We have officially crossed the threshold of astronomical spring. As of March 21, 2025 the days are longer than the nights in the northern hemisphere. In Maine, the meaning of spring is full of contradictions. One day, you’re wearing shorts and planning your garden, the next a snow storm blows in, dusting the greening grass white. But spring snow won’t accumulate! And hearty Mainers enjoy the last wintry scenes for the season. We remember that the seeds of spring are at work, even when winter rears its head once more. The signs of spring cannot be suppressed. There are crocuses coming up from underground and peepers, small chorus frogs whose croaking sound heralds warmer weather ahead. Here at The Craignair Inn on the St. George Peninsula, we are welcoming the return of vibrant, colorful nature in all sorts of ways. This is how we un-hibernate, shake off the sleep of winter, and revel in the heart of coastal Maine.
Clark Island
Clark Island is our backyard. It’s a bridged island, accessible by foot, and we are so lucky to call it (almost) our own. Every day we walk across the causeway - a raised road across low wet ground - and onto the island. We named our restaurant The Causeway, because of the connection. When first arriving on Clark Island you will notice a house. There is one family of year-round residents on the island, who has been here for generations. On the far side of the island there is another house, occupied mostly in summer, and you may encounter the property borders, but never see the structure itself. Only these owners and the crew from Maine Coast Heritage Trust, who maintains the trails and habitats, drive across the causeway. There are two small, sandy beaches on Clark Island. And even at high tide, there is a plot of soft sand to spread your blanket and set up a chair.
In high summer the water is clear blue and deliciously temperate. Children splash and play in the gentle pool; there are no waves, no undertow, no riptide. There are crabs that may scuttle over your toes, and seaweed and rocks. But it is a safe swimming beach and wonderful for floating, using a stand up paddle board, or kayak. You may also encounter romping dogs playing in the sand. On Clark Island well behaved dogs may be let off the leash to run and roll on the strand. Let’s not skip over the soft months, the transitional times of the year when change is in the air. In spring the most fun on Clark Island is on the trails. There are miles of well-marked, mapped, and maintained trails through the woods, fields, and seaside paths. Some terrain is gravel while in other areas you’ll walk over rooty earth. The island is predominantly flat and level, an easy walk for most individuals. You may see deer, wild turkeys, and an occasional fox.
A tour of the island in spring is an invitation for looking closely and paying attention to subtle changes. You will stumble upon icy puddles and remaining patches of snow nestled deeply in the woods. In the trees you may spot a bright red cardinal among the sticks, and branches will display buds, the beginning of transformation. Strikingly purple and pungent, skunk cabbage is starting to emerge from the wet dirt, so keep your eyes (and nose) peeled for that early arrival. Fiddlehead ferns are another gift of spring. In Maine fiddleheads usually start springing up in April. They can be harvested and added to a salad or sauteed for a vegetal feast. Signs of spring like these are thrilling after a long Maine winter. There is reassurance that we have made it through! Do wear your boots on these woodland ventures. Another name for early spring in Maine is mud season. And we mean it. Melting snow and spring rains mean it can be as messy as it is beautiful.
Spruce Head and Beyond
We wrote about Maple Sugar Sunday in our last article. Maple season endures through spring, and lots of restaurants, including ours, feature maple products in novel and tasty ways. At The Craignair Inn, where a hot vegetarian breakfast is included with your room rate, we serve Gray Jay Mapleworks organically produced syrup on our fluffy pancakes every morning. Our Pastry Chef is doing pear and maple pastries, maple ice cream, and pull-apart rolls with maple butter for the rest of the month. It’s the time of sap flowing, cold nights and warming days, the union of opposites is what causes the magic reaction of stirring inside the trunks and the awakening of nourishing sugars.
The first farmers markets will be opening soon, with greens and seedlings for sale. The Rockland Farmers Market resumes in early May. Located in Harbor Park, on the ocean and will be open Thursday from 9-1 until October. While early markets don’t have an abundance of produce for sale, there are lots of goods to buy and things to do. Locally raised meat, fresh bread from bakeries, cheese made from goats milk, yarn from alpacas, and honey will be on offer at the market. Musicians will be playing fiddles and banjos or guitars, librarians will be reading to young children, dogs will be finding patches of sun for napping.
