24 Hours In Lubec, Maine And Campobello Island In Canada
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I recently took a very brief trip to Lubec, Maine. This was a quick stop that was a part of a larger trip that was focused on visiting Acadia National Park, which is two hours south of Lubec. Considering Lubec is almost an 8-hour drive from where I live, I have no idea why I didn’t plan a longer trip. I think I was worried about not having enough to do for a longer trip. So, I decided a quick overnight was the way to go before a couple days in Bar Harbor, Maine.
The plan was to explore Lubec on the first night, then spend the full day on Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada. There is a bridge between Lubec and the island making it very easy to explore during a trip to Lubec. We didn’t even have a full 24 hours between Lubec and Campobello Island, but we were able to do everything I wanted!
The Journey Up
The drive from southeastern Connecticut to Lubec, Maine was quite a long journey. I considered taking the scenic coastal route on the way up, but that would have added a ton of time. Plus, the drive was so long, we wouldn’t have had time to stop and do anything on the way up anyways. I decided to take the most direct route, which was still a 456-mile drive.
As I mentioned, we really did not have time to stop. We left our house around 8am, but since it was a 7.5-hour drive and we were only staying one night in Lubec, I didn’t want to waste precious time doing anything on the way up. I wanted to get to Lubec early enough to have a couple hours of sunlight to explore.
Since we are human and need to eat, we did stop for lunch on the way. We stopped in Augusta, Maine since it was directly on the way. This was my first time ever stopping in Augusta, which is the capital of Maine.
We ventured into downtown, which is cute and historic (two of my favorite things). We were greeted by colorful buildings lining the street. I made a note to myself to come back to explore Augusta on a separate trip.
We grabbed lunch at a place called State Lunch in downtown. It was a trendy looking spot and the food was really good. It didn’t really stand out to us on the street, but my boyfriend found it on Google as we made our way up.
We started with fries as an appetizer. For my meal, I got a bowl of ramen because the AC had me craving something warm. My boyfriend got one of their specials which was chicken tacos that had fried ramen noodles on them. We both enjoyed the food and agreed we’d go back to this spot in the future.
After, we hit the road and continued to Lubec. I did all of the driving for this trip and it was exhausting. For those of you who have never driven further north and west in Maine, there’s a lot of nothingness up there. Like I think these areas were probably populated by more animals than people.
There was one point where I was seeing road signs indicating I was crossing a town line, but the towns literally did not have names. They were townships with numerical identifiers like T2 R40, which are used to describe the location on the map. I was quite literally driving through the boonies, with just music quietly playing as my boyfriend slept through the nothingness.
After hours that never seemed to end, we arrived at our beautiful Airbnb in Lubec.
Day One: Lubec
We arrived in Lubec at 5:30pm. Thankfully, we had a couple hours of daylight to explore the town. I wish we had gotten there a little bit earlier so we could have done a hike or something, but the day was mostly a travel day.
Checking Into Our Airbnb
The first thing we did was check-in to our Airbnb. I booked an Airbnb that was right on the water to try and make the most of our limited time in Lubec. We had gorgeous water views from inside the apartment and from the small deck our unit had.
In addition to great views, the Airbnb actually had water access. In the backyard, there was a staircase (albeit steep and uneven) that led down to the water. There was a rocky beach below that we had all to ourselves. We walked along the water and skipped some rocks for a bit before I decided I wanted to go to West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. This was the main reason I had wanted to go to Lubec.
West Quoddy Head Light
Perched on the easternmost point of the continental U.S. is West Quoddy Head Light. With its iconic red-and-white stripes and dramatic coastal backdrop, it draws photographers and lighthouse lovers. I happen to identify with both of those.
This lighthouse has been on my list to visit for a while, but I had put it off because of how far it is from where I live. But, I knew I wanted to get here this year. Thankfully, I was able to make it happen. I can officially say I’ve not only been to this iconic lighthouse, but I’ve also been to the easternmost point of the continental U.S.
What I did not expect while we were here was my phone changing time zones. This really messed us up a bit while we were there. Lubec is a very small town where most of the restaurants close fairly early. Because of this, we were keeping a close eye on the time so we could get dinner in town.
Unbeknownst to me, my phone had changed to Atlantic Daylight Time, which is an hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Not realizing what had happened, I told my boyfriend we had to get to town so we could get dinner before restaurants closed. Shortly after we left the lighthouse, our phones changed back to Eastern Standard Time and we realized we had plenty of time. We had a good laugh about it.
Exploring Downtown Lubec
Since it was much earlier than we thought, we decided to wander around downtown Lubec, which is quite small. We parked in the small lot next to the Water Street Tavern and Inn. From this lot, we were rewarded with views of Mulholland Point Lighthouse, which is across the water on Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada.
