Winter Harbor, Maine | Could You Live Here?
On the edge of the quiet side of Acadia National Park sits Winter Harbor — a fishing village with perhaps the best ocean-view housing deals in New England.
By Annie Graves|May 15 2015|
Shady picnic nooks are tucked in along the Schoodic Peninsula.
Credit: Carl Tremblay
Lobster boats rest up in the working harbor.
Credit: Carl TremblayCredit: Carl Tremblay Winter Harbor sits snugly on the edge of Maine’s other Acadia National Park — the lesser-known, wild and quiet spread on the mainland’s Schoodic Peninsula. A mere 30 minutes by ferry from Mount Desert Island, where the core of the park is concentrated, and the bustling town of Bar Harbor, the houses in this small fishing village of 516 people are faded just about right. Lobster traps are stacked in tidy yards, and sharp blue tidal waters course in and out of the in-town boat launch. The air is crisp enough to bite. It’s a working fishing village, as you’ll quickly discover if you walk a short distance down Harbor Road. In the early morning, a small armada of lobster boats scatter like water bugs, heading out to drop their traps. As dusk and the mist settle in, so do the boats, huddling together for the night.
Expansive water views around Schoodic Point inspire plein-air artists.
Credit: Carl TremblayCredit: Carl Tremblay Winter Harbor feels like shelter from the storm. Settled in the late 1700s — and so named because the harbor didn’t freeze — the town today is laid-back, friendly. Pretty, the way the forgotten villages of Down East Maine should be, and with a real 5&10. Artist-friendly, too, with studios and shops featuring the painting, pottery, and glasswork of local folks. Maybe it’s the pointed firs, or the tangy salt, seasoning the air. But something about this rugged, enchanting peninsula makes you want to draw the sharp Maine air deeper into your lungs, filling them like sailcloth. Is it really possible, or are we dreaming? A coastal fishing village beside a stunning national park — with houses under $100,000?
Shady picnic nooks are tucked in along the Schoodic Peninsula.
Credit: Carl TremblayCredit: Carl Tremblay
The Setting
Winter Harbor backs onto the only chunk of Acadia National Park that’s on the mainland. And because it’s separate from the rest of Acadia, this 2,366-acre swath of tucked-away beauty feels like a secret. Every table has a sea view at the Frazier Point picnic area, and the cycling (or driving, for that matter) along a six-mile, one-way loop is unparalleled, with water edging the road to Schoodic Point, a rocky plain towering over sea and islands. Winter Harbor itself is water-splashed: boat launch, Bar Harbor ferry landing, and harbor. Beyond the town center, the “cottages” of Grindstone Neck were Philadelphia’s answer to Newport, Rhode Island, with a golf course, yacht club, and distractingly pretty views. How pretty? Cathy Carruthers is town manager (also treasurer, tax collector, town clerk, road commissioner, notary public, and author of the annual report), plus her mom was born here, so the roots go deep. “My uncle drives around Schoodic three times a day because he wants to,” she says. “And he tells me, ‘Cathy, you should, too.’”
Paintings rise floor to ceiling in Wendilee Heath O’Brien’s studio in the center of town.
Credit: Carl Tremblay
Would love to live in Winter Harbor
How are the medical facilities here? I am a veteran with mesothelioma on oxygen. My wife receives 2 treatments a week for RA. inspite of that we are very active we walk our Siberian husky every morning. Looking to move to a smaller town where everyone knows you. Friendly people we are.
Beautifully written!!!
Will visit next year!!