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CVOA Mid-Coast Maine & Monhegan Trip

Sept. 11, 12 & 13

By John McCatherin

We've once again lined up a terrific weekend at the Blueberry Cove Camp in Tenants Harbor and a day-trip to Monhegan Island.

The outing this year is planned for Friday, Sept. 11 through Sunday, Sept. 13.

The schedule will include a lobster cookout Friday night with steak or chicken for those not into crustaceans. We'll have a continental breakfast in the dining hall starting at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning and a sandwich bar where you can make your own lunch.

At 6:30 a.m., we're scheduled to be at the Monhegan Boat Line in nearby Port Clyde for the 7 a.m. departure aboard the Laura B. to Monhegan, about an hour's cruise. That will give us plenty of time to hike the scenic trails along the cliffs around the island and be back for the 4:30 p.m. return trip.

For those not interested in the Monhegan trip, the area is suitable for wonderful bike riding, there are canoes and kayaks available for a fee at the camp and the mid-coast towns of Rockland and Camden are just a half hour or so away.

The facilities at Blueberry Cove Camp, located on the south shore of Tenants Harbor, include a dining hall with room for up to 75 people (and a piano), a complete kitchen with walk-in refrigerator and freezer, a dishwasher (how's that for high living), a microwave and a large stove with two ovens, griddle and six burners. And plenty of outlets for crock pots or anything else we need. Plus all the pots and pans, dishes and silverware and just about anything else we might need.

By the way, they're very environmentally conscious and actually prefer we use their dishes rather than paperware.

There are about a half dozen toilets available and three showers. And, if you don't want to tent, there are a number of cabins, one of which has a bathroom. That one is bunkhouse-style which sleeps about 10. Cabins, depending on which one you get, are an additional $5 to $10 per person per night.

There are several tenting areas, some next to the dining hall, others down near the water. And there's a waterfront with access to canoes and a couple of kayaks, depending on the tide. If you're bringing your own kayak or canoe, you can launch at the public landing in the center of Tenants Harbor.


CVOA will arrange for most of the food for the weekend: lobster, steak or chicken with corn, salad and chips for our arrival meal Friday; the early morning breakfast Saturday, including lots of coffee, juice, fruit, breads and hot and cold cereals; all the fixings for a bag lunch on the island with cold cuts, cheeses, peanut butter, jelly, breads, fruit and snacks; one of our famous pot luck dinners Saturday night; and pancakes and bacon for breakfast Sunday with real maple syrup. We'll provide bottled water for the hike, milk for cereal and coffee but bring any other beverages you want. The base cost for the weekend, based on 24 people tenting, should be around $70 per person. You can add $4 - $5 more per lobster and anywhere from $5 - $15 per person per night for a cabin, depending on which cabin you stay in. Not bad for two nights and five meals!

I'll have Monhegan Visitors Guides available for everyone and a limited number of maps, which are available for $1 each at the ticket office. I will pick up and pay for the boat boarding passes.

The island has about 17 miles of trails and you can tailor your hike to your own physical or time needs. But make sure you get out far enough to see the cliffs.

Our agenda is roughly as follows:

Friday afternoon, September 5:

Set up camp at Blueberry Cove (Barb and I plan to be there by 1 p.m.); debriefing (BYOB) at least by 5 and the lobster/steak or chicken feed is around 7 p.m.

Saturday, September, 6:

Breakfast starts at 5:30 a.m., make your own bag lunch (we'll have all the fixings) and be at the dock by 6:30 a.m. Parking is reserved for us right at the dock. Car pool if possible. We board the boat by 6:45 a.m. and depart at 7, arriving at Monhegan at 8:15. We depart Monhegan at 4:30, again, be there ahead of time. Our Saturday debriefing will start around 6 p.m. with our pot luck dinner at 7:30 in the dining hall.

Sunday, September. 7:  Breakfast from 7am to 9 a.m. Break camp anytime, and take the time to explore the area.



And, finally, here's how you get there. Remember, now, it's Blueberry Cove Camp and it's in Tenants Harbor.

To get to the Blueberry Cove Camp, take U.S. Rt. 1 to Thomaston and at Montpelier (The replica of the General Knox' mansion) turn onto Route 131 South towards Tenants Harbor and Port Clyde for just under 11 miles.

After you go through the village of Tenants Harbor, which is part of the town of St. George, on the left you'll see the St. George Town Office with metal sculptures of knights and dragons on the front lawn, or the St. George School on the right. From there it's about 1.1 miles to the Hart's Neck Road. Turn left onto the Hart's Neck Road for .6 miles to the sign for the Blueberry Cove Camp. Do not turn left into the first parking area but go straight ahead to the camp, where there should be enough room for our vehicles.

If you want to go, or have questions, contact me at johnmccatherin@tds.net, or at 235-2121. I'll need to know how many in your party, if you are tenting or want a cabin, whether you want lobster, steak or chicken and what you're bringing for the pot luck dinner Saturday.

It should be a great weekend.