Unique Maine retreats for nature lovers
By Amy Paradysz
From treehouses and yurts to lighthouses and classic sporting camps, Vacationland has just the right getaway for every nature lover. Here are a dozen worth exploring.
Above: 1.The Nancy Lou houseboat at Derecktor Robinhood marina in Georgetown. Moored in a naturally protected inlet on the Kennebec/Sheepscot River Basin, this is the perfect vantage point to watch the seals and ospreys, lobstermen and sunsets. Photo: Billy Black. | 2. Photo: Katia Hrycay | 3. Photo courtesy: Sandy Pines Campground
Canopy Tree House. Photo courtesy: Purposely Lost
Purposely Lost, Springvale
If your childhood dream was to hang out in a tree fort with a couple of friends but your adult self isn’t into roughing it, you’ll love a night or two in a treehouse at Purposely Lost in Sanford. Each of these tiny houses is supported by a postand- crossbrace design and built around a tree. Climb a spiral staircase, look around and you’re at the height of the tree canopy—but in a really cute two-bedroom cottage with lots of windows and decorated with repurposed accent pieces. Each treehouse has electric, heat, a shower, full kitchen appliances, a hot tub (at ground level) and a projector screen (for a movie night, if you bring your own laptop). Best of all, each treehouse has its own dock on the 20-acre Littlefield Pond, and the co-owners supply canoes, paddles and life jackets.
“The idea is to get out to the woods and go down to the water—to find a spot where you can get purposely lost,” said property manager Peter Valcourt. “When you’re down on the water, you can’t see any other houses. You can sit on the dock all day and maybe see one canoe go by.”
The treehouses are carbon-neutral, thanks to offsite solar panels, and come with four beers in the fridge courtesy of New England’s first carbon-neutral brewery, Fat Tire. By the fall of 2021, there should be a third treehouse and three partially underground Hobbit Holes for rent at this ecofriendly luxury retreat.
The Wild Blue Yonder wagon. Photo courtesy: Sandy Pines Campground.
Sandy Pines Campground, Kennebunkport
If your idea of romance is circling up the wagons for a campfire, get yourself to the Conestoga Wagons at Sandy Pines. Whether you’re in the Chuck Wagon or the Wild Blue Yonder, you’ll have a comfy bed made up for two, indoor lighting, heat and air-conditioning, and a fire pit overlooking a salt marsh (this is Maine, after all). Other unique retreats at Sandy Pines include decked-out Airstreams (Zephyr or Wayfarer), a Volkswagen bus (Sunny Daze) or an Oasis dome (Stargazer). Reservations are for two adults (no kids or pets in the unique retreats section of the campground). Sandy Pines has clean bathhouses, a snack bar and a heated saltwater pool. Bike ten minutes to Goose Rocks Beach or drive ten minutes to downtown Kennebunkport.
Photo courtesy: Frost Mountain Yurts.
Frost Mountain Yurts, Brownfield
If you can’t get wait to get your boots on the ground in Maine’s western mountains, consider Frost Mountain Yurts as your eco-friendly base camp. A yurt is a circular room, allowing cool cross breezes in the summer. Each yurt has a futon and bunk beds, a cookstove, woodburning stove, indoor dining table, fire pit, deck, grill and outhouse. From there, explore the snowmobile trail that leads to the summit of Frost Mountain, with stunning views of Mount Washington, the Presidential Range and the valleys of the Maine-New Hampshire border.
Photo courtesy: Wolfe’s Neck Center.
Wolfe’s Neck Oceanfront Camping, Freeport
Wolfe’s Neck Center is a sustainable coastal farm and oceanfront campground on more than 600 acres, with miles of nature trails and organic gardens. It’s the perfect place to experience a sampler of Maine’s ecosystems: farmland and pastures, marsh, woods and coast. The 130 campsites offer a range of styles—whether you bring an RV, pitch a tent or rent a cabin. Or, reserve a Comfort Camping site in East Bay. Each of these has a 16-foot canvas bell tent that sleeps four with a queen-size bed and two twin-size fold-out foam mattresses. Comfort Camping sites come with a gas grill, camp stove and seating and place settings for four under a screen canopy. If you forgot anything, L.L. Bean’s Flagship Store is five miles away.
Photo: Billy Black
Robinhood Marina, Georgetown
The houseboats at Derecktor Robinhood, a seaport village marina at Riggs Cove, bring new meaning to the phrase “on the water.” Rental includes two kayaks and a motorized skiff to get you to the marina’s amenities, including a restaurant and historic galleries. Moored in a naturally protected inlet on the Kennebec/Sheepscot River Basin, you’ll be well situated to watch seals and ospreys, lobstermen and sunsets. Amenities include a propane stove and refrigerator, solar-paneled lights and 200 gallons of water. Riggs Cove is 15 minutes east of Bath in Sagadohoc County.