Since the sun was close to setting, I decided I wanted to wander around until the sunset. We wandered over to the Lost Fisherman’s Memorial. The goal of this park is to honor those who have lost their lives in the fishing industry off the waters of Washington County, Maine and Charlotte County, New Brunswick.
After, I spent some time photographing the boats on the water. It’s one of my favorite things to do along the shoreline here in Connecticut. Can’t beat a good boat picture.
Soon after, we were treated to a moody sunset along the water. We walked over to a fishing pier that was at the edge of downtown to enjoy the sunset.
Dinner In Town
After, we went in search of dinner. We wanted to go to the Water Street Tavern, but we were informed that they pretty much only take reservations. Interestingly, I had checked their website prior to going and it said walk-ins are welcome. They should probably update their website. Although, their website does have a spot to make a reservation online.
After Water Street Tavern was a bust, we ended up at Cohill’s Inn, which had a pub. They were very busy and let us know that the kitchen was backed up. They also told us no tables were available, but we were welcome to sit at the bar. This wasn’t an issue for us. They said they’d take our order once the kitchen was caught up with orders.
True to their word, they did take our order when they were caught up. Let me tell you, it was so worth the wait. The food we got was delicious. I got ravioli and it was made with fresh herbs and freshly grated cheese on top as well. My boyfriend got a burger, which he thoroughly enjoyed. We finished off our meal with a lava cake that happened to be gluten-free. This was delicious as well!
Dinner at Cohill’s was a great way to end the night. We would absolutely go back again for a meal! The staff were great and the food was delicious.
Day Two
Day two started with an early morning. I wanted to sleep in, but I don’t do well sleeping away from home, even if I am exhausted. I got up around 6:30am and stepped outside to enjoy the water views at the Airbnb. It was so nice to be able to step outside and have instant peaceful views.
Back To west Quoddy Head Light
After a quiet start to the morning, we headed back to West Quoddy shortly after the sunrise. When we got there, there was only one other person there. He told us we had just missed the crowd of sunrise people. He had said there were at least 20 people and the lot was full. I was happy that we basically had the place to ourselves.
While I would have liked to catch the sunrise, I knew I needed the sleep after the long drive to Lubec. Plus, I don’t love photographing subjects that are backlit so a sunrise there wasn’t exactly my thing. I wanted nice, even lighting on the lighthouse, which is exactly what I got after the sun had risen a bit.
Breakfast
After I got the photos I wanted, we went into town to get breakfast. I have a preference for getting breakfast at cafes and coffee shops when I travel. I like being able to order and take my food on the go if needed. Because of this preference, we ended up grabbing a bite to eat at Narrow Escape.
Narrow Escape is a small coffee shop in downtown that is also a gift shop. We got breakfast sandwiches, an ornament to bring home, a coffee, and a hot chocolate. Since we were in no rush, we sat at one of the tables inside to enjoy our breakfast.
After breakfast, we walked around downtown a bit. We looked at the McCurdy Smokehouse Museum and read the informational sign out front since it wasn’t actually open. It was the last operating commercial herring smokehouse in the USA.
Campobello Island
After, we decided it was time to cross the bridge to spend some time on Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada. Thankfully, it was just across the water, so no long journey was necessary to pop into Canada. Honestly, it was one of the quickest border crossings I’ve had because there wasn’t a ton of traffic trying to cross the border here.
Head harbour Lightstation
First up on our list of things to do was going to the far end of the island to visit Head Harbour Lightstation. It was probably only a 10 to 15-minute drive. To actually go out to this lighthouse, you have to visit during low tide.
If you’re coming from Lubec like I was, keep in mind that Campobello Island is 1 hour ahead because it’s Atlantic Daylight Time. This is very important to know so you actually get there for low tide. For example, when it was 8am in Lubec, it was 9am on Campobello Island.
The lighthouse is on another smaller island that you’ll have to walk out to. The walk isn’t necessarily long, but you have to cross to other smaller islands. That’s why it is essential you get there for low tide.
When we paid the fee to walk to the lighthouse, the guy at the booth made sure we knew it was “treacherous.” You have to walk over seaweed covered rocks and let me tell you, they’re slippery because the seaweed is usually still wet. Honestly, you can have the best shoes on, and they still won’t help you not slip. We actually saw someone fall during our walk out to the lighthouse, so take the warning seriously.
In addition to the slippery rocks, there are steep stairs that you’ll have to navigate. And not only are some of them steep, but one particular staircase was in very questionable condition…it was very rusty and not super level. My brother did this walk in the winter during an ice storm…I have no idea how he did that.
