Maine’s Blue Hill peninsula delivers coastal Maine without the crowds

Maine’s Blue Hill peninsula exudes the essence of what what many people picture when dreaming about the Maine coast. It’s off the beaten track, with a rolling landscape carved in granite, fringed with spruce, splashed with ponds, sprinkled with galleries, salted with farmsteads, and peppered with those classic big-house, little-house, back-house, barn homes that art directors love to put on magazine covers.

Every time I visit, I wonder why this spectacular chunk of Maine remains so untouristed. And then I smile and thank God that it does

To that, add a diverse yet unusually complementary population of back-to-the-landers and trust-funders, boat builders and bakers, artists and entrepreneurs, chiseled-in-granite umpteenth-generation Mainers and drawn-by-the-vibe New Agers.

Now web this landscape with byways that reveal spectacular views, provide access to underutilized parks and land trust trails, and pass honor-bar-style farmstands. A mosey here validates the ages-old concept of taking a Sunday Drive just because.

Every time I visit, I wonder why this spectacular chunk of Maine remains so untouristed. And then I smile and thank God that it does.

Blue Hill anchors the peninsula, but here I’m highlighting a mosey looping via Route 175 through Brooklin, Sedgwick, Sargentville, and Brooksville, with a detour loop around Cape Rosier. Do it in one day, or break it up to allow time to immersie and enjoy the area.

This is a gorgeous drive any time, but it’s particularly pretty in autumn, when the colors of the season reflect in the ocean, rivers, and fresh waters that color so much of the region’s map blue. Updated Dec. 27, 2019

Brooklin: wooden boats and E. B. White

Brooklin, the self-proclimed Wooden Boat capital of the World lives up to the moniker. This village on the Blue Hill Peninsula is home to WoodenBoat Magazine and the Wooden Boat School as well as plentiful boatyards, large and small. Most, of course, build wooden boats. Ann, but that’s not all Brooklin is famous for. It’s also where renowned writer E.B. White, author of such beloved children’s classics as Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web, lived.

Just east of town, veer off Route 175 on the Flye Point Road to view work by Maine artists at Flye Point Sculpture Garden & Art Gallery.

Now downtown Brooklin isn’t particularly large—maybe three-blinks—but it’s well worth stopping for a browse about. Smack downtown is the Brooklin General Store, an updated classic, and next to it, Leaf and Anna, a delightful shop filled with intriguing gifts, garden goods, books, and cookware.

Drive down the Naskeag Point Road for a look-see at the Wooden Boat School‘s campus and poke into its store, then continue to Naskeag Point for the view. It’s a perfect spot for a picnic.

A bit west of downtown, Virginia G. Sarsfield handcrafts paper products, including custom lamp shades, calligraphy papers, books, and lamps at Handmade Papers.

Can’t bear to leave? Book a room at the recently updated Brooklin Inn, which has a good dining room and a pub.

Sedgwick: Mex and more

Route 175 parallels the famed sailing waters of Eggemoggin Reach, where it’s not rare to sight windjammers under full sail.

Detour a bit north on Route 172, then left on Christy Hill Road. Just before it ends in a T intersection with Old County Road, look left for  Pushcart Press Bookstore, which bills itself a “the world’s smallest bookstore.” Easy to believe; but the adorable, one-room shop is jammed with good reads, both used and new. Be sure to check out the editions of the Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses annual series.

At the intersection with Route 15, jog north to stay on 175. You might not expect good Mex is a rural coastal Maine community, but you’ll find it, scratch-made and with a down east accent, at El El Frijoles (That’s El El Beans for you gringos).

Brooksville: food, farms, and Congdon’s Garage

Now you could sidle back up to Blue Hill on Route 15, but stay on Route 175 (requires a left). At the intersection with Route 176, detour right following Route 175 for visit  to Makers’ Market, a double find. It carries wonderful works by local artists and artisans and doubles as Ecouture Textile Studio, with handcrafted one-of-a-kind scarves, art, and clothing from all-natural and sustainable textiles.

Now, return to Route 176 to loop through Brooksville and out to Cape Rosier. On this side of the peninsula, you leave behind E.B. White’s Maine and enter that of another beloved children’s author, Robert McCloskey (One Morning in Maine and Blueberries for Sal). Hard to believe the Blue Hill peninsula could become more rural and rustic, but it does.

The Sow’s Ear Winery is a funky spot where Tom Huey produces sulfite-free blueberry, chokecherry, and rhubarb wines among others (tastings!). He also has an intriguing collection of architecture-related books for sale.

A bit further on, you arrive in Buck’s Harbor, home to Congdon’s Garage, meantioned in McCloskey’s books. If you didn’t eat previously, Buck’s Harbor Market is another great spot to pick up picnic fixings, sandwiches, and other goodies. Tucked behind it is Buck’s Restaurant; open for dinner and well worth a visit if you’re sticking around).

Now you need a place to picnic, and Cape Rosier is it. Loop out to the Holbrook Island Sanctuary State Park. Here you’ll find a fine picnic area, small rocky beach, and easy-on-the-eyes views. Work off lunch on one of the hiking trails.

It’s worth the effort, while on the cape, to visit Harborside for a dip into this town’s back-to-the-land legacy. The Good Life Center at Forest Farm, was home to the late back-to-the-land gurus Scott and Helen Nearing; check the schedule for hours and programs. Internationally renowned gardeners Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch own Four Season Farm. You’ll never see more gorgeous produce than that at this lush organic farm.

When you depart Cape Rosier, finish looping though Brooksville on Route 176. Along the way, be sure to pull over every now and then to take in the views over the water toward Castine.

And, keep an eye out for Tinder Hearth Bakery, source of organic breads that put all store-bought ones to shame. Tinder Hearth also hosts Open Mic sessions and pizza nights, check the website for details.

Ready for another nibble or feast? Overlooking the reversing falls of Bagaduce River, find Bagaduce Lunch. This seasonal, takeout stand, named an American Classic by the James Beard Foundation, turns out awesome fried clams and other seafood favorites.

If you’re smitten by Brooksville, two cottage colonies make it easy to spend a week: Oakland House, on Eggemoggin Reach (where a new generation has added smart guestrooms in the original homestead), and Hiram Blake Camps, on Cape Rosier. Blake’s includes meals in season. And of course, you can always stay at the Blue Hill Inn, in Blue Hill, and circle out from there.