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Down East

This Drive Comes From...

National Geographic Driving Guide: New England

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Meandering north along Maine’s fantastically intricate coastline, US 1 explores a ragged landscape of narrow peninsulas and rocky bays, sea-sprayed islands and lonely promontories. Side routes wander off to secluded beaches, tiny lobstering villages, and ferries that transport visitors to remote, windy islands lost in time.

The drive begins in Brunswick, near the head of Casco Bay, and links the old seafaring towns of Wiscasset, Rockland, and Camden on its way to Bar Harbor and hugely popular Acadia National Park. Beyond Bar Harbor the traffic thins as US 1 ambles toward Eastport, Franklin D. Roosevelt's beloved Campobello Island, and Calais, on the Canadian border. CONTINUED

- Brunswick
- Wiscasset
- Castine
- Acadia National Park
- Columbia Falls
- Roosevelt Campobello International Park
- Calais

(Continued From Top)

Brunswick
English traders and fishermen settled Brunswick (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 725 8797) in the early 1600s. By the mid-1700s it was on its way to becoming the major industrial city in the eastern Casco Bay region. Since 1888 the Pejepscot Historical Society (159 Park Row. +1 207 729 6606), named for the Indians who once lived in the area, has worked to preserve the region’s history, and maintains three distinct properties. The Pejepscot Museum (Weekdays year-round and Sat. p.m. in summer) displays changing exhibits in an 1858 Italianate double mansion. Next door stands the 17-room Skolfield-Whittier House (Summer–early fall Tues.-Sat.; Adm. fee), a somewhat eerie Victorian time capsule, complete with resident ghosts. The Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum (226 Maine St. Summer–early fall Tues.-Sat.; Adm. fee), home of the Gettysburg hero and former president of Bowdoin College, is a restored hodgepodge billed as a “work in progress.” It contains many of Chamberlain’s Civil War mementos.
Across the street you’ll find the Gothic Revival First Parish Church (Church office, 9 Cleveland St. +1 207 729 7331), where Harriet Beecher Stowe is said to have been inspired to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and the 110-acre [44.5-hectare] Bowdoin College (+1 207 725 3000) campus. Bowdoin’s Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum (Hubbard Hall. +1 207 725 3416. Tues.-Sun.), named for polar pioneers and Bowdoin alumni Robert Peary and Donald MacMillan, describes their Arctic journeys with artifacts, papers, and natural history specimens.
Farther east in the shipbuilding center of Bath (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 443 9751), the Maine Maritime Museum (243 Washington St. +1 207 443 1316. Adm. fee) focuses on Maine’s seafaring history. Multimedia and hands-on exhibits provide back ground. You can explore a fishing schooner (when it’s in port) and take a boat ride down the Kennebec River past the thriving Bath Iron Works. Before leaving town, drive through the north end, where wealthy shipbuilders built their mansions.

Wiscasset
Whether or not Wiscasset lives up to its claim—"the prettiest village in Maine"—it’s certainly a contender. Wealthy shipping and lumber barons built elaborate mansions and grand public buildings here, and several offer tours. The Nickels-Sortwell House (Main and Federal Sts. +1 207 882 6218. June–mid-Oct. Wed.-Sun.; Adm. fee), built by a sea captain, was later refurbished in the colonial revival style. Overlooking the harbor, the 1807 Lee-Tucker House (2 Lee St. +1 207 882 7364. Jan.-Oct. Wed.-Sun.; Adm. fee) is also known as Castle Tucker.
The plans for the fortlike Old Jail and Museum (Federal St. +1 207 882 6817. July-Aug. Tues.-Sun.; Adm. fee) were drawn according to the British penal belief that housing criminals in small cells was more humane than keeping them in a large space. On a cheerier note, the Musical Wonder House (18 High St. +1 207 882 7163 or 800 336 3725. June-Oct.; Adm. fee), a museum of mechanical instruments, includes music boxes, crank organs, and mechanized birds.

