When you are vacationing with Maine Kayak, there is an abundance of Maine historical cultural sites and majestic coastlines to explore with your family and friends. Our New Harbor kayak base is located on Pemaquid Point in Midcoast Maine, 11 miles from Damariscotta Village. The point has many activities including ocean, river, lake kayaking trips, lessons and rentals, fishing, swimming, boat charters, art galleries, museums, historical sites, lodging, great Maine sea food dining and much more. Here are some of the things you can do after your kayaking trip in and around New Harbor.
Pemaquid Beach:
Maine is known for its rocky coastline that winds for over3,000 miles, up anddownpeninsulas and around coves and bays. A tiny percentage of that is sand beach, and most of that is south of Reid State Park in Georgetown. Yet here, in the heart of Midcoast Maine, is a rare jewel: a quarter ofa mile of fine, white sand.
Scientists will tell you this is a "pocket beach" and the sand is left over from the last glacier. But beachgoers will tell you that this is one of the best places to spend a sunny, summer afternoon. And, if you're hearty, it's great place for a bracing dip in the ocean. The water here is clear and pure. In fact, Pemaquid Beach has been consistently ranked as the cleanest beach in the state by the Maine Healthy Beaches Program.
Pemaquid Beach has been a favorite for families for decades. With that in mind, the Parks Commission makes several amenities available to make your day at the beach more enjoyable. We offer large changing rooms, complete with hot showers (there's an outdoor shower, too). You don't need to bring lunch -- there's a popular snack bar serving hot dogs, hamburgers -- even salads. You'll find a rental shop stocked with beach chairs, umbrellas and toys. If you forgot your sunscreen or camera, you'll find those here, too.
Monhegan Island:
Monhegan is a small, rocky island, located approximately ten miles from the coast of Maine. There are no cars or paved roads on the Island and it is accessible only by boat – check out the Hardy Boat tours below which provides ferry service to the Island, just a few miles down the road from our New Harbor base on Route 32 North (South from Route 1).
Monhegan began as a British fishing camp, where the settlers would harvest cod from the Gulf of Maine. Fishing still dominates the economy of the Island. Although the Island has approximately 75 year round residents, the summer months bring artists and tourists who appreciate the solitude of the Island, the beautiful unspoiled wilderness and spectacular coastal scenery, and the quiet and relaxed island living. Monhegan’s art history makes it unique - dating to the mid-19th century and including such prominent figures as Rockwell Kent, Edward Hopper, N. C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, and Jamie Wyeth. Traveling to the island brings you back to what coastal Maine was like 100 years ago.
Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve:
Rachel Carson was an environmental pioneer whose 1962 book, Silent Spring, exposed the impact of pesticides on the environment and is credited with the start of the environmental movement. Prior to this work, Carson was already a well-known marine biologist and noted author. The Edge of the Sea, published in 1955, details her tidepool research on the shore of Muscongus Bay, near the southeastern tip of the Pemaquid Peninsula. This spot was designated as the Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve by the Nature Conservancy in 1966.
When you visit the Preserve, you can enjoy 40 acres of preserve lands and several hiking trails, as well as observe the tides flush and replenish the water and life within the salt pond. The Preserve is just a few miles from our New Harbor Facility on Route 32 North (South from Route 1). Use the link below to learn more about salt pond ecology and Rachel Carson's work.
Pemaquid Point Light House:
The Pemaquid Point Light House is one of the most famous lighthouses in New England and is featured on the Maine State quarter. The lighthouse was originally built in 1827 and rebuilt with double walls in 1835. Although the tower is only 38 ft tall, the light has a almost 80 foot focal plane due to its location on the rock ledge. The light flashes every 6 seconds and is visible for 14 miles. Climb the steps to the top of the light…you can see Eastern Egg Island on a clear day. Tour the lightkeeper's house which is now a museum. Or just enjoy the ocean views, tide pools, and rocky coast.
The Pemaquid Point Lighthouse is within a short, scenic drive of our New Harbor Facility. Follow Route 130 South to the end of the Pemaquid Peninsula.
Muscongus Bay Lobster:
Muscongus Bay Lobster Company is a family owned and operated wholesale and retail Maine lobster pound located on scenic Round Pond Harbor in Round Pond, Maine. They purchase fresh, live lobsters daily directly from their own fisherman at their buying station on one end of the pier and operate a traditional Maine lobster restaurant on the other end. Muscongus Bay Lobster Company specializes in high quality, fresh seafood - serving hand selected lobster and clams, the finest homemade lobster and crab rolls, and locally farmed oysters.
You can watch lobster boats unloading their catch and enjoy a fresh boiled lobster dinner on their spacious deck overlooking the harbor. Or choose your own and enjoy a real Maine lobster bake at home. Our paddlers enjoy Muscongus Bay Lobster Company on all of our full-day and overnight sea kayaking trips. Just a short, scenic drive on Route 32 North in Round Pond from our New Harbor base (South from Route 1). Follow the Town Landing signs toward the water from the center of town.
Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site:
Colonial Pemaquid couples interesting and rich history with spectacular coastal scenery. Home to Fort William Henry, Colonial Pemaquid stands as one of northern New England's earliest communities. The first settlement of the remote peninsula occurred in the mid-1620s. The site offers old foundations of the settlement, as well as the on-site Colonial Pemaquid Museum displaying European and Native American archaeological artifacts unearthed from the grounds such as exotic china patterns, a rare, German Bellarmine jug and various tools of the day. A 1695 cemetery is also located at the site.
Fort William Henry is located at Colonial Pemaquid. The Fort is open to the public and offers views of John’s Bay from the top of the tower. The Fort also houses artifacts retrieved from archaeological excavations of the 17th-century trading outpost. The Fort House, built in 1700’s is adjacent to the Fort. The Fort House is open to the public and features a parlor, library, exhibit room and archaeological laboratory.
Bureau of Parks and Lands staff host interpretive tours of the site. Fish for stripers off of the dock, go for a paddle from the boat launch, or dine at the local restaurant, The Contended Sole. Colonial Pemaquid is located at the end of the Huddle Road, a short walk from our New Harbor facility.
Call us toll free in the US and Canada at 1-866-Maine Kayak
Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site: