Winterport

Marsh Bay on the Penobscot River just South of Winterport Village (2003)

Winterport is primarily a rural community with its land area extending ten miles westward from the river. See photos. An attraction along Route 139 among the farms and woods is the Winterport Dragway, featuring auto drag races with specialty vehicles and “street” vehicles. In recent years a marina has expanded and an export business has been established on the river. A dockside freezer operation enabled the storage and shipping of commodities such as fish and chicken.

Troy

Classic Barn in Troy (2006)

Maine Route 220 joins U.S. Route 202/Maine Route 9 at Green’s Corner near the shore of Unity Pond. Carleton Pond, Bog, and Stream are accessible from Route 220 in the north end of town. The 1840 Troy Union Meeting House is a classic example of a type of meeting house or church in Maine in the four decades prior to the Civil War.

South Bristol

Boats and Osier

The Darling Marine Center of the University of Maine is located in the village of Walpole. See photos. The population centers in the town’s southern most reaches are on Rutherford Island, perched at the end of a peninsular. The community is home to three nature preserves. Plummer Point is a 74 acre wooded peninsula with over a mile of shoreline. The Tracy Property is a town park with public access to the Damariscotta River. The wooded 18-acre Witch Island Sanctuary, provides two beaches and views of Johns Bay.

Raymond

Jordan Bay across Wetlands in Raymond (2003)

The main village is located at the head of the large, well protected, Jordan Bay on the shore of Sebago Lake. Adjacent Raymond Neck extends over four miles into the Lake to form the Bay. Raymond’s “welcome” sign entices fishing enthusiasts to the “Home of the Landlocked Salmon,” which inhabit the lake. Nathaniel Hawthorne spent summers at his mother’s home.

Porter

Ossipee River in Porter from Routes 25 and 160 (2014)

The main village, Kezar Falls, shares its name with the other half of the community located across the Ossipee River in Parsonsfield, York County. Built in 1876, the two-span 152-foot covered bridge above crosses the Ossipee River. The town, which borders New Hampshire, is served by Maine Routes 160 and 25 (also known as the Ossipee Trail).

Phillips

Mountain View from Route 4 in Phillips

The Sandy River-Rangeley Lakes Railroad, which transported people and forest products to and from the north woods, was once headquartered in the town. See photos. As the Sandy River passes through the village, the river bed appears as frozen sand, almost bone-like in its strange shapes. A canoe trip from here to Farmington begins well below the bridge. Outdoors woman, columnist, and promoter of outdoor sports in Maine, Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby was born here.

Naples

Long Lake on Route 302 in Naples (2013)

Blessed with ample access to Long Lake, Sebago Lake at the intersection of U.S. Route 302 and Maine Routes 11, 35 and 114, Naples has long been a vacation resort community. See photos. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne have sung its praises. The Songo Lock, built about 1830 and now shared with the town of Casco, linked Long Pond and Brandy Pond with Sebago Lake