The Great Pond Mountain Trust, located in Orland, Maine provides ample opportunities to explore 4500 acres of moutains, hills, ponds and hiking trails. While Great Pond Mountain is a favorite of adventurers in this area, the trails in the Wildlands offer hiking over various types of terrain. Heading north from the south gate onto the Esker Path followed by the East Ridge Path takes you up Flag Hill with views to the east toward Ellsworth and over Branch Pond.
There are many great small towns in New England. The mountains ranges of New Hampshire and Vermont are host to many idyllic villages, but none have the history that surrounds our hometown of Castine. We are one of the oldest communities in the Unisted States having been occupied since the 1600s. Buzzfeed recently listed Castine as one of the 24 must see New England villages for its history, charm and slate of things to do and see. Come visit Castine, Maine and take a sailing tour on the Guildive just a block from the Pentagoet Inn. Experience the coast of Maine from land and sea!
Just off the Goosecove Rd in Deer Isle is a beautiful 1 mile hike out to Barred Island. If you intend on visiting the island you’ll need to plan on getting there near low tide. The island is only accessible a few hours on either side of low tide. You can travel around the island on foot and enjoy the sun on the rock ledges and get a great view of the Camden Hills across the water. The sand beach there is an excellent place for a picnic or even a swim . Very peaceful way to enjoy the beauty of the coast of Maine. Check out our hiking package for more great opportunities.
Fall foliage season is a great time to visit the coast of Maine. Here are some of the best places to see the beautiful colors all around Castine. Take a drive up Cadillac Mountain on the auto road to see Acadia National Park from above. The fall colors are spread out before you as you look down over Bar Harbor and the ocean. You could also hike up Cadillac and really immerse yourself in the foliage during your hike. The Gorge Trail is a favorite way to reach Cadillac Mt. After a day of “leaf peeping” try the Jordan Pond House or Asticou for popovers. Camden also offers a drive up the Mount Battie auto road. The view over Camden harbor is exceptional and is surrounded by oaks and maples displaying their leaves in fall. For the hikers, try the Carriage Trail and Tablelands Trail to reach the summit on foot. Camden offers many restaurants to explore after visiting Camden Hills State Park. The Camden Deli is an excellent choice. Nearby Castine you shouldn’t miss Holbrook Island State Park. There are many easy walking trails there including the Iceworks Trail and Freshpond Trail. The drive over to Holbrook Island State Park is a treat in itself. This park is just across the harbor from downtown Castine and includes Holbrook Island which can only be reached by boat. Just north of Castine is the Great Pond Mountain Trust in Orland. Many of the trails there are well defined and maintained roads, easy for walking and surrounded by beautiful hardwood trees. The newest trail up to Mead Mountain overlook provides a spectacular, sweeping view of a valley filled with fall colors. You can also drive up to Alamoosook Lake near the Craig Pond fish hatchery and enjoy a wide view of foliage on the lake or hike Great Pond Mountain just beyond the lake. Between Castine and Camden, Sears Island is a lovely place to visit with great views to the ocean and many trees with excellent fall foliage. This island has an easy walking road from beginning to end with alternate trails leading off in both directions. Taking a drive from Castine to Deer Isle there is a wonderful overlook on Caterpillar Hill which never disappoints with fall colors. You can pull off and take pictures of the blueberry fields below and the Deer Isle bridge in the distance or go for a walk through the fields to the trails that surround the old Cooper Farm location. Fall blueberry fields are alive with a deep red and make for excellent viewing. On Deer Isle the Island Heritage Trust has many excellent trails which offer plenty of fall foliage opportunities. We particularly like the walk through the woods at the Tennis Preserve in Sunshine. Besides the foliage you have a good chance of seeing seals basking on the ledges just off shore. Just down the road from there visit Nervous Nellies Jams and Jellies for coffee and a scone. For an excellent meal stop at Aragosta on Main Street in Stonington. The most popular place to see fall foliage on the Blue Hill peninsula is from the top of Blue Hill mountain. Many locals make this a regular trip year round, but in the fall it is a busy trail. Take advantage of this gem of a mountain and the view down over Blue Hill to the ocean and Mount Desert Island beyond. For a good meal visit Arborvine Restaurant right on Main Street. Visit the Maine state foliage indicator here to see current leaf conditions.
