A two-nation Atlantic coastal getaway

What are the elements of a great Atlantic getaway? Long white sand beaches, perhaps. Lighthouses. Villages filled with studios and craft shops. Historical sites offering perspectives on our past. Coastal headlands where you might spot eagles, seals even whales. Wonderful food.

All these can be found along the Quoddy Loop. Encompassing tiny corners of two countries, the Quoddy Loop stretches along the Maine and New Brunswick coastlines of Passamaquoddy Bay. The area includes St. Stephen, Saint Andrews, St. George, Deer Island and Campobello Island in New Brunswick, and Lubec, Eastport and Calais, Maine. The loop is small enough to travel in a day, but the area is so rich in culture and beauty you might want to stay for weeks.

Festivals

A fun way to appreciate the region is by attending one of the many festivals being held. Here are a few:

• St. Stephen: Chocolate Fest
• St. George: Granite Town Wild Blueberry Festival
• Saint Andrews: Indulge Food and Wine Festival, Seafood Festival, ARTrageous
• Lubec: Arts Alive, Lubec Pirate Festival
• Eastport: Eastport Salmon and Seafood Festival, Eastport Pirate Festival
• Campobello Island: Fog Festival
• St. Stephen and Calais: International Homecoming Festival
• Maine portion of the Quoddy Loop: Down East Spring Birding Festival

Natural wonders

The Quoddy Loop possesses spectacular beauty ranging from the white sandy beaches of Herring Cove Provincial Park to the rocky shorelines of Quoddy Head State Park. The 2800-acre Roosevelt Campobello International Park has 16 km of hiking trails through a range of habitats.

Cobscook Bay State Park, which lies between Lubec and Eastport, is a stunning place to picnic, dig clams or camp. The park encompasses many small coves and inlets; as a result, most camping and picnic sites have private views of the water. To top it off, some of the sites have stone fireplaces or log shelters.

If are lucky, you can spot the Old Sow, the largest tidal whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere. The whirlpool, which can span 250 feet, generates a loud sucking noise like that of a pig. It forms three hours before high tide and remains for a couple hours. Although its precise location varies, the whirlpool is generally found between Eastport and Deer Island.

Exercise, with a view

A green with a view: On Campobello, the Herring Cove Provincial Park Golf Course is a 9-hole Geoffrey Cornish design with a striking view of the Bay of Fundy. The Algonquin Resort in Saint Andrews has a 7000-yard par-72 golf course overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay. The resort, which has just undergone a $30-million upgrade, has a spa and a pool with a three-storey water slide.

The area also hosts the Bay of Fundy International Marathon linking Lubec and Campobello, the TRI St. Andrews by-the-Sea triathlon and half-marathon following Saint Andrews’ Indulge Festival.

If strolling garden paths is more your style, visit Kingsbrae Gardens in Saint Andrews. The 27-acre garden also has an outdoor sculpture exhibit and Savour in the Garden, a restaurant that offers “elevated comfort food” during the day or a tasting menu in the evening.

Fresh and tasty

You can get both great ingredients and wonderful meals in the Quoddy Loop. Lobster, wild blueberries and farmed salmon are the major exports, but you can also find organic vegetables and home baking at the farmers’ markets in the larger communities.

On the road from Calais to Lubec, you can buy food directly from the gardeners and harvesters; look for hand-made signs in front of houses selling blueberries, free range eggs, vegetables or fresh clams.

Saint Andrews has many fine dining restaurants. Outside town, the Rossmount Inn is a culinary inn where the menu changes daily to reflect the fresh produce sourced by chef Chris Aerni from market gardeners, farmers and fishermen. He supplements these ingredients with herbs, vegetables and flowers harvested from the inn’s garden and mushrooms gathered in the nearby forest. Guests are encouraged to walk through the garden and talk to the inn’s gardener.

Another treat is Eastport’s Raye’s Mustard, the only mustard in North America made with a traditional stone-ground mill. You can taste (and buy) two dozen types of mustard and tour the museum/factory to see how mustard is made.

At Monica’s Chocolates, you can enjoy exquisite hand-made chocolates. Monica, who moved from Peru to Lubec 15 years ago, creates elegant confections using high-quality ingredients (such as organic pistachio paste from Italy and bittersweet chocolate).

For a taste of New Brunswick’s confectionary history (including Ganong chicken bones), go to the Ganong boutique in St. Stephen. The adjoining Chocolate Museum offers a glimpse into the story behind the Ganong Bros. Limited, Canada’s oldest family-owned candy company. During August, the whole town celebrates Chocolate Fest.

Arts and culture

The Quoddy Loop is filled with artisans, and their work is concentrated in Saint Andrews, Lubec and Eastport. A key institution is Saint Andrews’ Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Centre, which has a gallery, workshop space and concert venue. Across the border, The Eastport Arts Center presents plays and concerts in a 177-year-old church, while the Eastport Gallery shows the work of a collective of artists. Nearby, the Commons Eastport features the work of 90 artisans of Canada, US and the Passamaquoddy First Nation, all of whom live within 50 miles of Eastport.

You can learn to create your own masterpieces while on holiday. Sunbury Shores offers workshops in arts and crafts, ranging from introductory courses to weeklong explorations of photography, pottery, painting, writing and other media. If you’re interested in fibre arts, visit the Cricket Cove yarn shop in Black’s Harbour.

In Lubec, Maine, you can study music (piano, oboe, mandolin and more), writing or photography with the SummerKeys program.

Lighthouses

The coastline is peppered with lighthouses including the East Quoddy Head Light on Campobello, which is accessible by foot at low tide. West Quoddy Lighthouse, built in 1857, is on the easternmost point of continental United States, outside Lubec.

History

The history of the region is commemorated at the St. Croix International Historic Site outside Calais. As you walk along a trail through the woods, you encounter life-size bronze statues depicting the French settlers who landed in 1604 and the Passamaquoddy natives who helped them survive.

In Lubec and Eastport, the legacy of the sardine fishery lives on in the old factories and new art exhibits inspired by the past.

Since the 1880s, Saint Andrews and Campobello have been summer retreats for wealthy Canadians and Americans. The Algonquin Resort reflects that legacy in Saint Andrews, whereas Roosevelt Campobello International Park preserves the history on Campobello, where US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spent many summers.

FDR’s summer residence is the keystone of the international park, which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year. The 34-room cottage provides a glimpse into the past while the interpretative centre describes historic and current US-Canada relations. Attend “Tea with Eleanor” to learn about the First Lady who served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

The Quoddy Loop offers something essential to an Atlantic getaway—friendly people who take pride in their communities. You're sure to receive a warm welcome.