Winter Harbor Cottage ~
Warm, cozy and beautiful vacation rental cottage located in Winter Harbor. You've heard of the 3 season location. This is even better. Sort of a three location vacation. Enjoy being near the ocean, the feeling of being in a cottage out in the countryside and yet you are right in town. Have it all!
One bedroom - Queen sized bed with a wrought iron antique-like frame, end tables, lamps, dresser and chair. (Linens included)
Large bathroom Shower, hair dryer. (Towels and washcloths included.)
Living room - Futon and coffee table, armchair and end table, Television, VCR/DVD and TV stand, and an electric fireplace/parlor stove. There is also a large collection of recent and older DVD movies and videos, hall stand with CD player, books, magazines.
Kitchen - Microwave, coffee maker , toaster, pots, pans silverware, dishes, glasses and cups (etc. etc.).
Front porch - Lobster cooker, charcoal barbecue, double rocker, two chairs and patio table.
Additionally - Tide clock. Central heating. Washer and dryer. Wireless broadband internet access. Bring your cell phone, service is good. Porta crib & highchair available upon request.
To sum it up - The cottage is completely furnished (and decorated) with everything we can think of that you may need even including complimentary items that you may forget like coffee, tea, toothpaste, shampoo, razor and more. As like our other rentals we try not to do things just half right.
The interior has an open ceiling.. In addition some of the walls have been left so that the natural wood is visible to give it that just the right ambiance. Except for the bathroom the floors are natural eastern white pine finished the old fashioned way with tung oil.
I built this the way I wanted it, a place having the illusion of being rustic yet beautiful and with all the comforts and conveniences of home. Pictures don't really don't do it justice. You have to see it, especially in the evenings.
So, if you are like me. You want something special. You don't want to walk into a rental that looks like the house you just left. Then this may be the place for you also.
Welcome to Winter Harbor. Where it doesn't get any better.
Explore and enjoy Schoodic Point with its many beauties and relaxed pace. From here the craft, art & antique shops, 5&10 and grocery store and all the restaurants are just a short walk. You can rent bikes for exploring. Play golf - the course is saddled between two bays. There are multiple lobster coop's and pounds to buy your dinner. And you won't find lobster cheaper anywhere else. If you are here when the lobsters are shedding their shells do yourself a favor and try them. They are tender and sweet and what most locals prefer. You won't get them anywhere else.
Beginning in Winter Harbor during the tourist season L.L. Bean runs a free bus shuttle tour of the Schoodic Section of Acadia National Park and the rest of the peninsula before returning.
Less than a mile up Main Street is the only section of Acadia National Park on the mainland. There is no entrance fee required. The view from the road that loops around the point is magnificent. You can while the day away relaxing and taking in the spectacular views of the islands, sea and wildlife. Wander out on the rocks and picnic or bring back mussels for dinner. Have a cook out or lobster bake and relax into the evening around the campfire if you like listening to the loons after dark at Fraziers Point where there are picnic tables and fire pits for barbecues.. On any given day you'll see lobster boats pulling in the days catch and eagles soaring about the harbor. On other days you can watch the sail boats from the Winter Harbor Yacht Club race.
The hiking trails in the park provide a natural perspective of the park while hikers meander through birches, cedars, jack pines, climb granite outcroppings and over switchbacks. Along the way you can pick wild blueberries, cranberries and apples from overgrown trees on old farmsteads. The shoreline consists of rocky beaches and exposed, weathered pink, red and gray granite and black basalt that varies from 10 to 100 feet from sea to the tree line. Several islands of various sizes, also part of Acadia National Park, are close to shore including Little Moose Island, Schoodic Island, Pond Island, and Rolling Island. A couple of which you can get to at low tide.
Schoodic Head, the highest point on the peninsula. Its 440 foot peak offers panoramic views straight out into the open Atlantic Ocean, Frenchman Bay and Cadillac Mountain to the west. On a clear day you can see the Pettit Mannan lighthouse and preserve on the next peninsula over.
The most southern tip of the point, has granite outcroppings and pounding surf. People come from all over to watch the surf as storms or hurricanes passing by sometimes hundreds of miles away break against the rocks and throw spray fifty feet or more in the air. It really is something to see. There is ample parking space for visitors and it is well worth the trip any day.
It's generally quiet here except for the dreaded Winter Harbor Lobster Festival. Once a year the entire area goes on holiday. Usually the second Saturday in August. The only time of year the tourists are thicker than the black flies. Sometimes the cars get backed up at the stop sign downtown five deep waiting to make the turn for the craft fair or boat races. The day starts off with a 5k road race in the morning and ends with a parade in the evening. Of course there are lobster dinners and barbecues. It's always a good time.
If and when you are in the mood for the crowds and the whole "Coney Island" scene take the ferry to Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island. It's about a 45 minute trip. There is no better way to get there or anywhere else for that matter. Along the way you'll round many beautiful islands with the occasional cabin and see vistas that will last a lifetime. That's one of the beauties of a vacation or living here. You can have remote, secluded, quiet or crowds anytime you want, it's your call.
I could go on and on but I met someone at the docks last year from NJ and he summed it up better than I can "its like being in heaven". Do yourself a favor this year, come see!
Hope you have a great time where ever you end up. ~ Wes