape that proprietors Natasha Markol-Riss and Ted McNally renovated. At lunchtime, stop by Baba’s for a warm turkey, chicken, or brie panini, or drop by The Greeks of Peaks (Welch St., next to the American Legion; 207-650-1602), a food truck that serves up co-owner Nancy Klosteridis’s Greek family recipes. Try a gyro or grilled souvlaki or paros skewers. In a wooded clearing full of picnic tables, a quarter-mile from the ferry dock, Il Leone (2 Garden Pl.; 207-370-1471) turns out bubbly-crust Neapolitan pizzas from a trailered wood-fired oven. In the evening, take to the huge deck at Jones Landing (​​6 Welch St.; 207-766-5652) for a view of Casco Bay, good chowder, colorful (and strong) cocktails, and live tunes (reggae on Sundays packs them in).

Explore

For a full island tour (and great ocean views), rent a bike from Brad’s Bike Rental & Repair (115 Island Ave.; 207-766-5631) or a golf cart from Peaks Island Golf Carts (62 Island Ave.; 207-747-8309) and follow roadside signs for the Peaks Island Loop, a four-mile circuit of the island. Stop at rocky Cairn Beach (284 Seashore Ave.) and leave your mark by building a cairn, like many beachgoers before. Then, drop by Battery Steele Park (accessible off Florida Ave.), one of the largest decommissioned military batteries in the country, to wander the pitch-dark rooms. Back in town, check out the world’s largest collection of umbrella covers at the Umbrella Cover Museum (62 Island Ave.; 207-939-0301), where curator Nancy Hoffman displays more than 2,000 umbrella sheaths, many of which fans have sent to her from more than 70 countries. In 2012, Guinness World Records certified that she has the largest collection of umbrella covers anywhere.

Stay

Built in 1891 as a summer home for 8th Maine Regiment veterans of the Civil War, the 8th Maine Oceanfront Lodge & Museum (13 Eighth Maine Ave.; 207-749-1705) is now a public guest house. Overlooking the ocean, the lodge includes a library and museum with Civil War artifacts as well as rustic and simple Victorian-style rooms. The 8th Maine Regiment Memorial Association, the nonprofit that owns the property, celebrated its 150th anniversary last year. 

Discover more weekend getaways in Maine.

Get all of our latest stories delivered straight to your mailbox every month. Subscribe to Down East magazine.

Get There

During peak season, island visitors have their pick of passenger ferries out of three different mainland harbors. Round-trip tickets range from $42 to $50 and all are best to book in advance. From Port Clyde, Monhegan Boat Line offers the most flexibility, making two or three trips per day (880 Port Clyde Rd.; 207-372-8848). Hardy Boat Cruises, out of New Harbor, does the trip twice a day (129 State Rte. 32; 207-677-2026). Balmy Days Cruises departs from Boothbay Harbor in the morning and returns in the evening — and does a quick, scenic circumnavigation of Monhegan in between (42 Commercial St.; 207-633-2284).

Explore

Even at a leisurely pace, Monhegan is easy to see in half a day. It’s only about a mile from the north end of town, where the Monhegan Museum of Art and History (1 Lighthouse Hill; 207-596-7003) has built its excellent collection on the island’s long history as an art colony, to the southern tip of the island, where the rusting hull of the D.T. Sheridan shipwreck rests on the rocks. In between, art aficionados should slow down to visit the many open studios and to check out Lupine Gallery, showing contemporary Monhegan artists for almost 40 years (48 Main St.; 207-594-8131). Stop in the quaint Monhegan Community Church, where all are welcome and the piano is available to anyone who wants to sit and tickle the ivories. Outdoorsy types won’t want to miss the rugged back side of the island, with 12 miles of trails that ramble along headland cliffs.

Eat & Drink

Grab a coffee and a scone at Black Duck Emporium, a gift shop and café in the former general store (5 Oceanside Dr.). For a casual, counter-service lunch, enjoy fresh local catch at Monhegan Fish House (1 Fish Beach Ln.). All island restaurants are BYOB. Fortunately, Monhegan Brewing Company is on hand for fresh drafts and carry-out cans (1 Boody Ln.; 207-596-0011). If staying the night, reserve a table in the stately old dining room at the Island Inn and linger over mussels Provencal or scallops with sweet corn puree, pancetta, and black-garlic vinaigrette (1 Ocean Ave.; 207-596-0371).

Sleep

After a dinner at the Island Inn, sit awhile in a rocker on the porch, then stroll upstairs to one of the elegantly appointed rooms — worth splurging for a water view. The inn dates all the way back to 1816 and, after multiple expansions, achieved its current design in 1910. For history, the Trailing Yew is no slouch either, renting out rooms since 1926 (8 Lobster Cove Rd.; 207-596-0440). Its price point is a bit lower, and its target audience has usually skewed more bohemian. Note: camping isn’t allowed on Monhegan, so have a room reserved before getting on a boat. 

Discover more weekend getaways in Maine.

Get all of our latest stories delivered straight to your mailbox every month. Subscribe to Down East magazine.

Get There

Catch the North Haven ferry from the Maine State Ferry Service terminal in Rockland, making the 70-minute crossing to the island three times a day (517 Main St., Rockland; 207-596-5400). Round-trip tickets cost $17.50. Bringing a car on the ferry costs $38.50 at the dock or $12 if reserved between a month and two hours before departure. 

Explore

Bike or drive to sandy Narrow Place Beach (off Crabtree Point Rd.) to swim and drink in the views of Penobscot Bay and the distant Camden Hills to the west (it’s a great place for sunsets). In the afternoon, you might catch sailors testing their skills in dinghy races put on by North Haven Casino (a yacht club — nothing to do with gambling), with dozens of sails flecking the Fox Islands Thoroughfare a couple of days a week through July and August (42 Main St.; 207-867-4696). Drop by Waterman’s Community Center (12 Main St.; 207-867-2100) to grab a coffee or pastry from the café and check out the events schedule — the center’s 134-seat auditorium hosts theater, concerts, lectures, and more.  

Eat & Drink

North Haven Brewing Co. opened in North Haven’s historic Calderwood Hall building in 2016, a floor below the Calderwood Hall restaurant (2 Iron Point Rd.; 207-867-4700). Built in 1908, the hall has, over the years, hosted community dances, movie screenings, plays, basketball games, a gift shop, an art gallery, and more. This year, the brewery owners are taking over the restaurant. They’ll continue serving pizza — try the Reuben pie, topped with sauerkraut and pastrami and, yep, mustard and Thousand Island — and they don’t want to change the restaurant’s old-time charm (the dining room’s wooden floor still has basketball-court markings from more than 60 years ago). At any given time, find at least four beers on tap that were brewed downstairs.

Lit up at Nebo Lodge (left). Photo by Douglas Merriam. Barn dinners at Turner Farm (right). Photo by Peter Frank Edwards

Stay

The nine rooms at Nebo Lodge (11 Mullins Ln.; 207-867-2007) all share a cheerful farmhouse décor, but each has its own perks — one has a private deck, another a gas fireplace, another a water view, etc. The inn’s restaurant is fine-dining fabulous, highlighting meats and produce from the island (it’s open to non-guests). Or camp with style at Turner Farm (73 Turner Farm Rd.; 207-867-4962), where a canvas wall tent with a queen-size bunk bed (and gear for outdoor cooking and lounging) looks out across the thoroughfare at neighboring Vinalhaven. The farm has a guest house too and hosts summer concerts and suppers in its gorgeous post-and-beam barn.

Discover more weekend getaways in Maine.

Get all of our latest stories delivered straight to your mailbox every month. Subscribe to Down East magazine.

Okay, so you might be a fitness nut who heads out on a vigorous hike for the sheer aerobic pleasure of it. Or one of those crunchy granolas who believes that just being out in nature is its own reward. But the rest of us? We went some payoff at the end of the trail, baby. A waterfall at the end of a hike is like a scoop of ice cream at the end of a meal, and our favorite Maine falls come in a wide variety of flavors. We’ve even thrown in a few you can drive right up to.

Step Falls | Newry

Height: 250 feet
Trailhead: On Rte. 26, 7 ½ miles —north of the junction with Rte. 2.
Route: A slightly sloped half mile along the Step Falls Trail.

A quick stroll through the woods is rewarded with spectacular views of one of Maine’s most imposing falls, a network of cascades, slides, and horsetails. Don’t just admire Step Falls — get out in it. Hikers love to splash around in the sections that pour into small pools and post up on dry granite slabs to picnic or catch some rays.

Gulf Hagas | Bowdoin College Grant East Township

Screw Auger Falls, along the Gulf Hagas Rim Trail, is beloved for the punchbowl pool it tumbles into, a swell spot for a mid-hike swim (photo by Peter Frank Edwards); plunging into the pool beneath Buttermilk Falls, at Gulf Hagas (photo by Chris Bennett).

