View from the deck on Vinal Cove.
Location: Vinalhaven, Mid-Coast & Islands, Maine, USA (Island off of Camden; take one-hour ferry ride from Rockland)
Accommodations: Brand New Post & Beam Cottage, 2 Bedrooms + Convertible bed(s), 1 Bath (Sleeps 4-5)
Brand-new, waterfront, post and beam cottage overlooking Vinal Cove, a tidal cove. Secluded and private (located across the cove from a nature preserve), yet only an eight-minute drive to town. Windows offer great views of the cove, daylily gardens, and woods.
The cove is a mud flat at low tide, making for great bird viewing with herons, terns, osprey, bald eagles, ducks, and kingfishers to be enjoyed. At high tide the water is over your head, for great salt-water swimming and kayaking. When you are in the house at high tide you feel like you are on a houseboat, you are so close to the water.
The deck is only ten feet from the water (this is a new home on an old camp site, so the location this close to the water is very unusual, and "grandfathered"). An open kitchen/living/dining area features granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and cherry cabinets. The kitchen, bath, & entry have tile floors, & the rest of the house has red birch floors.
The livingroom couch opens up into a full-size bed. Two bedrooms (one a queen, one a full) also have garden and woods views. The tiled bath has a granite vanity, full tub/shower with lobster & crab tiles on the shower walls, a fan, & a skylight. In the entire camp the beams are Douglas fir & the ceilings are pickled pine.
Located on the site of a former saw mill, the flywheel from the sawmill stands as a giant 'sculpture' in the spectacular daylily gardens. Lots of dragonflies & hummingbirds. We have gorgeous sunrises, as we face somewhat east, amazing moonrises, & sunsets often reflect in the cove.
The ferry ride to Vinalhaven from Rockland is breathtaking, and you arrive in the harbor of the largest lobster fleet in Maine, over 100 lobster boats ply the local waters. Buy the freshest lobster in the world from the dock of the Lobster Co-op, to cook at home, or dine in one of the towns' great restaurants, featuring the best in home cooking. Lobster dinners, seafood chowder, and crab rolls are local specialties.
On Main Street there are several shops & restaurants. Visit the Paper Store, which is everything its name implies. You can order the Times, pick up magazines and books, or receive a fax here, (and find a huge selection of fudge, cards and gifts).
Go for ice cream to the Harbor Wharf. Try the Harbor Gawker (featuring a huge eat-in or take-out menu), & Island Spirits (a great wine, pate & cheese shop). Go to their wine tastings! There is a large IGA grocery & liquor store, Second Hand Prose (a used book store), Elaine's New Era Gallery, (Elaine is from Away, but her gallery rocks, as Phil will testify!) Kids love GO FISH! for penny candy & toys. Dine at The Haven, (harbor side make reservations, or just drop in on the street side), Tibb's Bar & Restaurant, The Pizza Pit, & more.
At the Harbor Wharf you can eat at Donna's Surfside Restaurant for breakfast (and sometimes dinner). Donna has the most amazing crab omelettes, homebaked blueberry muffins, & her famous fishcakes (if you haven't tried one of these you haven't lived!) & so much more. At Surfside you can dine indoors or out, with great harbor views & lots of local color. Work out at Island Fitness, or shop at Everything Country or the Fisherman's Friend, open early (for fish hooks), or open late, (for that last minute pint of Hagan Das), all at the Harbor Wharf. You can also visit The Fog Gallery, the Arts and Recreation Center (the ARC), and the Town Library. There are massage therapists & beauty specialists also on the island.
There are three freshwater swimming holes on Vinalhaven, located in former granite quarries, they offer great warm water swimming in uniquely picturesque settings. Geary's Beach (brr) offers excellent salt water swimming. There are lots of nature trails for hiking, and kayak excursions to local destinations. Many activities, including art openings, concerts, film showings, yard sales, yoga classes, poetry readings, nature walks & talks, church bean suppers, quilt raffles, wine tastings, etc. are published in the weekly newsletter, "The Wind", and posted about town. There is a new playground at the school.
