I grew up in Aroostook County (Houlton) and only realized how beautiful it is after I moved away and now come back to visit. The St. John Valley, the view of Katahdin from Route 11, the view from the Ridge in Littleton, U.S. Route 1A from Mars Hill to Fort Fairfield, the view of Mars Hill mountain as you round the curve heading south from Presque Isle. So much beauty everywhere!
Paula Woodworth
Goldsboro, North Carolina

Ellingwood’s Corner in Winterport. It has an old cemetery, where many of my ancestors, who settled there in the early nineteenth century from Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts, are buried. There are lots of carved white stones, green grass, and a view of the mountains in the distance.
Ross Ellingwood
Rochester, New York

Cruising Moosehead under Kineo in my boat, then climbing the mountain to the fire tower to look into Canada.
Buz Brewster
Costa Mesa, California

Hermit Island Campground, Small Point: Trees follow the rocky cliffs down to the beach and waves. You travel back into another time of raw beauty and nature up close. There are seven beautiful beaches with few people on them. One time, a niece and I watched two deer dash along a beach and up a dune ridge into beach roses — it was amazing! We picked raspberries near our campsite to put in our pancakes. Delicious!
Phyllis Bailey
Bath, Maine

There is a spot in the Burnt Meadow Mountains, near Brownfield, that the fires of the 1940s did not reach. Looking down a dirt road toward the blue-green mountains is a tumbledown home, once occupied by folks my great grandparents knew. The spot invites thoughts about struggles faced by Maine’s early settlers, including those at the root of the family tree, the beauty of Maine’s fields and wildflowers, its mountains and its forests, all lovingly wrapped in the magnificent sound of silence, save for the wind coursing through the surrounding trees.
Dave Howe
Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Sitting on the porch of the camp that belonged to my grandmother, watching the many moods of China Lake. Lying in the tiny bedroom of that camp in the bed that belonged to my mother when she was a child, listening to the loons calling and watching the moonlight on the lake.

Rose Wershow
Micanopy, Florida

My favorite place is Pine Point overlooking the Scarborough Marsh and Prouts Neck. You can see Mount Washington, the marsh, and the pine trees towering over Saco Bay. Where else can you see the sun set over the water on one side and the moon rising over the water on the other?
Marie Gross
Natick, Massachusetts

Beauchamp Point in Rockport. There’s no beach, and the water is usually freezing, but it’s always fun to jump in or find a wading point. It feels private and local, even though tourists visit frequently. Once during a snowstorm a friend and I snowshoed around the point, and when we went to our swimming spot, the wind was howling, snow was blowing into our faces, and the waves were crashing against the rocks. I’d never really seen it like that before.
J. Heather Goss
Rockport, Maine

Reversing Falls in Pembroke. Breathtaking!
Jackie Grelish
Salem, Massachusetts

My favorite spot in Maine is my own back yard. From my spacious back porch, I can watch the sky, the towering white pines, and my wooded back lot complete with a small pond and, in spring, peepers. After nearly twenty-five years in New Mexico, this is exactly what I wanted to come back to in retirement.
Edward Lorusso
Belgrade, Maine

Upcoming question
What are you most thankful for about Maine?
E-mail your response, including where you’re from, to editorial@downeast.com or send us a note at P.O. Box 679, Camden, Maine 04843.

Reader Photo of the Month:



Location: Millinocket Lake
The Moment: My wife and I bought a cottage on Millinocket Lake and discovered this beautiful, unspoiled beach on the far side. There are no roads leading to the beach. It can only be accessed by water. It’s a wonderful place to have a picnic or enjoy sunset views of Mount Katahdin, and its location is known only to locals and camp owners along the shore.
John Bonadio
Bangor, Maine