Guide to the Maine Peninsulas | Where to Play, Eat, Shop, and Stay
The wildly beautiful Maine Peninsulas invite ambling and stopping, so it’s so surprise that they’re also home to many wonderful places to eat, shop, and stay.
By Annie Graves|Jul 01 2016|
In the 2016 Yankee feature “A World of Their Own,” we set off on a five-peninsula-hopping expedition in Maine’s Casco Bay. The wildly beautiful Maine Peninsulas invite ambling and stopping, so it’s no surprise that they’re also home to many wonderful places to eat, shop, and stay. Read on for a list of some of our favorite spots along Maine’s beautiful Harpswell, Phippsburg, Georgetown, Boothbay, and Pemaquid Peninsulas.
Credit: Art by Dave Stevenson
Credit: Sara Gray
Harpswell Peninsula
Things to Do
Eagle Island
Robert Peary’s island in Casco Bay, aboard the Marie L.
H2Outfitters (Orr’s Island)
One of Maine’s oldest kayak outfitters; lessons, guided trips.
Casco Bay Lines (Bailey Island)
Noontime cruise from Cook’s Lobster House past Eagle Island and Mackerel Cove.
Giant Stairs (or Steps)
Epitome of rocky-coast drama and crashing waves; nice walk.
Places to Eat
Dolphin Marina & Restaurant, Harpswell
Views from the tip of Basin Point.
Cook’s Lobster House, Bailey Island
Lively favorite on a cottage-dotted spit of land.
Morse’s Cribstone Grill, Bailey Island
Fresh seafood on a long pier.
Credit: Sara Gray
Places to Stay
Harpswell Inn
Richard and Anne Moseley’s eight elegant guest rooms.
Driftwood Inn & Cottages, Bailey Island
Oldest inn on island, overlooking Little Harbor.
Credit: Sara Gray
Phippsburg Peninsula
Just past Bath, Route 209 South twists by lobster shacks, aging boats in backyards, and flashes of salt marsh that expand into vast plains, greener than any field. And when the road takes a turn, you’ll find its crown jewel: Popham Beach State Park.
If you don’t know how to eat a lobster, Spinney’s Restaurant, three miles away in the shadow of Fort Popham, on the banks of the Kennebec River, offers an instruction chart. You can also absorb visual pointers on how to build a spectacular driftwood fence, which is all that separates us from the sand and water. Bathrooms are labeled Buoys and Gulls (“You want the mermaid, hon”); the wood interior is draped with sea paraphernalia; and the haddock chowder is addictively good. Chunks of fish, potatoes, and a reddish tang of paprika: A second cup feels inevitable.
Civil War–era Fort Popham is weird and wonderful, like the bottom half of a more modern-day Colosseum. All archways, tunnels, and half-moon curves, it’s a haunting relic that echoes with children’s shouts and offers shade to fishermen casting their lines. The view across the water to Georgetown foreshadows our next stop, which is another poetic truth of peninsulas: You’re always looking over to the next point of land.
Things to Do
Sequin Island Light
Ferry from Popham Beach to 186-foot granite lighthouse (tallest and second oldest in Maine) on 64-acre island.
Seaspray Kayaking
Kayak from Sebasco Harbor Resort. Rentals, instructions, tours, stand-up paddleboarding.
Credit: Sara Gray
Places to Eat
Spinney’s Restaurant, Phippsburg
Seafood by the fort.
Places to Stay
Sebasco Harbor Resort
Family-geared 550-acre 133-room waterside resort.
Hermit Island Campground
275 campsites at Small Point (tents and camper pickups).
Credit: Sara Gray
GEORGETOWN PENINSULA
Things to Do
Coveside B&B
Low-key canoeing from the dock to Five Islands Lobster Co.
Places to Eat
Five Islands Lobster Co., Georgetown
Casual dining on the wharf.
Grey Havens Inn, Georgetown
Gourmet chef; outstanding water views from the porch (beautiful rooms, too).
Credit: Sara Gray
Places to Stay
Coveside Bed & Breakfast, Georgetown
Tom & Carolyn Church, innkeepers.
The Mooring B&B, Georgetown
Paul and Penny Barabe, great-granddaughter of Walter Reid, donor of the land for his namesake state park.
Credit: Sara Gray
BOOTHBAY PENINSULA
Things to Do
Monhegan Island
The mecca of Maine islands for artists; Balmy Days Cruises.
Burnt Island Lighthouse
Tours with Dept. of Marine Resources aboard the Novelty.
Cap’n Fish’s Boat Trips
Whales, puffins, or sunset sail.
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
270 acres of tidal shoreland; 16 years of planting.
Credit: Sara Gray
Places to Eat
The Lobster Dock, Boothbay Harbor
In-town lobster near the footbridge.
Ports of Italy, Boothbay Harbor
Pretty and upscale, serves pasta with seafood.
The Boathouse Bistro Tapas Bar & Restaurant, Boothbay Harbor
Tapas on the top floor with a view.
Places to Stay
Spruce Point Inn Resort
57 acres on the water near Boothbay Harbor downtown; saltwater pool, hot tub. Boat to town.
Linekin Bay Resort
Last all-inclusive sailing resort on the East Coast, family-owned since 1909; 20 acres on the bay.
Gray Homestead Oceanfront Camping, Southport
Camping, cottages, and condos, with private beach.
Credit: Sara Gray
Pemaquid Peninsula
Things to Do
Hardy Boat Cruises
New Harbor to Monhegan and Egg Rock (puffins).
Maine Kayak, New Harbor
Between Muscongus Bay and Johns Bay, with guided kayaking, plus eco-tourism.
Places to Eat
Pemaquid Lobster Co-op Restaurant, Pemaquid Harbor
Operated by Pemaquid Fisherman’s Co-op, Maine’s oldest continuously run fishermen’s co-op.
Shaw’s Fish & Lobster Wharf, New Harbor
Classic lobster pound on picturesque harbor.
Muscongus Bay Lobster, Bristol
mainefreshlobster.com
Round Pond Lobster, Round Pond
facebook.com/Round-Pond-Lobster-181394501159
Island Grocery, South Bristol
Store/café on Rutherford Island, serving summer visitors since the 1800s.
Pemaquid Oyster Co., Waldoboro
Look for Damariscotta oysters—part of a 2,000-year-old tradition of eating briny things—at Maine coast seafood markets and restaurants (retailers list at website).
Credit: Sara Gray
Places to Stay
Bradley Inn, New Harbor
Culinary reputation; less than a mile from Pemaquid Lighthouse.
Inn at Round Pond, Round Pond
Stay in a picturesque waterside village.
Thompson House & Cottages, New Harbor
21 cottages, many with ocean views.