Boothbay Harbor at dusk

Photograph © Shawn G. Henry/CORBIS

Farther ahead, turn south on Maine 27 to Boothbay Harbor (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 633 2353). A popular resort area since the late 1800s, its often crowded harbor area offers all the requisite tourist amenities. Pick up a boat charter to Damariscove—the site of one of Maine’s earliest permanent European settlements (early 1600s)—or to another nearby island. For a genuine Down East clambake, hop aboard the Argo (Pier 6, Fisherman’s Wharf. +1 207 633 7200. Mid-June–Labor Day; fare) to Cabbage Island. Landlubbers can find wonderful coastal views by following Maine 238 to Newagen at the tip of Southport Island.
US 1 winds farther east to Waldoboro (Town Office +1 207 832 5369), where exhibits in the Waldoborough Historical Society Museum (Upper Main St. Daily mid-June–Labor Day, weekends until early Oct.) chronicle the town’s 19th-century commercial heritage. Earlier history is summed up in the Old German Church cemetery (Bremen Road) on a tombstone: "This town was settled in 1748 by Germans who immigrated to this Place with the promise and expectation of finding a prosperous city, instead of which they found nothing but wilderness."
Once a busy shipbuilding town, Thomaston (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 596 0376) now bustles with another trade: The Maine State Prison Showroom (Main St. +1 207 354 3131 ext. 272) sells wood products made by inmates. It’s worth a visit. On a hill above town, Montpelier (+1 207 354 8062. Late May–mid-Oct. Tues.-Sun.; Adm. fee) is a reconstruction of the federal house once belonging to Maj. Gen. Henry Knox (1750-1806), the first U.S. secretary of war.
Down Maine 131 in Port Clyde, the Monhegan Boat Line (+1 207 372 8848. Call for schedule; reservations required. Fare) takes visitors to Monhegan Island, a fishing community and artists retreat 11 miles [17.7 kilometers] out at sea.
Farther east on Maine 73, anything goes at the Owls Head Transportation Museum (+1 207 594 4418. Adm. fee), a collection of antique yet still working modes of transport—carriages, bicycles, autos, airplanes. During summer events you might take a ride in a Model T Ford or watch World War II fighters roar by in an air show.

The busy harbor town of Rockland (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 596 0376), known for its bountiful lobster harvest, also claims the state’s largest windjammer fleet. Several schooners offer cruises from the harbor. The Rockland Harbor Trail follows the historic working waterfront.

Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland

Photograph © Shawn G. Henry

The Farnsworth Art Museum (356 Main St. +1 207 596 6457. Adm. fee) features a fine collection of American art, including works by Maine artists. Among the standouts: George Bellows’ "Sea and Fog of Monhegan Island" and Andrew Wyeth’s "Her Room." Admission to the circa 1850 Greek Revival Farnsworth Homestead (Mem. Day–mid-Oct.) next door is included in the entrance fee. Stop by the Shore Village Museum (Grand Army Hall, 104 Limerock St. +1 207 594 0311. June–mid-Oct.; Donations) for a look at its eclectic collection of Civil War memorabilia, carved tusks, ship models, and many lighthouse artifacts.

