Poland Spring Campground

The Freeport area is one of our favorite family Monday outings.  It has something for all of us and is only thirty to forty miles from the campground.

We usually pack a picnic lunch and go to Wolf Neck Woods State Park first to get a little hiking in.

Wolf Neck boasts five miles of fairly level trails, with one of them being handicapped accessible.  You can choose from several lengths of trail, and all are easy hiking.  Still, be sure to carry some drinking water and wear your sneakers.

There’s plenty of streams to poke around in

and some bridges to cross

Just be careful you don’t run into a troll!!
Some of the trails wind along the edge of Casco Bay and the Harraseeket River where the boys climbed rocks, poked in crevices and explored tidal pools to their hearts content.

Our favorite trail is the Casco Bay Trail.  It takes you down to where you can see a series of islands.  Osprey’s nest there.  Have you ever seen them fish?  They’re fun to watch.

So bring your binoculars and/or camera!

When we reach the coastline, we usually sit for a bit and drink it all in.  The views are gorgeous.  The forest is peaceful.  It’s the perfect place to get away from everything, experience nature and do a little bird watching.

After hiking, we have lunch in the picnic area under the trees.  Tables and grills are provided . . . bathrooms are nearby.

Then we load up and drive into downtown Freeport, home of the famous L. L. Bean.  We always hit the Outlet Store before going to the retail store.  You can usually find some wicked good deals there.

After shopping at L. L. Bean, we get an ice cream at the Ben and Jerry’s stand.  It’s conveniently located right outside Bean’s entrance.  Mmmmmm . . . coffee heathbar on a sugar cone.  My favorite!

Then we shop a little more:  Cool As A Moose, The Mangy Moose, Yankee Candle, Lindt Chocolate, Earrings and Co., Reebok . . . the list goes on and on and on!  It’s fun to walk the streets and look at everything they have to offer.

There are many, many fabulous places to eat in Freeport, from hot dog stands, to pubs to fine dining.  You’ll see a list on the Freeport website (link is listed above) as well as other sightseeing ideas.

But we like to stop on the way home at the  Muddy Rudder in Yarmouth, right off of Route 1.   Steak, seafood, pasta . . . their menu has something for everyone.  I can recommend the Broiled Seafood Medley.

In July and August, my family and I try to arrange one day a week to play outside the campground. It’s become a tradition we call Family Day, and has been a fabulous way to connect with our kids as well as recharge.

It also allows us to experience/experiment with day trips, seeing which ones our kids like vs. what we adults like. Then we pass on the information to you, our campers.

Last year our favorite trip was Monhegan Island. It had everything! Hiking, wildlife watching, quaint stores, views galore!

We chose to ride the Hardy Boat Cruises Monhegan Ferry out of New Harbor, a pretty little coastal town. It took approximately 1 hour to drive there from the campground. Parking was $2 for the day. The boat ride was $30 per adult and $18 for children under 12, and well worth it. This was not our boat, but we rode one similar

We sat on the top deck and enjoyed the view. The captain kept us entertained with historical information about the harbor and the coastline. Pretty soon, he slowed down to show us a basking shark. A little while later we saw puffins!

Once on Monhegan, you feel as if you’ve stepped back in time. There were very few vehicles. Dirt roads wound past quaint shops and homes.

We were there for the hiking though, and we set off to find it. We were not disappointed with the views:

There are short, fairly easy hiking trails and then there are the longer and more difficult ones. We chose the longer trails that wound along the islands shoreline. Ben, who had just turned 10, had no problem. He totally enjoyed the opportunity to climb to his hearts content. We packed a picnic lunch to eat on the trail, but there were plenty of places to sit and eat on Monhegan itself. A tip: if you plan to hike, bring a plenty of water with you or buy it on the island before you set out. We saw too many families who hadn’t taken any water at all, and were tired and thirsty halfway through their hike. We ended up sharing some of our water with an older couple.

Toward the end of the trail we discovered a huge display of fairy houses! Visitors to the island are encouraged to build them. There had to be at least fifty

Back in town, we found some ice cream (we always manage to find ice cream!) and wandered the streets to find photo opportunities like these:

I had more fun taking pictures of gardens, homes, signs, views, piles of lobster traps, the lighthouse . .. Monhegan is a photographer’s dream.

Before we set out on this trip, one of my friends said, “You can’t walk two feet without finding an artist”. She wasn’t kidding! Painters are everywhere on Monhegan. Even on the trails.

As we sat on the top deck of the Ferry heading home, I thought for sure my day was complete. But then we saw this guy

A seal! We actually saw five or six more before our trip was done.

Back in New Harbor, we watched some lobstermen unload their boats. Then we had a fabulous seafood dinner right on the pier at Shaw’s Fish and Lobster Wharf.