February/March 2015 | view this story as a .pdf

Book now for a nostalgic night to remember.

From Staff & Wire Reports

If you’re not ready to plunk down $1Million or more to buy your own rustic retreat, so what? Henry David Thoreau never bought a luxury lodge up here, either, and he wrote the book on The Maine Woods. Grab your fishing gear and your most reliable chip-enabled credit card and head on out to God’s country, where you can stay in any number of Maine wilderness attractions amid breathtaking beauty.

 

Rustic Sophistication

The Lodge at Moosehead Lake, Greenville

Greenville, the Lodge at Moosehead Lake also cultivates an elastic rusticity, walking the tightrope between being a “AAA 4 Diamond and Select Registry Property”  and an authentic stop in the North Woods. The lodge has nine rooms served up in the Moosehead tradition, including “Jacuzzi-style bathtubs.” The Totem Room is “for the wild at heart,” with “rates starting at $319 single or double occupancy (plus tax).” Above the gas fireplace, “A large ‘dream catcher’ hangs at the head of your bed. According to Indian lore, nightmares pass through the holes and out the window. But good dreams are trapped in the web, and then slide down the feathers to the sleeping person below.” www.lodgeatmooseheadlake.com.

Pine Tree Jungle

The Libby Camps, Ashland, North of Katahdin

Rusticators and adventurers have fallen in love with the Libby Camps for 125 years. Savvy from the first, the yankee marketeers up here tapped into the luxury travel market as early as the 1920s with adverts like “Only a four night trip from New York City.” Socialites and plutocrats like J.P. Morgan took heed.

Tell us about JP Morgan’s visits.

One of the outpost camps on Clear Lake was built for JP Morgan. Back then a lot of wealthy people had a sporting camp build them a camp somewhere so they could get out of the city for the summer. Many of the names of our camps at the main lodge reflect that. They are named for the people who stayed in them for the entire summer.

Who are some of the famous visitors?

Jonathan Bush (George Sr.’s brother) was here a few years ago. Teddy Roosevelt and Jack Dempsey…

What do guests do here?

Our motto is catch and relax. We cater to a lot of “hardcore” fishermen who want to be on the water from dawn to dusk, but we mostly have people who want to relax, and the fishing is a bonus. We’ll see them just sitting on their cabin porch, watching the lake. We’ll ask, “Didn’t you want to go fishing?” Most respond, “What’s the rush?” They’re here to get away from the hustle and bustle.

What about your guests surprises you the most?

Most people have never been in the dark before. There is always some sort of artificial light where they live. Another thing we notice: they can be pretty surprised by the sky. Packages start at $225, including maid service.

Discover Your Inner Campfire Girl

Migis Lodge, South Casco

Established in 1916, Migis Lodge was called National Camps until 1924, when Charlotte Gulick, founder of the Campfire Girls, renamed it, according to the resort’s website, which translates Migis as “place to steal away to rest” in Abenaki. Beyond the view, the library, and the great porch for cocktails, Migis has the singular advantage of offering the only knotty-pine dining room open to the public on Sebago Lake. The central lodge has six rooms, but the handsome 125-acre campus has innumerable cottages with names like Raven, Birch, Loon, Driftwood, and Skylark, most if not all with romantic fireplaces. Think of Migis as a luxury camp for whole families. Because the experience is ten full J-strokes into the Maine mystique, it’s a bit set in its ways. Paddle in: “Migis Lodge is a Full American Plan destination resort, and all rates listed are per person per night.  These include three meals each day plus the use of resort facilities. Adult rates vary throughout the season and range from: $199 – $415 per person per night.  207-655-4524.”

Rustic Ecstasy

Sprucewold Lodge, Boothbay

Built in 1921, the legendary Sprucewold lodge was once considered “the largest log in the world.” The site was discovered in 1915, when “a New Yorker came up to do some logging on Spruce Point, which separates Linekin Bay from Boothbay Harbor,” says Richard Poor, who owns and operates classic Sprucewold Lodge with his wife, Dana. “But once the logs came tumbling down, it was as if a curtain opened. He had real vistas of the harbor.” Now you can have those vistas, because Sprucewold is for sale, for $1.075M. If you buy it as a single-family house, you’ll have 26 rooms with en suites and a whopper of a dining room.