Travels With Hannah: Mid-Coast Maine and Beyond

All good things must come to an end. The close of a New England summer feels particularly bittersweet. At once, the cool air blows in. Is it Labor Day that ushers in fall in the north? I spent much of summer on the road, but I wanted one last hurrah, so I packed up my family and dogs and headed first to Maine’s Mid-Coast, which extends just north of Portland up the rocky shoreline, just south of Bar Harbor.

On a breezy August afternoon, we checked into the Samoset Resort on the Ocean, a property that dates back to 1889 and that abuts the West Penobscot Bay and Rockland Harbor. With 178 rooms (ours enjoyed a petite private balcony overlooking the pool, as well as a separate bunk bed area for the kids), the Samoset is equal parts legacy property and glossy resort. The outdoor pool, perched atop a hill overlooking the water, provides the perfect afternoon respite, if you happen to find yourself weary from too many lobster rolls. (This has never happened to me; I ate one at Muscongus Bay Lobster Pound en route, a soft, sweet sandwich that came prepared on the casual restaurant’s signature homemade roll.)

One afternoon, we hunted for antiques in the nearby towns of Rockland, Thomaston, Lincolnville and Camden, returning to the pool for a piña colada and a view of the cerulean sea. The next, we escaped, first to Birch Point State Park, a sandy beach flanked by granitic arms, and, later, to lunch, for dueling lobster rolls — Claws vs. McLoons. Both are armed with estimable water views and sandwiches chock-full of sweet, cold-water meat. Our early morning hike down the breakwater, a nearly mile-long pier at the base of the resort that leads to Rockland’s historic Breakwater Lighthouse, which was built in 1902 (the lighthouse is public property, but guests can access it directly from the resort), had helped to generate extra hunger. At the point, a schooner, rigged for modern passengers, came in to dock in Rockland. “A pirate ship!” my son exclaimed, in utter Maine delight.

Long Grain. Primo. Wolfpeach, which is a new addition to the local dining scene — it opened last year, in Camden, and serves a slim and local menu in an adorable building on Elm Street. Had we eaten so well all summer as we did at our end-of-August dinners in Mid-Coast Maine? At Long Grain, which opened in Camden in 2009, I plowed through a bowl of impossibly chewy fried multi-grain rice. I pried tiny bones from a cornbread-stuffed quail at Primo; it lay atop fried green tomatoes that had been grown on the Rockland property’s on-premises farm. I twirled thick planks of homemade pappardelle around the tines of a fork at Wolfpeach in a bowl of pasta alla Norma that offered up the summer’s harvest: basil, eggplant, candy-sweet tomatoes.

You can’t stay in paradise forever. The Samoset was a fuzzy Maine dream with nautical-tinged edges, but we were headed north still after three nights, toward Bar Harbor. At the Harborside Hotel, Spa, & Marina, facing Frenchman Bay, we were escorted into another bunk-bed suite, this time with a larger, water-facing balcony. The 193-room-and-suite property features two pools, one of which is at the neighboring Bar Harbor Club, a private respite offering a snack bar, outdoor hot tub, spa, fitness center, and pool house with game area, as well as clay tennis courts and an event space. Built in 1929 by J.P. Morgan, the club can accommodate up to 300 guests and is a reminder of Bar Harbor’s tony past.

On an unusually balmy first day in Bar Harbor (was it 80? It felt like it!), we sunned like harbor seals at the club’s pristine pool, watching the tide recede. A hulking stone balcony overlooks Bar Island, an uninhabited preserve that can be reached by natural causeway at low tide. By dusk, people and dogs were out among the revealed stone ocean floor, walking across in the pink-blue light.

We didn’t walk the causeway that night; instead, we walked to Parrilla, an open-air tapas bar that sits adjacent to Havana, Michael Boland’s formal Cuban restaurant on the far side of town. But the next morning, after a slick of rain passed through, leaving a wash of gray over the sea, we set out as a party of six (four humans, two dogs) to brave the tide. When nature outsmarted us, we settled for partway, as the green-gray water slipped in over our boots.

In the fog-licked afternoon, we took off on the Miss Samantha, Maine’s largest lobster passenger boat. Our lobster and seal tour, run by the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co., took us through Frenchman Bay toward Egg Island, where, in the mist, we made out the bobbing heads of dozens of slippery gray and harbor seals. Hauled-in traps from our captain and on-board naturalist revealed the wealth of the sea bottom: lobsters of all shapes and sizes; Jonah crabs; and one leathery brown sea cucumber that my sons patently refused to hold in their young hands.

Back at the hotel, a fire was crackling in the lobby. Was it August? In mystical Maine, it’s always hard to tell the season. Still, the next morning, well-rested and full of lobster, no doubt, we were misty ourselves at the idea of leaving.

If You Go:

Renovated last year, this 230-acre oceanfront property offers an indoor and outdoor pool, spa, 20,000-square feet of function space, and a stunning world-class golf course. opalcollection.com/Samoset

Elevated Asian cuisine is the name of the game at this buzzy Camden spot, where local and seasonal ingredients are heavily favored. longgraincamden.com

James Beard Award-winning chef Melissa Kelly is also the owner of Primo, a seasonal restaurant and farm that is the crown jewel of the Mid-Coast. Reservations recommended. primorestaurant.com

Opened by Gabriela Acero and Derek Richard in late 2021, this bistro-like spot with a complex drinks menu in Camden is dedicated to local cuisine. wolfpeachmaine.com

Bar Harbor

Stately New England charm defines this regal waterfront property, which is just steps away from Bar Harbor’s central artery. opalcollection.com/harborside

Offering everything from whale-watching cruises to sunset cruises to lobster fishing and seal-watching trips out of Frenchman Bay, this is a family-friendly outlet within walking distance from all of Bar Harbor’s main attractions. barharborwhales.com

Michael Boland’s casual, open-air tapas bar, specializing in pan-Latin classics and grilled meats, is open seven days a week for dinner, weather-permitting, and accepts walk-ins only. havanamaine.com/parrilla