Above: lobster dinner at The Waterfront Restaurant, Camden, ME

We spent July 4th to July 13, 2026 driving up the coast of Maine, staying in lovely bed and breakfasts, sailing on beautiful schooners and cutters, exploring coves and lighthouses, sampling incredible lobster rolls and seafood, driving on gorgeous winding coastal roads, and generally relaxing.

July 4th: Arrival

We flew to Portland, ME from LaGuardia, landing around 1:30 and proceeding to rent a white Nissan Altima which we then drove to our first destination, the beautiful Bradley Inn in New Harbor, ME, run by Laura and Mark.

After getting settled there, we walked about a half a mile to the Pemaquid Lighthouse, the first of many beautifully sited old lighthouses along the Maine coast.

We then proceeded to drive to The Contented Sole for dinner, where I enjoyed the first lobster roll of the trip, and a local Maine craft beer, with this view of New Harbor:

After a leisurely drive back to the inn, we prepared for the next day.

July 5: The Main(e) Event

After a delicious breakfast (the first of many) at our inn, we headed back to the harbor for the trip’s primary objective: puffin watching! We boarded our first boat of the trip, the Hardy III with Audubon Society researcher Faith and headed to Eastern Egg Island, home of Dr. Kress’s Project Puffin, which has successfully repopulated the Atlantic Puffin colony here, for the Audubon Puffin Cruise. I was mostly looking through my old Tasco Zip 8 x 40 binoculars, getting splendid views of these wonderful birds in the wild, so have little to show in the way of pictures, as looking at my phone was not a high priority. But you can see some of the amazing rafts of puffins that I did manage to catch:

We also saw Black Guillemots, Cormorants, Terns, and Gulls. This was something I have always wanted to do, since I was a small child. It exceeded expectations. Of course, I got a Project Puffin hat and a Hardy Cruise teeshirt.

We then proceed to Damariscotta where we enjoyed lunch on the dock at Schooner Landing, where I had fried scallops and another Maine craft beer. We then walked the main street of the town, stopping in at the Puffin’s Nest, where I acquired more fine puffin apparel. We had dinner at the Damariscotta River Grill, where I had a much needed salad.

July 6: Driving to Camden via Boothbay Harbor

After a final breakfast at the Bradley Inn, we got in the car to head for our next destination, Camden; however, we first backtracked a bit to visit Boothbay Harbor, where we first explored the town, then drove across the bay to the Boothbay Lobster Wharf, where I had what I thought was the best lobster roll of trip (though this is perhaps splitting hairs, as they were all terrific).

We got back in the car, driving on incredible coastal roads, and headed to Camden, our base for the next four days, arriving at the Belmont Inn, where we were greeted by the innkeeper Kim. The inn is a beautiful house with an amazing cottage garden:

We proceeded to walk around and explore Camden, ending up at the Waterfront Restaurant down by the docks for dinner, where I mostly took a break from seafood and enjoyed a burger, though I did start with a cup of New England clam chowder (and another Maine craft beer).

After a walk at dusk we called it a night (Camden goes to bed early).

July 7: Rockland, more Camden, and Sunset Cruise on a Schooner

After coffee on Kim’s gorgeous veranda and a delicious breakfast, we headed to Rockland to visit the headquarters of the Audubon Society’s Project Puffin, with exhibits on how Dr. Kress successfully repopulated the Puffin colony on Eastern Egg Island, watched a great documentary featuring Kress, watched live cams of puffin burrows, and acquired more quality puffin apparel.

Following a walk down the main street in Rockland, we visited the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in an elegant, new, purpose-built facility and were glad to discover an artist we both like alot, Will Sears.

Then back to Camden, where we explored the Public Library and a pretty park overlooking the harbor.

We then had lunch at the Sea Dog Brewing Company, where I had a Cobb salad with blackened haddock.

Which brings us to our amazing sunset cruise aboard the beautiful 85 foot schooner Appledore. Captained by Josh and crewed by Emily and Andy, we sailed into the bay for two hours, past lighthouses and beautiful islands and peninsulas, as the Sun set and the sky changed colors. A highlight was helping Emily hoist the mainsail, which was hard work toward the end.

