Weekend Travel

The Five-Point Weekend Escape Plan

Go Beyond the Lobster in Maine

Sails are lowered for the winter in Camden, but vineyards, farm markets, and cooking schools are turning this "down east" town into the Napa of New England.

By Adam H. Graham
Published Mar 4, 2010

1. Where to Stay

Rise early for freshly baked wild-blueberry scones at the Camden Harbour Inn.

(Photo: Courtesy of Camden Harbour Inn)

Get a ski pass to the Camden Snow Bowl—where you’ll find downhill slopes with an ocean view, snowshoe trails, a toboggan chute, and a snow-tubing hill—when you stay at Camden Harbour Inn (from $175). The area gets intermittent snow through March.

Take a cooking class while you stay at the Hartstone Inn (from $175) and learn why Julia Child came in 2001 to sample chef-owner Michael Salmon’s hazelnut-crusted rack of lamb.

Pretend the recession's over at Point Lookout (from $129), a former MBNA corporate bank retreat converted into a woodsy 379-acre resort. The property’s two-bedroom pine cabins look rustic, but are tricked out with Wi-Fi, TV-DVDs, equipped kitchens, fireplaces, and two bathrooms, each with its own shower.