We survived the treacherous walk to the lighthouse and enjoyed our visit. There were definitely times I almost slipped on the wet, seaweed covered rocks. I was wearing sneakers, but like I said earlier, I don’t think wearing my durable hiking shoes would have helped me.
If you’re not looking to make the treacherous walk out to the lighthouse, you can view it from where the parking lot is. There are a couple of spots you can view it. There’s the spot right in front of the parking lot, which does give you a great view, although a bit blocked by trees.
I found my favorite view from the parking lot side was to the left of the parking lot down a very short trail. From this viewpoint, you could see the whole lighthouse, the rocky shoreline, and the water.
Roosevelt Campobello International Park
After our visit to the lighthouse, we decided to go to the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. This park is run by both the U.S. government and the Canadian government. Despite the fact that it is also run by the U.S. government, you will still need a passport to visit because it is actually in Canada.
The main reason I wanted to visit the park was to check out the cottages. There were two cottages that we went into: The Roosevelt Cottage (where FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt lived) and the Hubbard Cottage.
The Roosevelt Cottage had guided tours every 15-minutes. I’d been to both the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site and the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York. So, I was interested in touring their summer cottage on Campobello Island.
On the tour, we were able to see the first two floors of the cottage. The cottage is quite large with 34 total rooms, 18 of which are bedrooms. On the first floor, the most interesting things to me were Eleanor Roosevelt’s desk and items that were left behind by FDR the last time he ever visited such as his hat and his pipe. There was also a cool white stove that said “PRESIDENT” on it that was a gift to FDR when he became president.
Upstairs, we got to see the room that Eleanor and FDR shared together. On the tour, we learned that Eleanor never stayed in that room again after FDR died. She instead chose to stay in the room next-door.
After we finished touring the Roosevelt Cottage, we walked over to the Hubbard Cottage. The Hubbard Cottage was smaller than the Roosevelt Cottage, but still lovely. Inside the cottage in one of the rooms on display, there was a man playing piano, which was kind of cool.
Lunch On The Island
After our visit to the cottages at the international park, we grabbed lunch on the island. We ended up at The Pier Waterfront. The day we went was actually the last day before they closed for the season. We got super lucky they were open! I got chicken tenders (because I’m not big into seafood lol) and my boyfriend got fish and chips. The food was good and there were great water views from the restaurant!
Checking Out Mulholland Point Lighthouse
Next, we decided to check out Mulholland Point Lighthouse. While we saw it from Lubec, we still wanted to see it up close. On the way to the lighthouse, we stopped at the Wells-Shober Cottage, which we initially missed in the international park. This cottage is where they do “Eleanor’s Tea” where guests are able to explore the story of Eleanor Roosevelt and her life of activism and public service.
Then we visited Mulholland Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse was also a part of the international park. There was a building there that I think had information inside, but it was not open when we visited. However, there were informational signs outside of the lighthouse to read.
If you looked out across the water, you could see Lubec. The area where the lighthouse sat was small and there really wasn’t a ton to explore, so it was a quick visit.
Back to Lubec
After the lighthouse, we crossed the bridge back into the U.S. Once again, the border crossing proved to be quick. There were a couple cars ahead of us, but nothing like other border crossings where I’ve had to sit and wait for 25-30 minutes.
Before we left the area, I wanted to visit West Quoddy Head Light one more time. However, this time we didn’t spend a ton of time at the lighthouse. Instead, we walked down to the rocky beach below the bluff. There weren’t really great views of the lighthouse from here, but the beach itself was pretty!
Then, it was time to make our way to our next stop, Bar Harbor (you can read about that part of the trip here). Before we left Lubec, we did make one last quick stop at a pull-off that overlooks Lubec Channel Lighthouse. The lighthouse was way in the distance, but I was able to get an okay-ish photo with my 150-600mm lens. The haze made the photo not super crisp.
Is Lubec Worth Visiting?
I really think that this small, historic fishing village is worth a visit. Since we had so little time, we really only scratched the surface of what it has to offer. There’s a lot of hiking in the area that we didn’t get to check out that we’d love to explore on a future trip.
The other thing I loved about visiting this spot was that you could bring your passport and make it an easy international trip! The bridge connecting Lubec to Campobello Island made Canada super accessible. There were also a lot of hiking areas we didn’t check out on this Campobello Island as well. If I had more time, I’d take the ferry from Campobello Island to the neighboring Deer Island.
If you love lighthouses like I do, you’ll love visiting this area. Although even if you’re not super into lighthouses like I am, it’s worth a visit to experience the beautiful, rugged coastline. We personally loved how quiet the village was. We didn’t even mind that everything closed pretty early in the evenings. I’d definitely love to go back in the future to do some more exploring of the area.