There is a great Historical Society with exhibits of granite quarrying, fishing, lobstering, & apple farming, which were some of the mainstays of the local economy & survival in the 1800s. Granite from Vinalhaven was used to build the Brooklyn Bridge! On Saturday mornings there is a local Fleamarket, one of the social high points of the week on our island.
It is a great place to meet new people and enjoy local arts, crafts, photography, baked goods, knitting, jewelry, clothing, rugs, kids making homemade lemonade and whatever else they are in to at the moment, (are you possibly in need of a painted rock? these are sometimes offered &, thus, in demand), jams, fresh berries, bunches of native garlic, vegetables, flowers, & just plain good old used & second hand stuff.
There is a golf course and a theatre group located on nearby North Haven Island.
Visit one of the nature preserves, Lane's Island, (which is a local favorite for its nature trails), & lots of other woodland & beach locations. There is a sandy town beach, several parks, & a lighthouse, many with picnic tables, as well.
Learn more about Vinalhaven on their website.
Vacation Rental Features
- Amenities
- Off Street Parking
- Beds
- Queen Bed
- Double Bed
- Entertainment
- TV (No Cable/Satellite)
- DVD
- CD Player
- Kitchen
- Full Kitchen
- Cooking Utensils Provided
- Refrigerator
- Dishwasher
- Microwave
- Outdoor Features
- Charcoal BBQ Grill
- View/Location
- Waterfront, not Lake/Oceanfront. Ask for details
- Communications
- Telephone
- Broadband Internet
- Other Amenities
- Local Phone, AM/FM Radio and tape player, New China, Glassware, Pots and Pans, Ceiling Fan in living room/kitchen, Waterfront Deck with Picnic Table and Deck Furniture, Bikes, 2 person kayak with rudder, Box of Games for Young and Old, Nature has also provided a granite 'hollow' at the water's edge for launching your kayak or canoe, or bringing it above the high tide line when you return, without having to get your feet wet or muddy.
- Suitability
- No Pets Allowed
- Smoking Not Allowed
- Activities (on site and nearby)
- Shopping
- Sightseeing
- Restaurants
- Kayaking
- Sailing
- Boating
- Shelling
- Swimming
- Biking
- Wildlife Viewing
- Hiking
- Fishing
- Rock Climbing
- Fitness Center/Gym
- Live Theatre
- Horseback Riding
- Other Activities
- Golfing, Museum, Musseling, Canoeing, Yoga Classes, Scenic Photography
Rate Details (In US Dollars)
Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, $1500/week.
September, $1350/week.
May, prior to Memorial Day Weekend, & October, $1200/week.
We offer Discounts for Three Consecutive Weeks or More.
We accept Checks and Money Orders.
One half week Security Deposit required.
$75 cleaning fee at end of stay. Thanks!
Weeks generally run Saturday to Saturday.
Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.
Property Photos
- View from the deck on Vinal Cove. - Vinalhaven, Maine
- The house at night with windows facing the cove. - Vinalhaven, Maine
- Sunset from the deck - Vinalhaven, Maine
- Our Kitchen
Guest Comments (2)
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Vacation Rentals by Owner Listing #56578
There have been 19253 visitors to this page since the counter was last reset in 2005.
This listing was first published here in 2005.
Date last modified - October 07, 2009
Positive Rating
Gerry Waterson , Maryland
Homeowner Response:
Dear Gerry, We also had a very positive experience with you both, and your guests. You treated the cottage like your own home, and we are very grateful for how well you took care of it! Thanks so much, you are welcome back any time! Thanks also for being such a great neighbor, too. With all our e-mails I feel like we are friends without even meeting. Warm regards, Wendy and Joel
Positive Rating
We had a great set of tenants at our Vinalhaven home this season, and we want to personally thank you all for taking such good care of our home. Our caretaker has visited the cottage at the end of the season and pronounced it: "Spotless!". Thanks again so much, and if you have any comments you'd care to add to our guestbook we'd greatly appreciate it! Warmly, Wendy and Joel