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Experience the magic of living on an island and still have everything Down East Maine offers within a 1.5 hours drive. Small and private, Bar Island is connected to mainland Milbridge by a year-round causeway across Pigeon Hill Bay. At the end of the evergreen lined road is the island-studded Atlantic. It’s okay – everyone’s jaw drops when they first see the view.
The Cottage is new, comfortable, spotlessly clean and fully-furnished, from linens to satellite TV. Two upstairs bedrooms provide a queen bed in one and two twin beds in the other as well as a full bath. On the main floor, the great room offers a comfy sofa bed and there’s an extra twin sofa bed in the TV room. A half-bath, laundry and fully equipped kitchen make living easy, and a gas “fireplace” stove warms cool summer nights. Reservations are for Saturday PM thru Saturday AM.
What to do? As little or as much as you want! Sit on the deck and listen to the tide rush in – and out. Walk along the ever-changing shore. Bike ride for hours along local roads and shore paths. Kayak from the cottage to Bois Bubert Island National Wildlife Preserve or explore Bobby Creek, Pigeon Hill Bay and beyond. Watch the lobstermen unload their day’s catch at the wharf - perhaps buy a few for dinner.
Milbridge, often called “the prettiest little town in Maine” offers shopping, restaurants, movie theatre, historical museum, car services, banks, pharmacy and more. A short drive down its Wyman Road takes you to McClellan Park, a perfect spot to enjoy a sandwich or fried clams from Joshy’s Takeout – a local favorite.
Petit Manan Wildlife Refuge is a 10-minute drive from the island. Hike the 2,100 acre naturalist’s paradise where wooded trails open onto views of Petit Manan Light, Mount Desert and offshore ledges. Be on the lookout for eagles, seals, dolphins, osprey, deer, moose, beaver, porcupines, terns, plovers, and sea ducks of every color, size and shape. In season, Maine’s famous wild blueberries are free for the picking on the refuge’s blueberry barrens.
The Cottage is ideally located for Down East day trips. The Schoodic Point section of Acadia National Park is a half hour away and is a must-see. Stop in Winter Harbor for shopping, art galleries, antiquing, lunch or dinner – or hop the ferry from Winter Harbor to Bar Harbor. You’ll cruise across breathtaking Frenchmen Bay and you’ll avoid the traffic. If you prefer, Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park is an hour drive south through Ellsworth, Down East Maine’s premier shopping area with major retailers, small boutiques, theatres, services and excellent restaurants. And visit the Bartlett Estate Winery in Gouldsboro to taste their award-winning fruit wines. Bring a bottle home to enjoy at day’s end.
Another day, drive 1.5 hours north of Bar Island to Campobello Island New Brunswick, FDR’s summer home. Or hike the trails of Quoddy Head State Park with its famed red and white striped lighthouse, the easternmost lighthouse in the U.S. A little further north is Eastport, a great exploration destination. In between are picturesque Down East Maine villages and towns, each worthy of a visit: Machias, Roque Bluffs, Jonesport and Beals, Cutler, and Addison.
During your stay on the island your neighbors will be lobstermen and Maine Guides, architects and writers, teachers and carpenters, Marine Patrol Officers and engineers. Make their acquaintance if you wish, or maintain blissful privacy. Life is different here… it’s pure Down East Maine at its finest… and we hope you leave the Cottage with Rachel Field’s poem breezing through your memories…
If once you have slept on an island,
You’ll never be quite the same.
You may look as you looked the day before,
And go by the same old name.
…
Oh, you won’t know why, and can’t say how
Such change upon you came, |
Pet Friendly: Pets will be considered.
