Snapshots from Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Snapshots from Boothbay Harbor, Maine
📍Boothbay Harbor, Maine
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Dress || Sandals || Similar Hat || Tote Bag
There are some places that seem to perfectly capture summer in New England, and Boothbay Harbor is one of them. Weathered shingles, lobster boats, American flags hanging from old storefronts, hydrangeas spilling over fences and that unmistakable salty Maine air. We spent part of our summer in Boothbay Harbor, staying just outside of town at Spruce Point Inn. I came home with far too many photos to leave sitting in my camera roll. Rather than a traditional travel guide, consider this a little postcard from Maine and a collection of snapshots from our time along the coast.
Around Boothbay Harbor
Downtown Boothbay Harbor is exactly what I want a Maine harbor town to be. It’s compact, walkable and wonderfully charming, with old clapboard buildings, little shops and galleries clustered around the working waterfront. We spent plenty of time simply wandering through town, popping into shops, stopping for an iced coffee and watching the boats come and go. It’s not really a place I feel the need to rush through with a checklist. Half the fun is simply walking around and seeing what you stumble upon.
A Maine State of Mind
There are plenty of beautiful coastal destinations throughout New England, but Maine has a character all its own. Everything feels a little more rugged, a little less polished and somehow all the more charming because of it. Lobster traps sit near the water, wooden docks show years of salt air, boats come and go from the harbor and American flags seem to flutter from every other building. Even in the middle of summer, Boothbay Harbor manages to feel wonderfully removed from everyday life.
Summer at Spruce Point
We stayed at Spruce Point Inn, just outside downtown Boothbay Harbor, which gave us the best of both worlds. We could head into town when we wanted to explore and then retreat back to the property for a much slower version of summer. Our days there were filled with morning coffee overlooking the water, sitting in Adirondack chairs, and watching boats pass in the distance. It felt nostalgic in the best possible way. It’s like the kind of New England summer vacation you picture before you ever actually take one.
Lobster Rolls, Naturally
It would be impossible to spend a few summer days in Maine without fully embracing the lobster of it all. Lobster rolls, lobster dinners, lobster boats, lobster sweaters and even tiny lobsters embroidered on Brennan’s dress. Apparently we committed to the theme. Food in Boothbay Harbor is wonderfully unfussy, which is exactly how I want to eat on a trip like this. Give me fresh seafood, and a table overlooking the water and I really don’t need much else.
The Little Details
As much as I love photographing the big views when we travel, it’s usually the smaller details that end up being my favorites: a hand-painted shop sign, a row of nautical flags, flowers outside an old shingled building, a lobster boat passing in the distance or an American flag fluttering from someone’s porch. Boothbay Harbor is full of those little scenes, and I think they’re what give the town such a strong sense of place. Nothing needs to be particularly styled because the backdrop already tells you exactly where you are.
A Summer Afternoon in Boothbay Harbor
If you’re visiting Boothbay Harbor for the first time, I wouldn’t overcomplicate it. Give yourself an afternoon to wander downtown, browse the shops and galleries, walk along the waterfront and stop somewhere for lunch or an early dinner. Add a boat ride if you have time, then find somewhere to sit with a drink and enjoy the harbor. There are certainly plenty of things to do around Boothbay, but I think its charm is best experienced in the spaces between them. It’s a destination that encourages you to slow down a little, which may be why it feels so much like summer.
Dress || Sandals || Similar Hat || Tote Bag
Maybe that’s ultimately what I loved most about our time in Boothbay Harbor. It wasn’t about checking things off a list or squeezing as much as possible into every day. It was simply a few days of Maine in the summer: blue skies, cold water, lobster rolls, old boats, striped sweaters, family time and nowhere we particularly needed to be. These photos are a little snapshot of that, and exactly the kind of summer I hope Brennan remembers someday.
Love from Maine,
Katie
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