1. Bradley Inn
City: New Harbor, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 677-2105 or (800) 942-55
Address: 3063 Bristol Rd.
Description: An absolutely beautiful inn on Pemaquid Point, this rambling, 16-room, turn-of-the-20th-century hostelry has fine views and a variety of lodging options. Choose from among rooms in the main inn, with four-poster beds, period furnishings, views, and private baths; in the Carriage House Suite, which occupies an old barn; or in the Garden Cottage, with its fieldstone fireplace and screened-in porch. The dining room here is about as good as it gets in Maine, and the rooms are very well appointed.
2. Hardy Boat Cruises
City: New Harbor, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (207) 677-2026 or (800) 278-33
Address: Route 32
Description: One of the companies that provide service to enchanted Monhegan Island, Hardy Boat also offers any number of trips on a daily basis aboard its 60-foot excursion vessel, Hardy III. Among the highlights is the one-hour lighthouse cruise, a sunset ride that departs New Harbor at 7:30 p.m. daily in summer and heads to Pemaquid Light to watch it and a handful of other beacons blink on with the coming darkness. Reservations are recommended for the $12 trip. Another good one is the fall foliage cruise past the islands of Muscongus Bay, a 90-minute ride where you can see the glows of red and orange against a backdrop of dark sea and black spruce. Spectacular. That cruise goes out daily through September (better viewing is the latter half of the season), and on Wednesdays and weekends after that. The trip is $16 for adults, $11 for children.
3. Hardy Boat Cruises
City: New Harbor, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (207) 677-2026 or (800) 278-33
Address: Route 32
Description: Best known as a ferry to Monhegan Island, the folks at Hardy Boat also make daily runs to Eastern Egg Rock to see the crazy puffins there, and they have a trip that goes to Monhegan first and then to the puffins, combining two Maine favorites. Puffin watches leave New Harbor at 5:30 p.m. and last an hour or so every day from mid-June through late August, and on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday from mid-May through mid-June. Fare is $22 for adults, $14 for kids.
4. Maine Kayak
City: New Harbor, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (866) 624-6352
Address: 113 Huddle Rd.
Description: Alvah Maloney has built himself quite the kayak empire, offering saltwater based trips from his Pemaquid Peninsula home—which gives great access to both John’s and Muscongus Bays—and whitewater stuff up north. Muscongus especially is one of the nicest places to paddle in Maine (if not the world) and Maloney puts it to good use. He has half-day, full-day, and overnight trips that end the day either on an island or at an inn. Explore the options at his site.
5. Bradley Inn
City: New Harbor, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 677-2105 or (800) 942-55
Address: 3063 Bristol Rd.
Description: A real find, this turn-of-the-20th-century inn serves up some fantastic Pemaquid oysters (the Damariscotta region is famous for the little bivalves). Seafood is prominent on the menu, from salmon to halibut. Try the tasting menu to sample several different flavors and see if you agree with some that the inn’s dining room is among the best in the state. Open year-round.