Thousands of years ago, the land that is now Maine was buried under a mile-high glacier which slowly moved across it, scraping away at the soil beneath. When the ice receded, the state’s signature rocky coast, rugged landscape, and acidic soil were left in its wake. Wild lowbush blueberries, which thrive on rocky terrain, naturally sprung up along the glacial outwash plains. Now the state is the largest producer of wild blueberries in the world, covering 44,000 acres with more than 1,500 varieties including the Sourtop, Polaris, and Bilberry.
These tiny, super-charged versions of the common, farmed (high-bush) variety thrive as they have for thousands of years. The berries are not picked but raked from the barrens where they grow using long-tined hand-held rakes, a backbreaking pursuit and probably best left to the professionals (these days most outfits have switched over to mechanical picking).
The season when they abound is also peak time to visit Maine, especially the coastline—longer than California’s. The Atlantic gets just warm enough to take a plunge, hikes are scented by balsam and sea air, and lobster pounds seem to steam around the clock. The berries are easy to find: sold off of card tables by the roadside, baked into pastries and pie, brewed into beer, cooked into jam. Or should you be curious to see a barren, point the car North, toward Cherryfield, the berry capital. As the season progresses, the berry fields turn crimson, making a stunning case for a late-summer foray. But here are the places to be, berries or not, during Maine’s short but incredible high season.
Bar Harbor
One of the state’s most beloved destinations and the gateway to Acadia National Park, this coastal town has long been a destination for the wealthy, who built (and continue to build) exquisite estates to escape the cities. It’s also a favorite for hardcore hikers, seafood cravers, and those needing time on the water. For the latter, the four-masted windjammers of the Down East Windjammer fleet are the known way to cruise Frenchman’s Bay under full sail. It’s particularly special at sunset, after which Abel’s Lobster—in a spruce grove on Somes Sound—is one of the best places to check all the boxes of a New England seafood feast: local oysters, lobster roll on brioche, and seawater-steamed lobsters with a pool of butter. Ice cream is ubiquitous in coastal Maine, but great ice cream is harder to find. At Mt. Desert Ice Cream the handmade scoops change with the seasons (but if it’s on the board, try the blueberry buttermilk). For a balanced dose of the outdoors, do a day or do at Acadia, where foot trails or horseback riding can culminate at the Terramor, a glamping retreat with well-appointed tents, a pool and hot tub, stargazing lectures, and a lodge with specialty cocktails. Or, if weather pushes a day indoors, walk the Abbe Museum—the only Smithsonian Affiliate in Maine—to learn about the Wabanaki Nations who not only first inhabited the region but were the first great cultivators of its wild berries.