Boothbay Harbor at dusk

Photograph © Shawn G. Henry/CORBIS

Just up US 1 is picturesque Camden (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 236 4404 or 800 223 5459), a shipbuilding town dating from the late 18th century. In the early 1900s it, along with tiny nearby Rockport, began attracting wealthy summer residents, mainly from Boston and Philadelphia. Enjoy the shops, restaurants, and galleries, and stroll down to the harbor, where windjammers offer cruises along the coast.
Just north of town, the 5,527-acre [2,236.7-hectare] Camden Hills State Park (+1 207 236 3109. Staffed May–mid-Oct.; Adm. fee) invites you to hike, camp, and picnic. Take the short road up 780-foot [237.7-meter] Mount Battie for fine views of Penobscot Bay.
At Lincolnville Beach hop the state ferry (+1 207 734 6935. Fare) for a 20-minute ride to Islesboro, where you’ll find good beaches and an entertaining display of local history at the Isleboro Sailors’ Memorial Museum (Mem. Day–Labor Day Mon.-Sat.; Donations), next to the 1850 Grindle Point Lighthouse. It’s possible to arrange a ride from the island to 70-acre [28.3-hectare] Warren Island State Park (+1 207 287 3824. Mid-May–mid-Oct.; Fare), where you can hike and picnic.
From the late 1700s to the late 1800s, Searsport (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 338 5900) shipyards built some 250 sailing vessels. Eight historic buildings at the Penobscot Marine Museum (Church St. at US 1. +1 207 548 2529. Mem. Day–mid-Oct.; Adm. fee) exhibit artifacts, paintings, ship models, and films. See the photos of early ship captains in the Old Town Hall, and don’t miss the scrimshaw exhibit.
In Prospect, Fort Knox (Fort Knox State Park. +1 207 469 7719. Fort open May-Oct.; Adm. fee) is Maine’s largest granite fortification, built to protect the Penobscot River Valley from the British in response to a boundary dispute with New Brunswick. Construction b egan in 1844, but the elaborate plans were never completed.

Castine
Make sure you have a good road map before plunging into the rat’s nest of roads in the Castine and Blue Hill areas, which occupy a jagged peninsula between Penobscot and Blue Hill Bays. More than 100 plaques around town document the 200-year struggle by four countries to possess strategic Castine. Pick up a walking tour brochure at the Town Office (Emerson Hall, 67 Court St. +1 207 326 4502). In addition to exhibits of prehistoric and Native American artifacts, the Wilson Museum (Perkins St. +1 207 326 8753. Mem. Day–Sept. Tues.-Sun.) encompasses the circa 1765 John Perkins House (July-Aug. Wed. and Sun. p.m.; Adm. fee), Castine’s oldest surviving building.
On the way south to Deer Isle and Stonington, stop at Caterpillar Hill Rest Area for panoramic views of Penobscot Bay. Then follow Maine 15 over Deer Isle Bridge to the lobstering village of Stonington, whose once thriving granite quarrying industry is reviving. The Isle-Au-Haut Company (Atlantic Ave. Hardware Dock. +1 207 367 5193 days, 367 6516 eves. Mid-June–early Sept.; Fare) ferries passengers to Isle au Haut, which includes part of Acadia National Park.
Backtrack on Maine 15 and head north to Blue Hill. This one-time shipbuilding town is now a hub for artists and craftspeople. You’ll find wheel-thrown pottery made from locally dug clay at Rackcliffe Pottery (Maine 172. +1 207 374 2297. Closed Sun.) and Rowantree’s Pottery (Maine 177. +1 207 374 5535. Closed Sun.).

Acadia National Park

View of Bar Harbor and Frenchman Bay from Cadillac Mountain, Mount Desert Island

Photograph © Michael Melford

The route goes north to US 1 at Ellsworth, then south to Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park(+1 207 288 3338. Most of Park Loop Rd. Adm. fee). The glacier-carved island is a phenomenal geological grab bag of mountains, lakes, cliffs, forests, beaches, rugged shoreline, and the only true fjord—Somes Sound—on the U.S. Atlantic coast. (Some geologists consider the lower Hudson River another.) As you enter the park, stop at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center (May-Oct.) to get your bearings. The 27-mile [43.5-kilometer] Park Loop Road takes in some of the park’s most popular sites, including Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and Otter Cliffs. The Jordan Pond House (+1 207 276 3316. Mid-May–late Oct.) serves lunch, tea, and dinner overlooking a bucolic pond. Hike or drive Cadillac Mountain Road to the summit of 1,530-foot [466.3-meter] Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the Atlantic coast north of Brazil and, from October to early May, the first place on the continental U.S. to see sunrise. At the Abbe Museum (+1 207 288 3519. Mid-May–late Oct.; Adm. fee), exhibits, hands-on activities, and craft workshops focus on Maine’s Native American heritage.
In Bar Harbor (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 288 3393), the town’s legendary popularity as a turn-of-the-century summer playground for the rich is evident in the large number of mansions, or "cottages." The fine stained-glass window collection at St. Saviour’s Church (41 Mt. Desert St. +1 207 288 4215. Tours in Mid-June–Aug.) includes several from the late 1800s by Louis Comfort Tiffany. A shore path begins at the Town Municipal Pier and follows Frenchman Bay to upper Main Street.
Leaving town, take Maine 233 (Eagle Lake Road) west to Maine 3 and Maine 198, looping around Somes Sound. At Maine 102, turn south to the fishing town of Southwest Harbor (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 244 9264 or 800 423 9264). A hand-carved, life-size bald eagle greets visitors to the Wendell Gilley Museum of Bird Carving (Herrick Rd. +1 207 244 7555. June-Oct. Tues.-Sun.; May, Nov., Dec. Fri.-Sun.; Adm. fee), which displays many of the 6,000 birds Gilley carved before his death in 1983.
Rejoining US 1, the route rambles ever east. At Maine 186, detour south to the Schoodic Peninsula and another parcel of Acadia National Park. The park’s 7.2-mile [11.6-kilometer] shore drive here, while not as dramatic as the Park Loop Road, is far less crowded and very scenic.

