Visiting Camden at Christmas

Maine towns do an excellent job of decorating for Christmas. Some towns look good, some great, and some stellar. Camden falls into the stellar category. For years, I’ve tried to determine why this is and I’ve come to the conclusion that even when it isn’t the holiday season, Camden simply looks good. It’s an attractive place, so when the powers that be begin their decorating, everything looks all that much better. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Camden is a wealthy town. They’ve got the budget for all the Christmas wreaths and trees, lights and lamps. They’ve also got the employees to do the decorating.

Laura and I visited Camden this December. As expected, the town was alive with excitement and, dare I say, holiday cheer. People were milling about, doing their shopping and visiting friends and family. We arrived during the busy time of day, but luckily that busyness died down as time went on. A little while into it, the hustle and bustle dissipated and we were able to snap some photos that didn’t include too many people.

In this post, I’d like to primarily show off what Camden looks like during the holiday season. I’ll give you a quick walk through of some of the best parts. Staying true to form though, I’ll also offer some facts and figures, just to keep things interesting.

What is Camden?

What is this Camden I speak of? If I had to use my imagination, I’d say Camden is one of the prettiest towns on the east coast of the U.S. For most of the year, approximately 5,000 people live in Camden, but that number grows to 15,000 over the summer. As you can see, it’s a trendy place to be when the weather warms. Why? Because it’s in Maine, that’s why. And it’s on the coast. And the place spews out good energy. Have you ever experienced good energy before? When you drive someplace and get out of the car and it just feels right? Like when you say to yourself, “Yeah, I could totally move here.” I’ve arrived at some lousy places and some wonderful places and Camden is one of the wonderful places.

During the summer, Camden primarily pulls from three locales; New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. As I mentioned above, the population grows from the relatively small number of winter locals to a much greater number of summer wealthy folk. The population is rather wealthy all around actually, but Camden, along with a few other towns in New England, such as Bar Harbor, North Haven, and Nantucket, is extraordinarily wealthy in the summertime when compared to other similar towns.

If you were to visit Camden, you’d find quaint inns with incredible views, interesting shops with the most whimsical gifts, one of the best small town libraries you’d ever see, and the harbor. Yes, the harbor. For some photos of the harbor, please visit my other Camden post. The harbor is probably the primary reason Camden is on the map. It’s one of those things you’d see in a magazine or on a postcard. It’s that pretty. But it’s not what I’d like to discuss in this post. I’d actually much more enjoy discussing what the town looks like in December. After all, there’s a lot of life on the coast of Maine during the winter and I’ll give you a small glimpse of it below.

Where is Camden?

If you’ve ever looked at a map of Maine, you may have noticed that it’s coastline is somewhat jagged, or irregular. There are, let’s say, many nooks and crannies, bays and islands. From bottom to top, the general coastline, meaning, if you took a tape measure and pulled it tight from New Hampshire to Canada, measures 228 miles. That doesn’t sound like all that much. However, if you walked Maine’s coastline, meaning, meandered along every single mile of where water touches shore, you’d walk 3,478 miles, making Maine the home of the fourth longest coastline in the United States. And FYI, Maine is only beat by Alaska, Florida, and California, in that order.

Where does Camden sit along all this coastline? About half way between the bottom to top. It sits right in the middle of that 228 mile distance from New Hampshire to Canada. More specifically, If you were to drive from Portsmouth, NH to Camden, you’d take I-95 to US-1 and you’d drive about 132 miles. It’d take you two hours and twenty minutes to make the trip. Camden sits right on the western end of Camden Harbor, which sits inside Penobscot Bay in Maine’s MidCoast region.

Would you like to see some more photos?

What Makes Camden Famous?

If you’ve never watched the movie, Peyton Place, I highly encourage you to do so. It’s a fantastic film and guess what – it’s filmed in Camden (and Belfast, Rockland, and Thomaston). It’s so weird to see the town in the movie. I’m not sure why. This sort of thing is just odd to me. The fact that the movie was filmed in Camden is the first reason the town is famous.

Peyton Place

Really though, it depends on what you’re most interested in that would give you reason to think a certain aspect of the town is famous, or should be famous. Are you most interested in the High Street Historic District with its 19th century homes? Or perhaps the (very famous to the locals) Camden Public Library and its amphitheater – with its lower level that’s underground. Or should I say, on ground level, but with a lawn above its ceiling. Camden also plays host to the Camden Opera House which offers music, film, and dance shows, Camden Hills State Park for camping and hiking, Mount Battie for hiking and the world’s greatest views of the Camden Harbor, and Curtis Island with its 1830s lighthouse.

I think Camden is mostly famous for its harbor, the West Penobscot Bay, and it’s hotels and restaurants. A lot of the town has to do with boating and relaxing and if you had the money for a somewhat pricey hotel stay, I’d highly recommend spending a weekend or week in town. Your vacation would likely be like none other.

Curtis Island Lighthouse

Christmas Events in Camden

Let’s get back to Christmas. After all, it’s the whole reason for this post. Camden at Christmastime is simply magical. If you were to visit during this time, you’d somehow find yourself enjoying one of the following activities: holiday parades, caroling, shopping, dining, carriage rides, crafting, and a tree lighting in Harbor Park. There’s even a bonfire on the beach. What’s more, during February (not Christmastime, I know), the Camden Snowbowl hosts the U.S. National Toboggan Championships. What? Toboggan Championships? Yes, it’s actually a huge event that involves the entire town. Read about it here. And for more than you ever wanted to know about what’s going on in Camden, definitely take a look at the Camden Famous Instagram page.

Pictures of Camden, Maine at Christmas

I’ll finish this post with some photos I took during our recent visit to Camden. We simply walked around, did some shopping, drank some coffee, and talked to some locals. One of our best conversations was had with a man working in the Lily, Lupine, & Fern wine store on Main Street. We compared stories about moving to Maine, reasons we did so, and how it’s been since. He moved up from New Jersey years and years ago and it was fun to learn about different perspectives. Maine is full of characters and this man is one of them. Good times.

Now let’s get to those pictures.

Inside Once a Tree

Inside Starbird

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