Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In season, there is a small information center on Little Deer Isle just af-
ter you cross the bridge.
On its way to Stonington Route 15 crosses a narrow, man-made causeway
and then passes through the attractive town of Deer Isle. At
Stonington
there are numerous small preserves to visit. It is also the jumping-off
place for the ferry to remote Isle au Haut, which is part of Acadia Na-
tional Park. Just off the town wharf in Stonington dozens of attractive
small islands are peppered in the sparkling sea. This is a quintessential
fishing village without a doubt, but it also boasts one of the highest con-
centrations of art galleries per capita in the state. This area once sported
a thriving granite trade, and stone is still quarried from time to time on
Crotch Island, just offshore.
INTERESTING FACT:
Stonington granite was used
in building the Brooklyn Bridge and Rockefeller Cen-
ter in New York City, and the Kennedy Memorial in
Boston.
Route 9, Brewer to Calais
100 miles, 2½ hours, one way
Highlights:
Reputed to be the rough route of an old stagecoach line,
Route 9 is such a legendary Maine road that it has its own nickname - The
Airline. While some argue that was the name of the old stage line, others
claim it stems from the amount of time a vehicle spends in the air while
vaulting over the road's many bumps and turns.
In recent years road crews have been hard at work to ease the curves and
smooth the bumps resulting in some of the best motoring in the state. With
several years of work ahead to complete the entire 100-mile-long road,
there are still plenty of rough places left to remind modern travellers of
yesteryear.
Route:
While Route 9 runs through much of the state, the Airline itself
really begins in
Brewer
and heads due east toward Calais on the border
with New Brunswick. Head north on Main Street in Brewer as the road
follows the east side of the Penobscot River. Route 9 takes a hard right in
Eddington
and heads through picturesque woods and by open fields be-
fore passing through the village of
East Eddington
. Just head is the
proud village of
Clifton
. Here, Route 9 heads through some respectable
hills. Through Amherst and just past Aurora, Route 9 climbs atop and
follows an unusual geological formation dubbed “The Whalesback.” It is
actually an esker, a sinuous mound of sand and gravel deposited by gla-
cial outwash streams 10,000 years ago. A pullout overlooks the marshy
