Things to Do in Camden, ME

The best way to enjoy Camden is to park your car. This may require driving a block or two off U.S. Route 1, which unfortunately runs right up through the center of town. The village is of a perfect scale to explore on foot, with plenty of boutiques and galleries. Don’t miss the hidden town park ♥ (look behind the library on upper Main St. and Atlantic Ave.): It was designed by none other than the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, the famed landscape architect who designed New York City’s Central Park. It’s a good spot for a picnic: grassy, ideal for people-watching, and possessed of outstanding bay views.

That being said, if mild heights don’t bother you, an ascent to the ledges of Mount Megunticook in Camden Hills State Park  is the area's finest hiking opportunity (pictured above). The park is about a mile north of the village center on Route 1, covers 6,500 acres that range from a seaside lower section to an upper section with fine bay views. The best time for this trek is early in the morning, before the crowds have amassed (and while mists still linger in the valleys). Leave from near the park’s campground—the trail head is clearly marked—and follow the well-maintained path to open ledges. The hike takes only 30 to 45 minutes; spectacular views of the harbor await, plus glimpses of smaller hills and valleys. Depending on your stamina level, you can keep walking on the park’s trail network to Mount Battie, or into lesser-traveled woodlands on the east side of the Camden Hills.

Also at Camden Hills State Park: an oceanside picnic area, camping at 107 sites, a variety of well-marked hiking trails, and a winding toll road up 800-foot Mount Battie with spectacular views from the summit. The day-use fee is $6 for non-Maine resident adults, $2 for nonresident seniors. The fee’s only charged mid-May to mid-October.

Sports & Outdoor Activities Around Camden

BIKING: The Camden area is great for exploring by bike. A nice loop several miles long takes you from Camden into the cute little village of Rockport, which has an equally scenic harbor and fewer tourists. Bike rentals, maps, and riding advice are available in town at Maine Sport Outfitters on Route 1 in Rockport (tel. 888/236-8797 or 207/236-7120). They’re open year-round. The Round-the-Mountain trail is a terrific crushed-stone pathway winding more than five miles from Camden Snow Bowl through the quieter sections of the Camden Hills. Somewhat hilly, it’s an out-and-back route until the full loop around Ragged Mountain is completed.

GOLF: The golf course at the Samoset Resort, just west of Camden in Rockport (tel. 800/341-1650 or 207/594-2511) is among the state’s most dramatically scenic and challenging. It’s also among the priciest, with greens fees running as high as $160 during peak season—if you can get a reservation. Six of the 18 holes literally hug the lapping edge of Penobscot Bay (don’t shank one here!), and the place has got history: It dates from 1902. The course is hard enough as it is, but things become even more challenging once you hit the shifting sea breezes (worst in the afternoon, believe me). Remember that this is a championship-caliber course and it gets busy in peak season, so reserve ahead. Serious golfers will want to play it at least once, but beginners may feel intimidated.

KAYAKING: For an intimate view of the harbor, Maine Sport Outfitters (tel. 800/722-0826 or 207/236-8797) daily offers three sea-kayaking tours of Camden’s scenic harbor, from June through August (but no tours Mondays in June); the tour lasts 2 hours, costs $60 for adults ($55 for children 10–15), and takes paddlers out to Curtis Island at the outer edge of the harbor. It’s an easy, delightful way to get a taste of the area’s maritime culture. If inland waters are more your style, you can, for the same price, take a 3-hour stand-up paddleboard tour of Megunticook Lake, just west of town, in the shadow of Mount Megunticook’s dramatic forested hump. Longer trips and instruction are also available. The shop, located on Route 1 in Rockport (a few minutes’ drive south of Camden), has a great selection of outdoor gear and is worth a stop if you’re gearing up for some local adventures or heading up to Acadia next. Sign up for the tours either at the store or at the Camden boathouse, which is located at the head of the harbor near the town park.

SKIING: The only ski mountain of any significance along the coast is the Camden Snow Bowl (tel. 207/236-3438), just outside of town on Hosmer’s Pond Road. This small, family-oriented ski area has a handful of trails and a modest vertical drop of 950 feet, but it’s the rare opportunity to downhill ski within sight of the ocean. Maybe best of all, it also has an exhilarating toboggan run, open weekends only. Toboggans are available for rent, or you can bring your own. If you’d like to detour inland a bit for some higher slopes, there's a lot of info at the website of the Ski Maine Association (tel. 207/773-7669), including up-to-date reports on ski conditions during the winter.