Height: Screw Auger Falls 15 feet, Buttermilk Falls 10 feet, Billings Falls 15 feet, Stair Falls 4 feet
Trailhead: On Katahdin Iron Works Road, in the Ki-Jo Mary Multiple Use Forest, about 6 ½ miles northwest of the gatehouse. Access is from Rte. 11 north of Brownville. Visit North Maine Woods, Inc. for fee info.
Route: A 1.3-mile walk on the Appalachian Trail includes a significant ford across the Pleasant River and passes through the old-growth white-pine forest called the Hermitage. Then, the Rim Trail continues .2 miles to Screw Auger Falls. Many turn back here; others continue past three more falls and loop back on the Pleasant River Tote Road Trail, a moderately challenging 8.2-mile day hike.

Known, a bit hyperbolically, as the “Grand Canyon of Maine,” Gulf Hagas is a ravine through which tumbles three miles of the West Branch of the Pleasant River. The Rim Trail skirts it, along with the more modest Gulf Hagas Brook, which hikers can clamber down into to splash around. Besides views of the gorge and impressive rock formations, several waterfalls are scattered along the full loop version of this hike, including Screw Auger, the most well-known, which tumbles into a punchbowl swimming hole; the lovely horsetail of Buttermilk Falls; Billings Falls, a narrow plunge, viewed from a distance; and Stair Falls, an idyllic little fairyland of pools and cascades.

Rattlesnake Flume | Stow

Height: 10 feet
Trailhead: The Stone House gate at the end of Shell Pond Rd., off Rte. 113, 18 miles north of Fryeburg.
Route: About a half-mile road walk to the Stone House Trail, then a mile of gentle incline to a short spur trail to the falls. (The spur to Rattlesnake Pool is just a bit farther up the Stone House Trail.)

This plunging waterfall on Rattlesnake Brook, tumbling through a slim gorge, is cool enough to be a destination in itself, but the real gem of this easy hike is Rattlesnake Pool, a pothole full of crystal-clear (and usually freezing-cold) water, fed by a small, unnamed horsetail waterfall.

Hadlock Falls | Acadia National Park

Height: 40 feet
Trailhead: Parkman Mountain Carriage Road Trailhead on Rte. 198, about a half mile north of Upper Hadlock Pond.
Route: Just under a mile along the gently graded Hadlock Loop Carriage Road to the Waterfall Bridge.

When the water level is low on Upper Hadlock Brook, the tallest falls in Acadia National Park can look a bit spindly, like gauzy ribbons dripping down the cliffs. Earlier in the season — or after a good rain — the water fans out elegantly in all directions. Either way, it’s picturesque when you admire it through the tunnel of the 1925 stone-arch bridge right in front of it, one of the 16 bridges that park benefactor John D. Rockefeller Jr. had constructed in Acadia. The walk from the trailhead to the falls is short, but it’s a shame not to extend your hike along the mess of intersecting carriage roads and trails in the neighborhood.

Angel Falls | Township D

Height: 90 feet
Trailhead: Bemis Rd., 3½ miles west of Rte. 17, south of Rangeley.
Route: A moderately challenging half-mile hike, with multiple stream crossings (tricky during high water) and some rocky terrain.

One of Maine’s most visited waterfalls — and for good reason. Angel Falls has one of the longest single plunges in Maine, it’s tucked away in a gnarly little notch well off the pavement, and the mist rising off the rocks does indeed give the place a heavenly vibe. The hike in from the gravel-pit parking area follows an old logging road, then narrows and crosses a couple of rocky stretches of Mountain Brook (it can be a bit slippery and/or you may get your feet wet). The best time to come is late spring and early summer — the falls run pretty dry by August.

Convenient Cascades

There’s no hiking required to see some of Maine’s prettiest falls — just drive up and enjoy.

Snow Falls | West Paris

Height: 25 feet
Directions: Snow Falls Gorge Rest Area, on Rte. 26, 2 miles south of Rte. 219.

The waterfall is right there at the pullout, and walking trails encircling it offer varied viewpoints of the gorge’s 30-foot walls and a picturesque stone bridge. Local lore has the site haunted by the ghosts of a Native chief killed by a settler there in the 18th century and the settler himself, killed in reprisal.

Ellis Falls | Andover

Height: 23 feet
Directions: On Rte. 120, 2.7 miles east of Rte. 5.

At this sylvan little twin falls, Ellis Meadow Brook crashes five feet down a block falls flowing into a pool, churning up a nice mist in high water, then keeps on rolling down the rocks in a tangle of horsetails and cascades. No sign marks the spot — if you know, you know.

Webhannet Falls | Wells

Height: 15 feet
Directions: Webhannet Falls Park, at the end of Falls Park Rd., off Rte. 1, 1.8 miles south of Rte. 109.

The first mill on the Webhannet River was built here in 1640, powered by the dainty horsetail falls just a 100-foot walk along a paved path from the parking area. The local garden club maintains some colorful beds alongside a bridge overlooking the falls.