There are many places around Castine, Blue Hill peninsula and the mid Maine coast to get excellent lobster rolls. In Belfast be sure to visit Young’s Lobster Pound. The Bagaduce Lunch in Brooksville is a local favorite right on the Reversing Falls. Blue Hill offer the Fishnet right on the corner headed up Green’s Hill on Main Street. While visiting Surry stop in at Perry’s Lobster Shack right on the water.
The Restaurant at the Pentagoet Inn incorporates products from many local, organic farms in our dining menu. The quality and freshness of the products available in and around Castine, Maine is remarkable. These products are often available at many farmer’s markets during the summer including the local farmer’s market here in town on the common. Access to this fresh food market is part of what makes dining at the Pentagoet Inn so special. Blue Zee Farm The Blue Zee Farm is a productive 100-acre farm of mixed vegetable and blueberries. Located in Blue Hill their two greenhouses allow them to start many of Maine’s hot-weather crops earlier in the season than most home gardeners can. This is why they were one of the first farmers in the area this year to have such whopping eggplants and peppers. Their produce can be found right here in Castine in our summer farmer’s market. Carding Brook Farm Jennifer Schroth and Jonathan Ellsworth have been providing us with remarkable vegetables from the Carding Brook Farm on the Benjamin River in Brooklin, Maine for many seasons. We feel so blessed to be able to use their produce in our Castine, Maine restaurant. Four Season Farm Four Season Farm is an experimental market garden in Harborside, Maine, owned and operated by writers Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman. The farm produces vegetables year-round and has become a nationally recognized model of small-scale sustainable agriculture. Barbara has worked professionally in the field of horticulture since 1977. She writes a weekly column for The Washington Post called A Cook’s Garden and is the author of The Garden Primer and Theme Gardens. Eliot has more than 40 years of experience in all aspects of organic farming, including field vegetables, greenhouse vegetables, rotational grazing of cattle and sheep, and range poultry. He is the author of The New Organic Grower, Four Season Harvest and the Winter Harvest Handbook. Their latest collaboration is two books in one: “The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook.” It’s a garden guide and a cookbook. Old Ackley Farm Old Ackley Farm is located in Blue Hill and raises about 2500 chickens per year. They also husband a beef herd of 10 Belted Galloways, raise piglets and laying hens, and hatch their own duck and Bourbon Red turkey eggs. All their meat is pasture-raised on organic grass, and the farm is in the process of becoming certified organic. They also offer vegetables from their garden as part of their organic offerings.
As of today, June 23rd, 2020 these are the current regulations for visiting and staying in Maine. If you are traveling from New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey or Connecticut, there are no restrictions. Visitors from all other states must quarantine for 14 days or provide a negative test result from their home state within 72 hours of arriving in Maine. Alternatively, visitors can be tested in Maine, per the Governor’s Standing Order, but must quarantine while waiting for the test results. Resources for travelers are listed below. Standing Order https://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=DHS+Press+Releases&id=2657874&v=dhhs_article_2020 Standing Order FAQ https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/airborne/documents/Standing-Order-FAQs.pdf List of Testing Sites Find a location for testing Certificate of compliance https://www.maine.gov/covid19/sites/maine.gov.covid19/files/inline-files/KeepMaineHealthy_GuestComplianceCertificate_UPDATED.pdf The Governor’s Standing Order includes the following: Making Testing Available to More People in Maine: Today, DHHS is issuing a standing order allowing most people in Maine with elevated risk to get a COVID-19 test without the need for a separate order from a health care provider. This means individuals can seek testing even if they don’t have a primary care provider or a written order from a clinician if they face a higher risk of exposure, with or without experiencing symptoms. This could include: health care workers and first responders, seasonal and migrant farm workers, people experiencing homelessness, visitors from other states with a higher prevalence of the virus, and employees of congregate living facilities such as nursing homes, lodging establishments, grocery stores and other businesses who have direct, daily contact with the public.
