One summer, I found myself in Castine for a abbreviated 24 hours and was determined to see and parcel as much of the cover girl harbor town, named by Yankee as one of the 10 Prettiest Coastal Towns in Maine, as possible. ready to see what I got up to ? Let ’ s explore Castine, Maine !
Aimee Seavey Located about 130 miles north of Portland, Castine is big enough to spend the day ( or more ), but small adequate to even feel especial. Its Main Street slopes down towards the sea and includes most of the town ’ mho dine, patronize, and lodging. I opted to spend the night at The Castine Inn overlooking Penobscot Bay. Built in 1898, the hostel is surrounded by a wraparound porch and has a lovely public garden. It ’ s the kind of plaza where you placid get a key for your room, and you can open the windows to let in the clean ocean publicize. basically, it ’ sulfur my kind of hotel.
Aimee Seavey Although the Inn has many charming features, the dine room ( used at breakfast ) is particularly bright and cheerful thanks to a mural that spans the entire room, depicting scenes from Castine .
Aimee Seavey Another favorite place for many to stay, good across the street, is the Pentagoet Inn .
Aimee Tucker Both model on the higher end of Main Street, while the lower end is dominated by shops and eateries. If you need some breakfast, MarKel ’ second Bakehouse has breakfast sandwiches, muffins, bagels, scones, and more – dispatch with a broad deck to enjoy them on .
Aimee Seavey however, if you ’ re in necessitate of some reading material or a plot of Castine-Opoly, The Compass Rose Bookstore and Cafe has you covered .
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Aimee Seavey At the bottom of Main Street you ’ ll find The Breeze & Castine Variety, another good blemish for a immediate pungency or takeout lunch .
Aimee Seavey I ’ vitamin d listen good things about their lobster rolls, sol ( “ When in Maine… ” ) I decided to get one and take it down to the urine for lunch .
Aimee Seavey The coil was big – cold sweet lobster meat dressed with a little mayonnaise on a bed of chopped boodle – and served in the accustomed toasted New England-style hot frump bun, along with a humble bag of potato chips. If you ask me, there ’ second nothing better in the summer than sitting by the ocean with a lobster roll .
Aimee Seavey Eager gull waiting for crumbs optional…
Aimee Seavey By the water, you ’ ll besides find a few early dining options – Danny Murphy ’ south Pub and 15 Sea Street ( once Dennett ’ s Wharf ) .
Aimee Seavey not to mention, some adorable harbor views .
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Aimee Seavey After lunch, I decided to wander around and admire some New England architecture the beautiful historic homes and churches in Castine, of which there are many .
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Read more: Massachusetts Maritime Academy – Wikipedia
Aimee Seavey As I strolled, I repeatedly came across big and colorful painted signs sharing snippets of township history, marked with flags .
Aimee Seavey Although today ’ randomness it ’ s by and large a humble tourist town, until 1820 the british, french, and Dutch fight over Castine ’ s strategic placement at the mouth of the Penobscot River. This gives Castine, Maine a lively history, and the signs ( “ not all of which are strictly accurate ” says the Castine Historical Society ) both mark and serve tell the fib .
The Castine Historical Society itself is a fantastic position to stop, situated in a corner of the town park inside a early school .
Aimee Tucker inside are two permanent exhibits – one on the 1779 Penobscot Expedition ( historically a substantial low point for Paul Revere ), and the other a community quilt commemorating Castine ’ s bicentennial in 1996. The 24-foot farseeing quilt, which is as technically impressive as it is beautiful, was designed and constructed by dozens of members of the Castine community, and tells the narrative of Castine ’ s history through pictures .
Aimee Seavey For more history, you can besides check out the Wilson Museum, which offers a close search at local history through displays of pre-historic artifacts, embark models, and a restore 1805 kitchen .
Aimee Seavey Or you can just pop into the Castine Post Office, the oldest continuously-operating post office in the United States. We named it as a position in NewEnglandville | The Town of Our Dreams, saying “ This elegant 1814 build up calm has its original gaslight fixtures, but there ’ s an ongoing debate over whether post-office consumption began in 1831 or 1833. precisely be grateful that the earlier name, “ Majabigwaduce, ” was simplified to Castine. ”
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Aimee Seavey then again, you can enjoy another drug of history ( this meter with ocean views ) at Fort Madison. entirely the grass bunkers remain from the early on 1800s fortify, but its location at the mouth of the harbor makes it the perfect set to enjoy the lifelike beauty of the Maine coast .
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Aimee Seavey There ’ second besides a wooden stairway over those grassy mounds that takes you down to the rocky shore below .
Aimee Seavey And speak of the coast, Castine, Maine, is besides home to the Maine Maritime Academy, established in 1941. It ’ s a populace college and nautical aim institution – one of six nautical training colleges in the United States. Its 500-foot naval inquiry ship, the TS State of Maine, is worth a visit at the town dock if you have time. That is, if it ’ s there ! During my visit, it was not .
Want so far another Castine title to fame ? The town is besides home to an unusually bombastic number of elm trees ( “ Under the Elms and by the Sea ” it says on the free town map and walking enlistment ), and once you start to look for them, you realize they ’ rhenium everywhere. big and baronial, they tower overhead and cover the streets with a canopy of green. It ’ s a heartwarming sight. once common throughout America, Dutch elm disease destroyed most of this country ’ second elms in the 1930s. In Castine, the community works hard to keep their elms goodly and solid, and their feat is appreciated .
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Aimee Seavey And what coastal Maine town could be complete without a beacon ? Castine ’ second is Dyce Head, built in 1828. Today it ’ s privately owned, but there is a pathway visitors can follow around the place for views. I ’ five hundred heard the path takes you down to the water, but after finding myself in the woods with a steep ( and slightly chilling ) view of the ocean below, I decided I must have taken a incorrect twist ( the path starts off clear but quickly fades ) and headed back .
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Aimee Seavey ultimately, before leaving Castine, there was barely one thing left to do – dip my toes in the urine. I headed to Wadsworth Cove Beach to get the job done, and its gravelly shore offered the add bonus of a little massage .
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What a perfect visit – history, lobster, lighthouses, and all the coastal New England charm you can fit into a individual day. I ’ megabyte already looking fore to a return sojourn next year. Castine ’ second spell is not to be missed .
Have you ever visited Castine, Maine ? Which midcoast Maine town is your front-runner ?
This post was foremost published in 2015 and has been updated .