Coos Canyon | Byron

Height: 15 feet
Directions: Coos Canyon Rest Area, on Rte. 17, at the intersections with Byron Village Rd.

It’s not the most epic falls, but the little gorge on the Swift River — only about 500 yards long — is beautiful, cutting through craggy slabs of quartzite and schist. It’s a popular spot for a dip (also panning for gold, with flakes supposedly found from an upriver deposit).

Megunticook River Falls | Camden

Height: 24 feet
Directions: Camden Harbor, off Main St.

Tucked just behind the shops and restaurants of downtown, this big, noisy falls at the mouth of the river is regulated by the 200-year-old Montgomery Dam — and it comes with a view of the yachts and tall ships and a Camden Hills backdrop.

Houston Brook Falls | Bingham

Height: 32 feet
Trailhead: Next to the Pleasant Ridge Transfer Station, on Pleasant Ridge Rd., 3 ½ miles northwest of —the bridge over the Kennebec.
Route: Less than a half-mile walk along a flat, wide, wooded path.

Early in the season, this easy-to-reach horsetail falls is as wide as it is tall and loud enough that you can hear it from the trailhead. The pool at the base is better for wading than for swimming, but there’s a nice view downstream towards Wyman Lake — just use plenty of caution on the slippery rocks. The falls are bulbous and beautiful when frozen too, and since the short access trail makes for such easy snowshoeing, the sweat-to-scenery ratio here in the winter is pretty hard to beat.

Big Falls | New Gloucester

Height: Unrecorded, but between 5 and 10 feet
Trailhead: Near the intersection of Woodman and Ayer Rds., 2 miles north of Rte. 231.
Route: An easy, 1.7-mile loop through the Big Falls Preserve on the Big Falls Loop Trail.

Even aside from Big Falls (which, though isn’t that tall, is made up of several picture-perfect horsetails and cascades), there’s plenty to love about the 40-acre Big Falls Preserve. For starters, the pool below the falls, on Meadow Brook, is great for swimming and wading. Then there’s the circa 1947 Plymouth that rests alongside the trail. Abandoned many years ago without explanation, the antique ride is now a highlight of the hike (and a cool photo op).

Grand Falls | West Forks

Height: 40 feet
Trailhead: A parking lot at the Dead River whitewater-rafting launch, at the end of Lower Enchanted Rd., a 14-mile road off Rte. 201.
Route: A walk of a third of a mile along Grand Falls Rd., crossing a bridge over the river, then just 500ish feet along an easy trail to the falls — less than a mile roundtrip.

A hundred feet across, this block waterfall is one of Maine’s largest by volume. Aside from the falls’ magnitude, the quietude of this woodsy, secluded area is what draws visitors (it’s far from Maine Huts & Trails’s most remote backcountry lodge, Grand Falls Hut) — not to mention the spots below the falls to swim, paddle, or fish for trout in the brisk Dead River.

Get all of our latest stories delivered straight to your mailbox every month. Subscribe to Down East magazine.

Cadillac Mountain, photo by Chris Shane. Young’s Lobster Pound, photo by Dave Waddell. Children’s Discovery Museum, rendering by Rusty Lamar of Field Magnet Design.

Burnt Island, photo by Benjamin Williamson. Wares at East End Vend, courtesy of East End Vend.

Peter Trout’s, photo by Nicole Wolf. AMC’s dark skies, photo by Andy Gagne. Kineo from Katahdin, photo by Shannon Bryan.

Saco Drive In, photo by Irvin Serrano. Smithereen Farm products, photo by Justin Smulski. Funtown, photo courtesy of Joel Rogers | coastergallery.com.

Lenora dining room, photo by Jen Wyllie. Emma McMillan, Project X, 2019. Aquarelle and oil on panel, 36 x 24 in. (91 x 61 cm). Gift of the Alex Katz Foundation; 2019.470, Courtesy of Alex Katz Foundation.

Bradbury Mountain Berry Farm, photo by Kelsey Kobik. Ziggurat performance, photo by Sarah Gagnon.

Party boat, photo by Mikaela Flynn. Higgins Beach surfer, photo by Jason Frank.Bates Dance Festival, photo by Kathryn Butler. Lupines, photo by Benjamin Williamson.

66. You Can Learn to Live Off the Land in Northern Maine

Forage River Outfitters’ field site, on the Mattawamkeag River, is an idyllic spot for a day-long workshop on foraging plants and mushrooms — and making medicinal tinctures from the bounty of the north woods. June 17, July 9, July 29, Aug. 13, Sept. 17. Winn. 207-217-1641.

