Maine camping with kids

It would be hard to imagine a more perfect spot to relax than the lawn in front of the Linekin Bay Resort by the saltwater swimming pool overlooking the bay and Cabbage Island. Click the image to see the scene full size.

A family resort like none other in New England

The view from our deck, click  to see

The dining room overlooks the bay where...

...Marina, on right, meets her new friend from Washington, Elizabeth. Click photo to enlarge.

Pat & Marina kayak out to visit a lobsterman.

Pat and the kids came in fourth in the regatta.

The saltwater pool looms over the bay.

Children never get enough of the sea creatures nestled in the rocks near the dock. Click to enlarge.

The Maine Aquarium allows kids to pet a shark.

You might get to show your granddaughter how to eat her first lobster. Click any photo to see larger.

Will's mackerel came back with a garlicy, lemon sauce, Marina models an Om frock under the dock. See the ad at the very bottom.

Will visits Capt. Kevin of the schooner Hindu before she is relaunched. Click to enlarge.

Elizabeth got to lead the band on Thursday night in Boothbay and Will compares his new model with the real thing. Click image to see full size.

The kids will get a boot out of the famous LL Bean store in Freeport on your drive home.

By Walter Brooks & Bob Huebner, Photos by Patricia Brooks

For 60 years vacationers who might otherwise be boarding a cruise ship or flying off to five star resorts have been coming to this relaxed Downeast resort-cum camp to go sailing with their children, satiate themselves on Maine seafood and spend a truly unique week with their family.

Linekin Bay Resort was named a top family place to stay in the April 2003 edition of Parents Magazine, and lauded with equal enthusiasm in many other travel publications.

The resort has been owned and operated by the same family for almost 60 years and operated as a summer camp until it was converted to a family resort in 1946. It has a loyal patronage with a large number of guests who have been coming to Linekin Bay Resort every summer of their lives. They came with their parents, and now with their own children and grandchildren.

Stepping onto the grounds of Linekin Bay Resort is like stepping back in time. The resort has a large fleet of Rhodes 19 sloops, a roomy classic nineteen foot sailboat, and is one of the few resorts that still operate with an American Plan where three meals a day are included in the weekly rates which range from $630 to $875 per person, children under 3 are free and those under 10 get a discounted rates.

The longtime resort director, Ron Brann, a native born in nearby Gardner, eats every meal with his children and guests - no wonder the food is so good. When was the last time you stayed at a resort where that happened?

The resort is nestled on the rocky shores of a peninsula at Wall Point that juts out into Linekin Bay and the Atlantic. The picturesque New England village of Boothbay Harbor, which is rich in its maritime history of fishing and shipbuilding, is a mile away. This maritime history continues.

Thirty Cottages on fifteen oceanfront acres

Whether your nautical interests are deep sea fishing, a whale watch, kayaking, sailing or a sightseeing trip to the offshore Maine islands (puffins, anyone?), there’s a boat trip to suit your interests. There are several famous boatyards as well in East Boothbay which is a ten minute drive to the east. We even ran into Captain Kevin of the famous Provincetown schooner Hindu which is being lovingly restored there and will set sail next week to our cape tip community to return to its it's half century of sailing tourists around our Cape Cod Bay.

In nearby Booth Bay Harbor you have the choice of a summer theater, aquarium, railroad village, golf course, candlepin bowling alley, ice cream and candy shops galore, miniature golf, antique shops, artists’ studios, beaches, historic ports and restorations and a Thursday night band concerts on the library lawn where your child can wield the baton.

This unique hideaway called Linekin Bay Resort is but a mile or two from the hub of all this activity. The resort was established originally as an artists’ colony by the Branch family, later served as a girls’ camp, and morphed into the camping with kids experience it is today. Much of the earlier camp ambiance remains, and many vacationers come without children as well.

Watching your dinner being hauled aboard

Linekin Bay Resort includes five lodges and thirty cabins all on fifteen rustic, oceanfront acres. Imagine awakening to the sound of birds chirping in the pine trees. Relax on your porch or waterfront deck in the morning mist with the scent of salt water in the air.

You may see ospreys and seagulls swoop by, or perhaps a bright yellow kayak gliding silently along. Sailboats bob at their moorings, their masts swaying like conductors’ batons over a maritime symphony. The tranquility is diturbed by the splash of sea birds as they snatch their morning’s catch, sending gentle ripples that bounce against the shoreline.

Several morning we heard the distant hum from the lobster boats circling their traps, and soon one appears in front of your deck near enough to count the whiskers on the fisherman's face, gulls circling for a dropped morsel. My wife and granddaughter Marina quickly jumped into a kayak and paddled out to talk to the lobsterman.

One woman this summer celebrated her sixtieth consecutive year there.  Another couple, returning for their third decade, won first place in Thursday's sailboat regatta. My wife, two friends we met and three children came in fourth.

A throwback to another, more tranquil time, Linekin Bay is a place to savor life as it once was in New England. Mom and dad may be relaxing by the heated saltwater pool overlooking the Atlantic as the kids swim and play with new friends, amazed as the difference swimming in salt water can make.

One minute your children are fishing from a dock or pulling up one of the lobster traps, and the next they are playing tennis, basketball, shuffleboard, or ping pong or air hockey in the Rec Room where the camps offers guides to watch your children should you wish to go shopping in town. You can hike, bike, birdwatch, or take out a rowboat, kayak, or canoe.

