All About Rockland

About Rockland

Rockland is one of a few small coastal towns that make up “Mid Coast Maine.” As the home of Maine’s largest art museum (more on that below), its also known as Maine’s art capital. Rockland is mere minutes from Rockport (an equally sleepy town) and Camden (more built up than either “Rock”).

Where to Stay

250 Main is a boutique hotel in downtown Rockland. Its design is truly stunning and we loved the set up of our room plus the hotel’s rooftop, where guests are welcome to take coffee, wine etc and relax. Each evening from 4-6pm the hotel offers a happy hour with snacks and one complimentary beer or wine per person. Unfortunately as pretty as this hotel was, we didn’t have a good service experience. Staff were polite, but offered very little help or information, especially with it being our first visit and unprecedented times for travel.    

What to Do

The pace moves slowly in Mid Coast Maine and particularly during our COVID visit, the downtown area of Rockland was very quiet. You can spend some time walking around, but don’t expect an all day shopping-fest. Rather, in Rockland, head to the water or to an art museum.

The coolest thing to do here is to walk the one mile rocky stretch known as the Breakwater. This is a breathtaking jetty that leads out to an old lighthouse. Kids will love that the path is comprised of large rocks with holes in between to jump over (this also makes it not the best idea to do with toddlers).  The path is 0.5 miles each way and truly stunning.

Also in nearby Owls Head, Maine, take your family to see that lighthouse and to play on the beach. 

Right in downtown Rockland you have access to the Farnsworth Art Museum, celebrating Maine artists and The Center for Maine Contemporary Art - both very worthy of a visit.

What to Eat

That we were there during weekdays in the time of COVID put a damper on our food plans; some spots we wanted to hit were closed. We did manage a few great meals. 

Definitely grab your morning coffee from Rock City Coffee, located a block from 250 Main. It’s 100% owned by an employee cooperative and that’s mad cool. For a family friendly lunch in Rockland, Wasses roadside hot dog stand is cheap and awesome. 

One night we enjoyed Cafe Miranda’s “Pizza on the Street” (a COVID pop up) in Rockland, and on our last night in the area, we drove about 30 minutes to Damariscotta, an area of Maine known for its oysters. We had a perfect meal there at The Shuck Station, a former gas station converted into an adorably hip oyster shack.

Camden is also worthy of hitting for shopping and eats. Long Grain is a well known Thai spot in town that, for now, is doing take out only. And we were SO happy to stumble upon Uncle Willy’s Candy Shoppe in Camden. This two floor candy wonderland is must do.