On my quest to complete the Maine Beer Trail (a scavenger hunt put together by the Maine Brewers Guild that is rewarded with a special hidden prize for the beer fiend that can successfully make it to and check in to each of the >120 breweries in the state), I decided to make a small trip to the North of Maine (and Southern Canada) to make it to the northern most brewery in the state, First Mile Brewing, AND more importantly America’s First Mile on Historic Route U.S. 1 AND the Easternmost Point of the Continental United States. An adventure through Aroostook County, or just “The County” as my OBGYN friend Dr. M calls it, I saw some of the most beautiful sprawling fields of potato farms, dandelion fields and nature you could dream of. So, if you have a few days off and are seeking a little bit of a wild adventure, and a tiny bit of driving, I like to think my itinerary worked itself out OK. Honestly, the best part of this journey for me was getting to see the places that my OBGYN colleagues grew up in. I have so much respect for them and it is so neat to see these tiny places they grew up in.

Day 1: Augusta > Lubec + Campobello Island > Eastport

1. Left Augusta post-call (after a 12 hour night shift)
2. Brewery/Lunch: Bad Little Brewing (Machias, ME)
3. Hiking: Eastern Knubble Preserve Trail (Cutler, ME) – MUST DO
4. Drove to Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada
   • Head Harbour Light house – MUST DO; go at LOW TIDE to cross… My mistake by missing that…
   • Mulholland Point Lighthouse – You can see the city of Lubec across the way! Kinda neat to see the US from Canada
5. West Quoddy Lighthouse (Lubec, ME) – MUST DO (Easternmost Point of the US) – Pro Tip: Take the trail from the RIGHT of the lighthouse and walk down to the rocky beach
6. Dinner: Cohill’s Inn (Lubec, ME)
7. Lodging: Kilby House Inn (Eastport, ME) – Does NOT take online reservations! Phone calls only and highly recommended.

Eastern Knubble Preserve Trail (~1 mile out and back)

Head Harbour Lighthouse (Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada)

Mulholland Point Lighthouse (Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada)

West Quoddy Lighthouse (Lubec, ME) – Eastermost POINT in the US

Kilby House Inn (Eastport, ME) – Easternmost CITY in the US

Day 2: Lubec/Eastport > Presque Isle

1. Downtown Eastport is kinda cute, so, I’d walk through it… Featured below is a working scale model of the Quoddy Tidal Power Project that President FDR worked on in July 1936… Didn’t happen I don’t think, but it’s neat.
2. Hiking: Shackford Head State Park – It’s OK, just watch out for Fire Ants, like no joke there’s signs since it’s infested
3. Coffee: Dastardly Dicks Wicked Good Coffee
4. Lunch: Bocephus – UNREAL Banh Mi from here which I took to the brewery (Also there’s a little shop nextdoor called Eastport Windjammers that you can schedule whale tours from)
5. Brewery: Horn Run Brewing
6. Visit: Houlton Farms Dairy Bar and Houlton Riverfront Park in… Houlton, ME
7. Dinner: Irish Settler Pub!

*Not lots of pictures because of the fog!*

Day 3: Presque Isle > Grand Falls (Brunswick, CAnada) > fort kent

1. Hiking: Haystack Mountain – MUST DO – 360 degree view of “The County” was AMAZING but it’s definitely the steepest climb without being rock climbing that you can prboably do
2. Go to Canada: Grand Falls and Gorge – MUST DO
3. Lunch: Poutine at Jack Fries of course
4. Brewery: Grand Falls Brewing (In New Brunswick, Canada!)
5. Brewery/Event: First Mile Brewing and America’s First Mile in Fort Kent, ME
6. Brewery: Northern Maine Brewing in Caribou, ME
7. Back to Presque Isle!

Haystack Mountain Trail (Castle Hill, ME)

Grand Falls (New Brunswick, Canada)

Day 4: Back to Augusta

So, as any followers of this can tell, all of my trips are based out of Augusta, ME, since this was my home base for work. If for some reason anyone follows the path, one of the neat things was that I was able to hit a few Farmers Markets on my back down on Day 4, and it was amazing: Maine Farmers Markets by Day.