As one leaves the friendly confines of the town of Ellsworth, driving past the turn for Acadia and Bar Harbor and continuing east on Rte. 1, heading further “down east”,  the character of the landscape begins to change and a general feeling of “ruralness” is pervasive.
Passing the turn for the coastal towns of Jonesport/Beals and continuing on through Jonesboro, Machias, Lubec, and on to Eastport and Calais, you’ll see sights that are seen far more often gracing the pages of calendars than are seen in person.
Who hasn’t seen a photograph of the lighthouse at West Quoddy Head (above) or the village of Lubec, but how many can actually say they’ve been there? This is as far as you can go in the eastern United States, where America first greets the day as lobstermen head out for their traps and the locals remain relatively unsullied by pop culture and trendiness.
Travelling up Route 1 near Machias, the Atlantic is on your right and on your left is Hadley Lake followed by Gardner Lake and Rocky Lake. Further inland find Bog Lake, Long Lake, Round Lake, Second Lake, and another Rocky Lake.
The more northern part of this region is bisected by Rte. 9 which runs from Bangor to Calais and is often referred to as “The Airline”. Meddybemps Lake is the large lake just outside of Calais and, to the south, are Lake Cathance, Round Lake, Pennamaquan Lake, and Boyden Lake. North of Rte. 9 find Crawford Lake, Pocomoonshine Lake, and the east end of Big Lake.
Lakefront Locator will get you to available listings in the Calais Area. LakeSmart is a research tool that will give you important information about area lakes.