Photo courtesy: Pagett Farm
Pagett Farm, Palermo
This 63-acre organic farm and nature sanctuary in Waldo County offers a Tent and Breakfast farm experience. Guests spend the night in platform tents and yurts furnished with queen-size beds, handmade quilts, propane fireplaces and braided rugs. A hearty organic farm breakfast is available. Choose to help with farm chores, hike the walking trails or travel three miles to Lake St. George State Park or crystal- clear Sheepscot Lake for swimming, fishing or boating.
Photo: Michael D. Wilson
ComfyDome, Jefferson
A comfy queen-size bed with a clear view of the night sky—that’s the premise of this rural Airbnb in Lincoln County. Each of the three well-spaced domes on the Frasers’ property is the perfect size for one or two guests and comes with clean linens, solar lights and a fire pit with a grill. An outdoor shower and composting toilets are supplemented by access to a full bathroom in the main house. Nearby attractions include Damariscotta Lake State Park, Hidden Valley Nature Center and Ragged Mountain.
Photo courtesy: Whitehead Light Station.
Whitehead Light Station, St. George, Penobscot Bay
Since 1803, the Whitehead Light Station on Whitehead Island, at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, has been a beacon to mariners making their way up and down the Maine coast. Thanks to a restoration and renovation in 1996, the station and keeper’s house offer a comfortable destination for groups—with electricity, comfortable common areas and a private bath in each room. Pine Island Camp offers themed adult retreats throughout the summer and early fall—with five days and four nights of learning together, whether the focus is mindfulness, blues guitar, writing, knitting or food and craft beer. These retreats are all-inclusive with delicious meals prepared from local Midcoast produce and seafood.
Norumbega Yurt. Photo: Kristin Clements.
Acadia Yurts, Southwest Harbor
These seven luxury yurts and two tiny houses are on Mount Desert Island, 15 miles from Acadia National Park. The 30-foot yurt sleeps six with an enclosed bedroom and a lofted bedroom, each with a queen-size bed and a sleeper couch. There’s a full-size kitchen with a refrigerator, range and dishwasher, as well as cookware and dishes, and a bathroom with a shower. Think of it like a hiker meets- hippie round cottage with delightful design taste. Further proof that this is not camping: there’s a wellness center onsite with a floatation tank, massage therapy and a full-spectrum infrared sauna.
Photo: Taylor Watts/Terramor Outdoor Resort.
Terramor Outdoor Resort, Mount Desert Island
This 60-acre glamping resort opened last summer on Mount Desert Island, five miles from Acadia National Park. The 64 luxury tents are sprinkled in the forest and have electricity, WiFi and overhead fans. In the center of the resort is a lodge with a restaurant and bar, store, equipment rentals, pool and hot tub. Because Mount Desert Island is one of the best places in the United States for star-gazing, parking is in designated areas to minimize light pollution. Guests have access to two Celestron telescopes and can participate in astronomy talks with local experts.
Photo courtesy: The Birches
The Birches Resort, Rockwood, Somerset County
The Birches Resort is a family-owned collection of 1930s-era log cabins, wilderness yurts and a lodge overlooking Moosehead Lake with spectacular sunrises over Mount Kineo. The Birches Restaurant serves three meals a day in a pine-paneled dining room. Wilderness Expeditions takes guests whitewater rafting, fishing, canoeing and kayaking. Pontoon boat moose and wildlife safaris depart daily from The Birches Marina. Summer is prime moose-watching season as cows and their newborn calves feed by the lake in nearby streams.
Bradford Camps, Ashland
Photo courtesy: Bradford Camps
You know a camp is remote when the recommended way to get there is by floatplane picking you up in Millinocket or Bangor, and driving directions consist of latitude and longitude numbers. These log cabins are the only camps on 1,500-acre Munsungan Lake, the headwaters of the Aroostook watershed, in the Allagash region of northwestern Maine. Each cabin has the basic amenities of a hotel room, except with propane wall lighting in the absence of electricity.
Surrounded by four million acres of wild forest known as the North Maine Woods, the Bradford Camps are a beloved jumping off point for hunting and fishing for landlocked salmon, wild trophy brook trout, native lake trout and wild blueback charr. In true Maine sporting camp fashion, three meals a day are served in the dining room (or delivered porch-side if pandemic precautions are being followed). Packed lunches are available if you’re off with a Maine Guide or have a fly-out scheduled to some even more remote location for the day.
But you don’t have to hunt or fish to enjoy the deep woods. Where the only working screens are the ones that keep out mosquitoes, families find their days are easily filled with simpler pleasures—jumping in the lake, walking to waterfalls, playing lawn games or napping in hammocks.
On the cover
The Nancy Lou houseboat at Derecktor Robinhood marina in Georgetown. Moored in a naturally protected inlet on the Kennebec/Sheepscot River Basin, this is the perfect vantage point to watch the seals and ospreys, lobstermen and sunsets.
Photo: Billy Black
