Looking for something out of the ordinary to do this Thanksgiving weekend? A Thanksgiving in Maine can be a special, unforgettable experience for you, your family and friends. Make Camden, the ‘Jewel of Maine Coast,’ your destination, and have a Thanksgiving weekend like no other where the mountains meet the sea.
Plan a lavish weekend at the Camden Harbour Inn. On Thanksgiving Day, gather for dinner at the Inn’s award-winning restaurant, Natalie’s, a culinary destination and experience of and in itself any time. Natalie’s is an exclusive Maine restaurant with regional and national renown. Thanksgiving dinner at Natalie’s will be all the more special. There’s no prepping, cooking or cleaning, only rest and relaxation and an exceptional Thanksgiving Day celebration. The restaurant and historic Inn is an AAA four-diamond boutique hotel and restaurant, and the perfect place to base your weekend activities out of. Pack your bags and reserve guest rooms or suites for family and friends at the historic luxury B&B. Below is a short ‘to do’ list while in picturesque Camden:
Craft Beer Crawl
Craft beer lovers will be rewarded with a Thanksgiving holiday in Camden. Throughout Midcoast Maine, craft breweries have taken hold. Your choice will be in deciding where to go and how many to visit during your stay. Here are five to choose from:
In the heart of downtown Camden, you’ll find Sea Dog Brewing, Co. The brewery is noted for their award-winning signature craft brews that follow in the traditional English style of brewing. On tap is a healthy selection of refreshing, handcrafted sea-faring ales, porters, and stouts. While enjoying Sea Dog’s signature craft beers, chill harbor-side and enjoy the view.
Rock Harbor Brewing in neighboring Rockland offers a wide selection of freshly brewed, craft beer. In 2017, they were voted ‘Best Brewery’ in the region’s ‘Best of the Best’ competition. In their taproom, you’ll find a nice assortment of pale ales, IPAs, and stouts, among other brews. Brewery tours are also offered.
Twenty minutes north of Camden, in Searsmont, is Threshers Brewing Company. Proudly serving freshly brewed batches of amber, wheat, and brown ales, porters, and IPAs. The brewmeisters craft quality beer in small batches that will satisfy any thirst. Sample a flight, a pint, or purchase a growler for your return home.
Thirty minutes from Camden, up in Liberty, is the Lake St. George Brewing Company. The brewery is located just a stone’s throw from the pristine waters of its eponym, Lake St. George. One of Maine’s earliest craft brewers enjoys the signature selection of pale ale, IPA and oatmeal stout—the core brews— on tap in the tasting room, along with a few other brews available periodically throughout the year.
Just twenty minutes west, in Union, The Pour Farm Nano-Brewery has a selection of handcrafted ales to quaff, be it pints, flights, pitchers, or growlers. The three barrel setup has adopted the ‘farm to table’ food movement’s model for brewing. They will soon brew with hops and botanicals from their own farm. Six taps mean three or four standard offerings, and two or three rotating beers on tap at a given time.
Museums
Why shop Black Friday when you can while away a morning or afternoon discovering the works of world-renowned artists? Midcoast Maine has two excellent museums to choose from—the CMCA and the Farnsworth—and will not disappoint.
With its iconic sawtooth roofline, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland advances contemporary art in Maine, promoting the arts and artists with ties to Maine. CMCA’s striking building—designed by New York architect and North Haven resident, Toshiko Mori—houses exceptional exhibitions and programs designed to catalyze and celebrate contemporary art in Maine. Situated in the center of Rockland’s downtown arts district, CMCA is in walking distance of the Farnsworth Art Museum, the Strand Theatre, and dozens of art galleries and restaurants.
At the Farnsworth Art Museum, celebrates Maine’s role in American art with its nationally recognized collection of works. There are more than 15,000 pieces in the collection under 20,000 square feet of gallery space, featuring many of America’s greatest artists. The collection focuses on American art from the 18th century to the present, with a special emphasis on artists who have lived or worked in Maine. A sampling of the artists include: Fitz Henry Lane, Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, Charles Prendergast, George Bellows, Marsden Hartley, Rockwell Kent, Edward Hopper, John Marin, and Georgia O’Keeffe, among many others.
Explore Land and Sea
In Maine, there is no such thing as bad weather. There are only those who don’t prepare for it. Come Thanksgiving weekend, come prepared for outdoor activities on land or sea. Take a bike ride through the Camden Hills State Park, along the ridges and mountain trails. The Park has dozens of trails to choose from. The Alford Lake Loop is a thirty-four mile ride named for the largest of the seven lakes and ponds along the loop. With lots of hills, the ride is challenging without being overly exhausting, and offers beautiful scenery and relatively quiet back roads.
For seafaring adventurers, Maine Sport Outfitters in Rockport or Camden, offers sea kayak day tours. Those with experience can rent their own sea kayak. The open-ocean coastal sea kayaks are designed to navigate calm through relatively rough waters of the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Much like the craft beer crawl you may partake in later that evening, it’s good to know where you’re going and what you’re doing.