Columbia Falls
Built in 1818 for a rich lumber dealer, the Ruggles House (0.25 mile [0.4 kilometer] off US 1. +1 207 483 4637. June–mid-Oct.; Adm. fee) in Columbia Falls displays many original furnishings. The flying staircase is a work of art, as is the intricate woodwork supposedly carved with a penknife by a British craftsman.
In Machias, the gambrel-roofed 1770 Burnham Tavern (Maine 192. +1 207 255 4432. Mid-June–Sept. Mon.-Fri.; Adm. fee) claims a significant spot in Revolutionary War history. In 1775 colonists met here to plan the capture of the British man-of-war Margaretta. They seized the ship in one of the Revolution’s first naval battles, but in retaliation the British burned the town of Falmouth.
At Whiting, veer east to Lubec (Chamber of Commerce +1 207 733 4522), the easternmost town in the United States. The candy cane-striped West Quoddy Head Light, now closed, at Quoddy Head State Park (+1 207 733 0911. Mid-May–mid-Oct.; Adm. fee) stands on the nation’s easternmost point of land. From there you can enjoy magnificent ocean views and some marvelous hiking trails, including one through a peat bog. The park’s steep ledges offer an excellent vantage point for the famous Bay of Fundy tides, which rise as high as 30 feet [9.1 meters].

Roosevelt Campobello International Park

Roosevelt Cottage, Campobello Island

Photograph © Shawn G. Henry

Just over the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Bridge on Campobello Island, in New Brunswick, Canada, is the Roosevelt Campobello International Park (+1 506 752 2922. Mem. Day–Columbus Day; grounds open year-round. New Brunswick time one hour later than Maine time). Franklin D. Roosevelt spent most of his boyhood summers here, and his life and times feel as if they’ve been flash-frozen in the 34-room "cottage" the family occupied from 1909 to 1921. The 2,800-acre [1,133.1-hectare] memorial park features formal gardens and wooded paths to the sea.
Farther east, US 1 passes through the Edmunds Unit of the 24,446-acre [9,893-hectare] Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge +1 207 454 7161) and Cobscook Bay State Park (+1 207 726 4412. Mid-May–Oct.).
The drive soon offers fine views of the St. Croix River’s red cliffs. In the middle of the river, on Saint Croix Island (No ferry service), French explorers Samuel de Champlain and Sieur de Monts established in 1604 North America's first documented European settlement north of St. Augustine, Florida. The Saint Croix Island International Historic Site (Off US 1. For info call Acadia National Park at +1 207 288 3338), 8 miles [12.9 kilometers] south of Calais, commemorates the settlement.

Calais
Passing through Calais, one of the busiest ports of entry along the U.S.-Canada border, the drive ends at the Baring Unit (Charlotte Rd. +1 207 454 3521) of Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. In spring and summer, look for nesting bald eagles along Charlotte Road.
From here, if you’d rather not retrace your steps, return to Bangor on Maine 9, then back to Brunswick via I-95.