July 8: Owl’s Head Lighthouse, McCloon’s Lobster Pound, and the Farnsworth Museum

After another wonderful breakfast at the Belmont Inn, we took a scenic drive to the Owl’s Head Lighthose, located in a forested state park on a beautiful peninsula.

After exploring the lighthouse and surrounding parklands, we headed to McCloons Lobster Shack for another fresh, delicious lobster roll. Another picture-postcard perfect working lobster wharf in another Maine cove.

We then headed back through Rockland, stopping at the Farnsworth Art Museum, which had some great works by great artists with connections to Maine, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper, Louise Nevelson, and, of course, the Wyeths. Also interesting exhibitions on Maine’s arts institutions, artists’ colonies, residencies, and the like, as well as work by native communities in Maine.

We drove back to Camden, walked along the docks, had a glass of prosecco on the rooftop of the 16 Bay View Hotel, before having a wonderful meal at Franny’s Bistro.

July 9: Marshall Point Lighthouse, a cruise on the Owl, and steamed lobster

Following another splendid breakfast, we got back in the car and drove to the Marshall Point Lighthouse, another beautifully sited tower, this time connected to the keeper’s house by a long pier with amazing views of the surrounding water and cove. The keeper’s house contained a museum and local historical society.

We then drove back to Camden via Rockport, where we explored the town and harbor before boarding the cutter Owl, captained by Jessica, who took us and three other passengers on beautiful two hour cruise of Penobscot Bay. This was a much faster boat, so we went out further.

As it was our last night in Camden, and we saw some delicious looking steamed lobsters on other tables when we ate at the Waterfront Restaurant a few days before, I decided to treat myself to a steamed lobster. After dinner we took a last evening stroll through downtown Camden, which is a town full of good energy.

July 10: Castine

After breakfast and a chat with Kim at the Belmont Inn, we packed the car and headed to the small town of Castine, stopping along the way at Belfast, a town we enjoyed walking through. In Castine we stayed at the Pentagöet Inn and Pub, a Victorian house and neighboring late 18th century Federal period house, the Perkins House (where we stayed). The Inn is owned and operated by George and Matt, who couldn’t have been nicer. We had lunch at Dennett’s at the Wharf (fish and chips for me), then explored this classic Maine town on foot. After a nice long walk and drive, we had a drink at the bar in the inn, followed by dinner in the restaurant, where I enjoyed shrimp cocktail followed by shortrib sliders.

July 11: Stonington and Castine

After a delicious breakfast and a morning walk around Castine, we headed back on the road and drove across bridges through Deer Island to Stonington, a small town with a major lobstering harbor. We walked through the cute old town, enjoyed the shops and ate lunch at 27 Fathoms Waterfront Grill, where, naturally, I had a lobster roll and a Maine craft beer. After a beautiful drive back to Castine, we took another walk in a different part of town, including the campus of the Maine Maritime Academy. We ended the day with dinner down by the docks.

July 12: Georgetown, Bath

After breakfast at the inn, we got in the car and headed back southwest toward Bath, where we would be spending our last night in Maine at the Inn at Bath. Along the way we detoured down a peninsula to Georgetown where we enjoyed lobster rolls at another beautiful lobster wharf, the Five Islands Lobster Co. After the last lobster roll of the trip, we drove into downtown Bath and walked the historic old town center before being welcomed by the inn keeper Kelly and checking in. We returned downtown and had dinner on another roof deck overlooking another body of water, the Kennebec River this time.

July 13: Maine Maritime Museum

After an amazing breakfast in a truly elegant dining room at the inn, we thanked Kelly and checked out and drove to the nearby Maine Maritime Museum, built on the site of a historic Maine shipyard that built the largest wooden sailing vessels ever built in the United States. This was an excellent and higly informative museum. Bath has been building ships since the 17th century (and still does; you can see the Bath Iron Works yards and docks where they are currently building US Navy destroyers and missile cruisers from the museum).

After enjoying the museum, it was time to drive back to Portland, return the rental car, and fly back to LaGuardia.

I hope to return.