Room at the Inn

Captain Nickels Inn

WALDO COUNTY OFFERS A UNIQUE COLLECTION OF PLACES TO STAY THAT MAKE SOCIAL DISTANCING A CINCH.

Traveling has become a tricky proposition thanks to the pandemic. But the region is brimming with out-of-the-box lodging options — from yurts to historic inns to private cottages, campgrounds, and farmside retreats — that let you get far from the madding crowds and soak in Waldo County’s majestic coast and bucolic charm.

CAMP OUT

Itching to get back to nature, but don’t want to give up creature comforts like a real mattress? At Stockton Harbor Yurts, you can spend the night in a yurt and spend the days lolling on the private beach, paddling around Stockton Harbor, or exploring the woodland trails and gardens of the 36-acre site. Each yurt, a round tent with wood framing, is insulated and heated, and comes fully equipped with a bath, shower, and kitchen. Owners Jillian and Sandy Liversidge opened the yurts in 2020.

For travelers searching for a safe getaway, the yurts “turned out to be the perfect retreat, where families could relax, be in green space, and enjoy the harbor,” Jillian says.

Waldo County has plenty of other options for sleeping under the stars, whether you want to pitch your own tent or you’re traveling with an RV, including Searsport Shores Ocean Campground and Moorings Oceanfront RV Resort, which offer access to private beaches and kayak launches, along with amenities like laundry and free Wi-Fi.

Stockton Harbor Yurts

Stockton Harbor Yurts

Stockton Harbor Yurts

LIVE A LITTLE HISTORY

The region has a throng of storied seaside inns where you can spread out in style and experience the area’s wealth of antique architecture. In downtown Belfast, you'll find a number of small historic B&Bs, like the Alden House Inn, an 1840 mansion built in the Greek Revival style, and the ornate Victorian Jeweled Turret Inn, built around 1898.

Over in Lincolnville Beach, the Colonial-style Spouter Inn Bed and Breakfast, built in 1832, is just steps from shops, restaurants, the beach, and the ferry to Islesboro. Each of the eight rooms has ocean views. Over in Searsport’s downtown historic district, you can stay at the Captain Nickels Inn, an 1874 landmark built in the Italianate style, which offers panoramic vistas of Penobscot Bay. The dynamic mother-daughter ownership team of Dawn and Cassidy Gintz bought the property in 2019 and have lovingly restored it. With gracious sitting rooms, a library, a solarium, and three large decks, “our guests never run out of places to social distance and relax,” Dawn says.

RENT A COTTAGE

If you’re looking for a home-away-from-home experience, Waldo County has plenty of individual cottages for rent, so you can handle all your own cooking in-house. That includes Pine Grove Cottages in Lincolnville. Each of the nine cottages offers a deck, kitchenette, and barbeque. In 2020, guests found that the decks offered an opportunity to safely socialize with other travelers while keeping their distance. If you want to see what it’s like to live like a local, head over to the historic seaside village of Bayside, which was settled as a Methodist summer camp in the 1850s and has since blossomed into a year-round community. You can rent one of the privately owned homes managed by Bayside Cottage Rentals, which offers everything from charming bungalows perfect for a couple’s getaway to expansive guest houses that can accommodate families of 10. All properties are within walking distance of the ocean, local library, weekly regattas, sailing lessons, nine-hole golf course, and intimate coves where you can comb the sand for sea glass. “We call it a land lost in time where you can go back to the simpler pleasures,” says Bayside Cottage Rentals owner Jennika Lundy. “People really appreciate those times when they can unplug.”

Searsport Shores Oceanfront Campground, Pine Grove Cottages

Bayside Cottages

Benjamin Williamson

Toddy Pond Farm

GET DOWN ON THE FARM

Small farms abound in rural Waldo County, and if you’re curious about what everyday life is like, you can spend a getaway at a cottage on Toddy Pond Farm in Monroe, which is nestled on 500 private acres overlooking the pastures and the namesake pond. The cottage is within sight of the farm, but offers total privacy and many options for outdoor fun. You can swim, kayak, and relax on the private waterfront, explore the woodland trails, enjoy farm-fresh veggies, cheese, and milk that are produced on-site at its farm store. You can meet the resident sheep, cows, pigs, and chickens, and May through November you can get a tour of the farm from owners Heide and Greg Purinton-Brown.