Food to remember all winter

The chefs prepares three delicious meals a day, served in the Main Lodge, which has panoramic views of the bay. The pastry chef had a surprise every morning, including the best raspberry turnover I've ever eaten. The very friendly wait staff this summer was from Slovakia except for two Czechs. Each meal was excellent although lunches beat the dinners. Do not fail to try the wild Maine blueberry pancakes for breakfast. My grandson Will gave the chefs the mackerels he caught on the Miss Boothbay deepsea fishing boat, at the next lunch they were served to us superbly prepared in a garlicly, lemon dill sauce. It was a lovely, personal touch by a very attentive and caring management.

Every Tuesday and Friday the resort has a lobster bake with steamed mussels, corn on the cob, hamburgers and veggie burgers and other local treats are served outside overlooking the pool and bay and Sunday is smörgåsbord night. The season runs from mid-June until the end of August. In the off-season the resort operates as a B&B and is also available for weddings and other functions.

We hope to meet our new camp-mates, especially Bob, Lanese and Elizabeth, same time next year.

A fellow camper comments

By Bob Huebner

Calling Linekin Bay Resort a “resort” may be a bit of a misnomer. In my mind, a resort conjures up images of beautifully appointed rooms, lots of white fluffy towels, highly trained service staff everywhere you turn, gourmet meals, interesting architectural features (inside and outside), and great landscaping. This is not Linekin Bay. What the resort does offer is more of a “camp” experience where the emphasis is on fun, adventure, fellowship, and really getting in touch with the natural beauty that surrounds you. The rooms were clean, comfortable, simple and bucolic. Our room in the East Lodge had a kind of woodsy smell that reminded me of my grandfather’s hunting cabin in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Linekin Bay is ideal for families with active kids that like the outdoors. The outdoor play area is fairly contained.  Parents can sit and relax, talk with others and still keep an eye the kids. Most parents would feel comfortable letting their kids (6 and up) explore and enjoy the grounds (small beaches, rock formations, woods) without up-close surveillance. The big hit for the 5-to-7-year old crowd seemed to be the tide pools; the intensity with which the kids explored the tide pools would have made any marine biologist happy.

New friends meet at Linekin Bay.
In back. guest author Bob and Lanese Huebner, Patricia and Walter Brooks.
In front, Elizabeth Huebner, Marina and Will Brooks. Click the images to see larger.

My crew for the regatta didn't include Walter.

The social atmosphere at Linekan Bay is very appealing.

No one at Linekin Bay Resort seemed too concerned about impressing anyone else.  People were extremely friendly and helpful especially to those who where there for the first time.  While people were amiable and open to making new friends, everyone seemed to respect each others privacy and need to be alone. A fair number of people kept to themselves except at meal times.  Another appealing feature was how age-integrated the place was.  There is something about the Maine woods which encourages the young and not-so-young to mix well together.

This was most evident in the talent show organized by a couple of veteran Linekin Bay guests. This event brought most of the vacationers together for an evening of reasonably good entertainment, but most important, support and encouragement for those brave enough to showcase their hidden talents.

A few of my favorite things

The highlight of the social scene for the week was the regatta. It was a friendly competition where anyone—accomplished sailor or beginner—could participate.  After a day or two at this resort, one began to feel like you were part of a community but at the same time could do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted.  

The scenery at Linken Bay is splendid.  It would seem like an idea place for nature photographers.  In fact, the low evening light on the beach and bay was amazing in late August.

What is particularly nice is that it is a mile or so from Booth’s Bay so you are removed from the tourist scene yet near enough to pop into town if you wish. Several gusts walked the two-mile or so round trip daily, and bicycles are respected by the drivers in the area.

In addition to the natural beauty, the setting was quiet even though there were a bunch of kids running around.  The scenery and peacefulness of the resort had a restorative effect on us all. 

Another plus:  I found the staff to be helpful, attentive, and accommodating.  This was especially true for the wait staff and cooks in the kitchen who were willing to adjust the standard menu for the kids.  

The biggest draw for me (and the reason I would return) was the emphasis on sailing at Linekan Bay.  Both the Rhodes and the Pearson were great fun to sail.  The sailing instructors were low-key and helpful. They had a female instructor which was particularly good for young girls getting into sailing.   My 6-year old is interested in sailing as a result of this trip.  Elizabeth brought me my seamanship book this evening and wanted to look through it.

That made me happy.

Things to do;

• Miss Boothbay fishing trip, Adults $20, children $16; See site here. 
• Railway Village, Adults, $8, Children $4 (Kids free Sundays); See site here. 
• The Maine Aquarium, Adults $5, children $3; See site here. 
• See the first half of our Maine adventure, White River Rafting with kids, here.

Walter and Patricia Brooks are the founders of Best Read Guides, eCape.com and this online newspaper. They started these companies in 1988 after extensive careers in the newspaper business from The Village Voice and New York Post to MPG Communications and The Cape Codder before launching their own companies. They live in East Harwich overlooking Pleasant Bay. Pat is a native Cape Codder and Walter is a Connecticut Yankee. They have lived on the cape since 1965.

Bob Huebner is a researcher at the National Institute of Health in Washington DC where he lives with his wife Lanese whomis an attorney and their five year old daughter Elizabeth.