Hi all!
We're thinking of making a trip to Rockland, Maine for the Lobster Festival, but am wondering if the festival is worth making a trip all the way from Colorado.

The plan would be to rent a house, preferably pretty close to the action, and stay for a week with my family, my two siblings and parents. Any suggestions of which neighborhoods? Should we not get a house in town, but maybe on the beach and drive in?

None of us have ever been to Maine either and I'm wondering what else there is to do besides eat lobster (honestly, I'd be happy doing that all week - LOL).

All help is welcome!

Alyssa--the Lobster Festival is a lot of fun, but I wouldn't travel all the way from Colorado just for it! It's fun and very lively, but also means a lot of congestion through a small area, lots of people and crowding. You may have trouble finding the right rental for that week, as things book up.

That said, I adore the Rockland area. The town itself has great restaurants, some galleries, and is close to other areas of interest on the midcoast. If you take the small roads south of Rockland around the peninsula, you hit some lovely coastal villages--Owl's head (with a very nice pebble and sand beach), Spruce head, Tenant's Harbor, Pt. Clyde. There are lots of rentals in the area, some right on the tidal bay. Note that since its a tidal inlet, swimming usually isn't possible unless at one of the beaches. There's a lot to do--the Transportation Museum is great fun, there's kayaking the rivers and inlets, the Fansworth Museum and the Olson House for Wyeth lovers, ferries to one of the islands, visiting Camden or the other old towns to the North or the Boothbay area to the south.

I can recommend a rental agency that my parents and I've used in the past-- Kinney Rentals and although the house I've rented privately isn't listed any more, there are some wonderful looking ones on VRBO.

We enjoyed our vacations to Rockland so much that we moved here. It's a fun area and you will have plenty to do, but I wouldn't come for the Lobster Festival. Come later in the summer. Check the Maine County Fair schedule on the web and come for the Union Fair or Common Ground Fair. Or any other of the county fairs.

There are plenty of rentals in the area. Coastal Maine doesn't have great beaches but some of the lakes are nice, and are warm enough to swim in. You can be well fed here as well.

Callie