68. Sweetcream Dairy Has a Huge New Location

The Biddeford creamery — launched in the mill — has a new Main Street shop serving its yummy house-pasteurized scoops (try the brown butter crunch), plus floats, house-made sodas, and espresso drinks. 128 Main St., Biddeford. 207-494-4852.

Moosehead mountain biking, photo by Andy Gagne. Tumbledown Pond, photo by Jack Stolz.

92. Everyone Shucks at the Yarmouth Clam Festival 

The Maine State Clam Shucking Contest includes heats for pros, local-media celebs, and amateurs. Last year, festivalgoers ate 217 gallons of fried clams and drank an ocean of lime rickeys. July 21–23. Yarmouth. 207-846-3984.

Pier fries, photo by Mark Fleming. Yasuo Kunioshi, Bather with Cigarette, 1924, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association purchase fund, deaccession fund/city of Dallas (by exchange) in honor of Dr. Steven A. Nash, 1988.22 © 2023 Estate of Yasuo Kunioshi / Artists Rights Society, NY, image courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art. Bath Heritage Days, photo courtesy of Visit Bath. Bridgton Main Street, photo by Benjamin Williamson.

---

BUY THIS ISSUE

A town known primarily for its retail scene, Freeport has an abundance of protected land and trails that surprises some visitors. “People don’t realize that there is such a wealth of natural resources here,” says Daniel Piltch, the Freeport Conservation Commission’s council liaison. The commission, the Freeport Conservation Trust, and other organizations together maintain more than 1,000 acres of protected land. From riversides and marshes to knolls and fields, Freeport’s hikeable terrain is unique and varied — and most trails are only a few miles outside the downtown. 

Of late, the town’s conservation commission is putting more energy into developing maps and guides, in the hopes of making trails more accessible for both visitors and locals. The maps, downloadable from the town’s website, unpack levels of hiking difficulty at each property, as well as a bit of their human and natural history. The commission is also working on maps that highlight Freeport trails accessible to hikers who use wheelchairs or other assistive devices. Providing more access and information about trails and open spaces is also a priority of the Connect Freeport initiative, which aims to provide more public transportation to trailheads and install walking paths that lead to them from downtown. 

Freeport’s trails are a unique and beautiful asset, Piltch says — and he and others want to see more people using them. “We have miles of varied coastline and diverse ecosystems in Freeport,” he says. “There are trails along marshes and rivers, there are foothills you can hike and look out from onto Casco Bay. Not a lot of other towns have those benefits.”

Favorite Freeport Footpaths

The views, wildlife sightings, and history at these family-friendly parks and trails make them well worth exploring.

Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park

Visitors come to take in the rocky coastline, salt-marsh estuary, and neighboring Googins Island, where ospreys nest each year. There’s a wheelchair- and stroller-accessible path and picnic areas by the shore. 5 miles of trails from the parking lot at the end of Wolfe’s Neck Rd. 

Hedgehog Mountain

Freeport’s highest point is its 308-foot summit. Trails wind through pine and hemlock forest, and from up top, hikers can make out New Hampshire’s White Mountain skyline on a clear day. 5 miles of trails from the trailhead on Hedgehog Mountain Rd.

Quarry Woods 

Shady paths pass by vernal pools, parts of an ancient landslide, and the historic E.B. Mallett Quarry, which operated in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Blocks and rock-waste piles can still be seen along the trail. 1½ miles of trails from the trailhead on Lower Mast Landing Rd.

Pettengill Farm

The wooded walk at this Freeport Historical Society property leads to an orchard and meadow, an abandoned 1800 Saltbox farmhouse, and further short trails to the edge of the Harraseeket estuary. A mile out and back from the trailhead at the end of Pettengill Rd., off Flying Point Rd.

Mast Landing Audubon Sanctuary

Trails at this wildlife refuge wind through coniferous forests, open fields, and orchards. The riparian area along the lovely Harraseeket River provides habitat not only for shorebirds and songbirds but also woodland mammals like mink, porcupine, and snowshoe hare. 2.8 miles of trails from the trailhead on Upper Mast Landing Rd.

---

BUY THIS ISSUE

Leave Only Paw Prints: Parks and Preserves

Fests with Fido: Events and Outings

Off-Leash Oases: Favorite Dog Parks

Sit and Stay: Pet-Friendly Lodging

Puppy Chow: Dining Out 

Beach Bois: Dogs on the Shore

Plenty of Maine beaches welcome dogs in some capacity — below are just a few faves. Dog rules vary from beach to beach, weekday to weekend, and season to season. Always check the web for details before heading out.

---

BUY THIS ISSUE