Winslow Memorial Park

If you’ve never been to Maine, I highly recommend adding it the agenda. Back when we lived in Vermont, Maine was a frequent vacation destination for us. Not only was Maine the closest state for visiting the ocean, but it has the MOST beautiful stretch of coastline. From the sandy beaches on the southern end of the state, to the rocky, jagged coastline filled with lighthouses, fascinating inlets, and quaint coastal towns as you move north, Maine has some of the best shoreline on the east coast.

The gorgeous Maine coast

Our plan to become full-time RVers was born in Maine. One summer we rented a tiny cottage in Southwest harbor and spent a week hiking and kayaking around Acadia National Park. We started talking about how great it would be if life was like this all the time. What if we could live wherever we wanted and go for hikes in national parks every day? When we got home from that vacation we made a five year plan to whittle down our possessions, sell our house, and live and travel full-time in an RV. Three years later we made it happen, and three years after that here we are back in Maine living in our tiny mobile house once again enjoying the gorgeous Maine coast.

Of course, the reality is that this lifestyle is not exactly like it was that week we vacationed in Maine. There are 8 hour work days, bad weather, noisy neighbors, and things that need to be fixed. But there are also plenty of those amazing views and awesome hikes that we set out to find.

For our first week back in Maine we’re staying at a the Winslow Memorial Park in Freeport.

Water view!

We booked a waterfront site and have been enjoying great views of Casco Bay all week. The waterfront sites are in a single line with enough trees for privacy between sites, and enough sun for solar power. We stumbled upon this campground while searching for public parks on the Maine coast. Maine has a ton of campgrounds to choose from, but if you want to be on the water, you better be ready to shell out the big bucks. Winslow Memorial Park is the exception. The waterfront sites here are only $35/day. That’s roughly half what you would pay anywhere else. Of course, there are no hook-ups, and if you travel in a large motorhome you might not fit, but since neither of those things concern us, we are loving it.

A great view for a great price

In fact, we love it here so much that we already booked another week in August, and we’re thinking about staying here next year as well (yup, we’re coming back east next summer — my brother is getting married in Maine so we’ll be in the area again next July).

Looking down the row of waterfront sites

The waterfront sites have a 2 week limit, but for those who want to stay longer the park offers seasonal sites. The season here runs from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. A seasonal site is only $1,700. Not bad for a spot on the coast. Of course, there it that no hook-up thing, but we noticed that most of the seasonal RVs have blue boys, and either roof mounted or portable solar panels. I talked to a few of the seasonal people who said they live nearby and leave their RVs here for a weekend retreat. Probably way cheaper than a beach house. Many of the seasonal RVs have nice wooden decks and large flower gardens.

Seasonal sites

Aside from the waterfront and seasonal sites, there are some wooded sites in the back of the park. I really liked these sites because they have more privacy, but it’s hard to pass up that water view.

Wooded sites

Not only are we enjoying the campground, but the kayaking here is awesome. There’s a set of stairs in front of the water view sites that leads down to the rocky shore, which has made it quick and easy to go for an after work paddle. Yesterday we went over to Freeport Harbor and paddled around admiring all the boats.

Freeport Harbor

We’ll be moving on this Sunday, and while I am looking forward to next few weeks, I’m also excited that we get to come back here in August.