Rockport Maine

ahschneid
52 minutes ago
8 min read

View from Auto Road at top of Mt. Battie Camden Hills State Park - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

We arrived at Rockport Maine 17 August 2026. It was an 89-mile drive from Bitsy’s and scenic most of the way. After we got set up we went for a walk in the campground and sat in Adirondack chairs to look out at Porpoise Point, a scenic waterfront viewing area of the Penobscot Bay coast. We sat for only a few minutes and then headed back to our camper. Our campsite at Seawell Megunticook Campground was really nice. Tuesday we went to Camden Hills State Park to drive the Auto Road. The Mount Battie Auto Road is a scenic drive leading to the 800-foot summit of Mount Battie. It’s only 1.5 miles up, but what a view once we arrived. We decided to take the .5 mile walking trail to more overlooks. It wasn’t too bad, but some of the rocks were slippery. We checked out the views again from where we had parked and then headed to Rt. 52 to find the Maiden Cliff hiking trail. We had read about the 1-mile trail to a cross in memory of an 11-year-old girl who fell off the cliff in 1864. She was chasing her hat that had flown off. The whole time we were hiking up the trail we kept thinking about the fact that people have hiked it since way back then. We made it up to the cross and then went a few more yards to another lookout. It was beautiful! The trek down was faster, but we had to go somewhat slow because it was pretty steep. We made it and then decided to try to eat lunch downtown by the harbor. That was not happening with all the tourists driving and walking in Camden. We decided to just go home for lunch since we were so close (6 miles).

Camden Hills State Park - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Top of Mt. Battie Auto Road

Camden Hills State Park - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Top of Mt. Battie Auto Road

Camden Hills State Park - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Top of Mt. Battie Auto Road

Camden Hills State Park - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Top of Mt. Battie Auto Road

Camden Hills State Park - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Top of Mt. Battie Auto Road

Camden Hills State Park - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Top of Mt. Battie Auto Road

Camden Hills State Park - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Top of Auto Road - Mt. Battie Memorial Tower honoring WWI Veterans

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Steve went down to the cliff's edge where the cross is to see the plaque...

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Anita waving from about 20 yards up from the cross...

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

Maiden Cliff Trail - Camden Maine - 18 August 2026

After lunch we headed to Rockland to find a car wash, ATM and grocery store. We were successful on all three. Tuesday was our anniversary and we usually go out to dinner, but we were tired after our hiking and we had a very early wake-up (4:30am) on Wednesday, so we decided to eat in and have our anniversary lunch on Monhegan Island on Wednesday.

Our plan came together nicely on Wednesday with our early wake-up and getting to the Port Clyde to Monhegan Island boat a little after 6am. We had paid for parking online, so on arrival an attendant showed us where to park. We got our hiking shoes on, our backpacks and hiking sticks and headed for the boat. The boat was loaded with pallets of supplies and shipments for Monhegan Island. Our reservation was for the 7am boat and we took off right at 7am. We reached the island at 8:05am and our uphill walking began. Anita was surprised that there are no paved roads. Anita was thinking in terms of Mackinac Island in upper Michigan, but Monhegan is much smaller so just dirt/gravel roads. It seemed that each of the hotels has a pickup truck for transporting luggage and supplies from the boats that come to the island. As we were walking throughout the day we had to get off the road for trucks to pass every so often. When the trucks weren't making noise it was extremely quiet on the island. We talked to a lady on the boat ride back to Port Clyde that afternoon and she said there are a few writers who stay on the island. We had commented on all the artists we saw throughout the day. We walked about 5 miles by the end of the day.

When we arrived that morning walked from the dock on Trail #7 to Whitehead. The fog was so thick when we arrived that we couldn't see very far at all. We waited there about 45 minutes and it cleared a little, but it probably didn't clear completely the whole day. We headed back down to Main Street by the dock and turned to go to Lobster Cove where there was also a shipwreck cross marker. It is the site of where the D.T. Sheridan, a 110-foot steel tugboat ran aground during a dense fog on November 5, 1948. All crew members survived, and a severe storm in the 1970's pushed the rusting hull 50 yards inland. We saw the rusted out hull. After the shipwreck cross, we went to Fish House for lunch. Steve had a lobster and Anita had fish tacos. The fish tacos were some of the best Anita has had. Prices were a little high, but we noticed that there are days they turn off the water from 11pm to 6am to conserve. Also they send hotel linens to the mainland for laundering. It's costly for the businesses on the island to receive goods and services from the boats, so that cost gets passed on to the tourists.

After lunch we walked to the Island Inn. We had run in to a lady we had met on the boat ride to Monhegan that morning at Fish House and she told us to check out Island Inn. She said anyone is allowed to sit on the porch or on the Adirondacks to enjoy the view. We sat in a couple of Adirondacks for several minutes and basked in the beauty of where we were. It was very peaceful. By the time we left there were quite a few people also sitting in the Adirondacks, but it was very quiet. All were just relaxing and enjoying the view.

It was about 2:30pm when we were all done seeing what we wanted to see so we had a couple of hours to wait for our 4:30pm boat. Two boats going to other ports picked up lots of people before our boat came. As our boat was leaving there were six young adults standing on pilings in swimsuits waiting to jump in the water. Our captain said to cheer them on to give them courage to jump into the cold water. Anita thought she had heard it was a tradition to jump when the last boat leaves the island. She looked it up online and AI says "Monhegan Island has a beloved local tradition. Summer workers, local youth, and spirited visitors take the plunge into the chilly Atlantic waters to wave a dramatic and memorable goodbye to departing ferry passengers." On our boat ride back we saw seals and porpoises in the water. It was a great day. We are grateful that our health is good and we could do all that walking/hiking. Monhegan Island is not mobility-impaired friendly . We didn't see a service to give people with mobility issues a tour, but we also noticed where we were seeing the greatest views, a golf cart couldn't get to. Granite rocks line the shores and edges to the cliffs. While sitting waiting for our boat back to Port Clyde we noticed a sign among many other signs on the "Welcome to Monhegan Island" building saying that there is "no medical or emergency care on the island. Pass at your own risk." We had not noticed it that morning.

Boat from Port Clyde Maine to Monhegan Island Maine - 19 August 2026

Sunrise

Port Clyde Maine - 19 August 2026

Sunrise

Boat to Monhegan Island - 19 August 2026

Port Clyde Maine - 19 August 2026

Bow of the boat to Monhegan Island - 19 August 2026

Leaving Port Clyde - 19 August 2026

Marshall Point Light Station, sits at the tip of the St. George Peninsula in Port Clyde, Maine. Built in 1832 and famous for its appearance in the movie Forrest Gump.

Boat ride from Port Clyde to Monhegan Island Maine - 19 August 2026

Boat ride from Port Clyde to Monhegan Island Maine - 19 August 2026

Boat ride from Port Clyde to Monhegan Island Maine - 19 August 2026

Boat ride from Port Clyde to Monhegan Island Maine - 19 August 2026

Boat ride from Port Clyde to Monhegan Island Maine - 19 August 2026