Maine

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| Print icon

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.
Art by Dave Stevenson

Maine Peninsulas Map

Credit: Art by Dave Stevenson
Art by Dave Stevenson
Credit: Art by Dave Stevenson
A group of people in life vests listen to an instructor while seated in kayaks on a rocky beach. A dock extends into a body of water with boats in the background and a red building nearby.

A flotilla prepares to depart H2Outfitters on Bailey Island.

Credit: Sara Gray
A flotilla prepares to depart H2Outfitters on Bailey Island.
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.
A white porch with rocking chairs, ceiling fans, and patriotic bunting, overlooking a grassy yard and water in the background.

Rocking chairs on the porch of The Harpswell Inn invite contemplation of Lookout Point and Middle Bay.

Credit: Sara Gray
Rocking chairs on the porch of The Harpswell Inn invite contemplation of Lookout Point and Middle Bay.
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.
Two people stand at the water's edge on a quiet beach with calm waves and a cloudy sky overhead.

Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, Maine.

Credit: Sara Gray
Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, Maine.
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.
A cooked lobster served on a blue plate, garnished with parsley and lemon wedges, with a small plastic container on the side.

The mouthwatering catch at Spinney’s, on Popham Beach.

Credit: Sara Gray
The mouthwatering catch at Spinney’s, on Popham Beach.
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).
Two coin-operated binoculars on a rocky coastal overlook offering a view of the ocean under a clear sky.

Reid State Park’s distracting beauty encompasses Atlantic views, large dunes, and miles of sand.

Credit: Sara Gray
Reid State Park’s distracting beauty encompasses Atlantic views, large dunes, and miles of sand.
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).
A scenic view of a calm coastal area with several boats anchored near rocky shores, surrounded by trees and greenery, with a few chairs placed on a green lawn in the foreground.

Picturesque Coveside B&B, Georgetown, Maine.

Credit: Sara Gray
Picturesque Coveside B&B, Georgetown, Maine.
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.
A sailboat with the number 198 on its sail glides on a body of water near a tree-lined shore, with a few buildings visible in the background under a clear sky.

The Bay Lady, a sightseeing Friendship sloop, seen in her full glory.

Credit: Sara Gray
The Bay Lady, a sightseeing Friendship sloop, seen in her full glory.
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.
Street view of shops including Janson's Clothing Store, The Smiling Cow, and Gimble & Sons. The shops are housed in colorful buildings on a sloped road under a clear sky.

Gift shops line Commercial Street overlooking the pier in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

Credit: Sara Gray
Gift shops line Commercial Street overlooking the pier in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
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.
A rocky shoreline at sunset with a lighthouse and buildings in the distance, surrounded by trees and a calm sea.

Dawn brushes the rocks below Pemaquid Point Light, featured on the Maine state quarter.

Credit: Sara Gray
Dawn brushes the rocks below Pemaquid Point Light, featured on the Maine state quarter.
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).
A white lighthouse stands next to a building with an American flag on a sunny day. There is a white picket fence around the property and a seagull in the sky.

Pemaquid Point Light, Bristol, Maine.

Credit: Sara Gray
Pemaquid Point Light, Bristol, Maine.
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.

Annie Graves

A New Hampshire native, Annie has been a writer and editor for more than 25 years, while also composing music and writing young adult novels.

More by Annie Graves

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