Touching down at Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland keeps you central, with surrounding harbor towns and islands an easy drive or ferry ride away. Rockland is a working harbor on Penobscot Bay that has become the art and lobster capital of the Maine coast. The feel is salty and creative at the same time, with fishing boats, windjammers, galleries, and some of the best seafood in New England all along the waterfront.

Standout experiences around Rockland: - Walk the mile-long granite breakwater to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse - Spend an afternoon at the Farnsworth Art Museum and its Wyeth family collection - Eat a lobster roll on the dock or join the Maine Lobster Festival in early August - Sail Penobscot Bay on a classic windjammer schooner - Take the ferry to Vinalhaven or North Haven for a day on the islands - Tour the Owls Head Transportation Museum and its working antique planes and cars - Browse the galleries and shops along Main Street - Climb the Maine Lighthouse Museum tower for views of the harbor

Rockland anchors the midcoast, and the neighbors are worth the drive. Camden and the summit road up Mount Battie are 15 minutes north, Port Clyde and the boats to Monhegan Island are about 30 minutes south, and Augusta is an hour inland. Portland is about 90 minutes southwest. Order a bowl of chowder, watch the schooners come in at sunset, and plan a foggy morning walk on the breakwater. Summer is busy, but September is the local favorite.