The Uproot Pie Company will have their mobile oven roaring and the line will be long - but worth it! - for their small hand tossed pizza pies, bialys, and pour over coffee. They use the most seasonal and local ingredients to top their pies - chive and thinly sliced potato or the briefly ubiquitous fiddlehead. The nicest thing of all about farmers markets is the community spirit. On a sparkling day in Maine, maybe it’s a little chilly when the sun goes behind a cloud, so you’re glad you have a sweater, and you buy some small thing from a farmer, and all is right with the world.
Experience Maine Without The Crowds
To recap, some spring days in Maine are almost indistinguishable from winter. There will be very chilly days in April when you wish you hadn’t put away your mittens. And that’s okay! Lean into the lasts. You may not get another snow until December. Take one more opportunity to be snug and cozy, read by the fire, watch the flakes fall and listen to the howling wind. When a warm day does land, the feeling is miraculous. You almost forgot that air can be sweet and soft, that sun can warm your eyelids, that a riot of color can come from what looks like dead ground, that it will stay light late and you can eat a picnic dinner listening to the birds chirping. There are so many ways to get outside around the MidCoast of Maine. Let’s take a drive up Route 1 to picturesque Camden by the sea.
Camden is a pretty coastal village with a robust retail Main Street and a near-perfect harbor with an adjacent green park. It is quaint and affluent and can be extremely crowded in high season. We think a half day road trip from The Craignair Inn up to the Camden, Maine area is an ideal project for a spring vacation. We recommend:
Merryspring Nature Center
Merry Spring is a free nature preserve open to the public during daylight hours every day of the year with flower gardens and groves, meadows and insects, vernal pools and fairy houses. It is a sweet, sylvan park with picnic tables and labeled gardens. There are many educational opportunities, lectures and reading and events, for those who wish to learn about gardening in Maine’s distinct climate and ecosystem, about botany and geology, and connect with like-minded nature lovers in the heart of the MidCoast.
Camden Hills State Park
There are two ways to approach Mount Battie, the peak of Camden Hills State Park. You can drive up the road to the lookout point at the top where a little castle relic is the perfect photographic counterpoint to the valley below, or you can hike any number of trails that will lead you to soaring summits with incredible views. Camden Hills State Park, just beyond Camden Village on Route 1 north is a must for hikers and sightseeing enthusiasts.
The Camden Public Library
The Camden Library is one of the prettiest libraries in America. The setting next to a woodsy amphitheater perfect for Shakespeare in the Park across from the water, the architecture, and the views from the upper level offer so much opportunity for public beauty and highlight what happens when we build thoughtfully with the environment in mind. Even if you aren’t a bibliophile it’s worth the walk to take in the salty sea air and sails of Camden Harbor.
Laugh Loud Smile Big
Do you like cupcakes? Of course you do! Do you like small, woman-owned businesses? Again, how can you not? Laugh Loud Smile Big is Camden’s answer to New York City’s Magnolia Bakery. Their sweet treats are as pretty as they are delicious, and you can sit inside with a cup of coffee if the weather is wet and chilly or walk down to the river and look for ducks on a fine spring day.
First Fig
Distinguished Camden has a long and noble literary history. Its most notable writer resident was poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, who wrote of her hometown:
All I could see from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood
I turned and looked another way,
And saw three islands in a bay.
First Fig is a wine shop named for another of St. Vincent’s famous poems. More than a store, it is a gathering place where oysters are opening and wine flows during special tasting events. There’s a back garden patio on Main Street, near the Camden Opera House across from the Episcopal Church and the town green and it all feels extremely New England and bohemian. It’s good to be there on a crisp evening.
That's really the beauty of spring in Maine. The paradox. The overlap. The complexity. There will be flowers and there will be Easter egg hunts and there will be May Day and there will be picnics and nights by the fire. There could be three seasons in one weekend, and that's extraordinary. Maine is a constant surprise of inconstancy, which is one of the many reasons that we love it here, and think you will, too. Make a reservation at our year round inn this spring to experience the wonder and magic of our world.