The 46-acre Klondike Mountain Preserve is home to the namesake mountain as well as some 3,600 feet of saltwater shorefront on South Bay, an arm that’s part of Cobscook Bay. Summit views from diminutive Klondike Mountain (150 ft.) offer a delightfully beautiful panorama of the Lubec landscape, the easternmost town in the U.S. From the North Lubec Road trailhead, Klondike Mountain Trail wanders through old pastures and an orchard. Explore the spur path to Fowler’s Mill Pond before climbing to the craggy outlooks atop the twin peaks of Klondike Mountain, which is thought to have gotten its name during the Great Gold Swindle of Lubec, a scandalous hoax to extract gold from seawater perpetrated by strangers from away in 1897. The hike is an easy one-mile jaunt. 

Nuclear physicist-turned-brewer Gale White fell in love with the Maine coast while on vacation and never looked back. Opened in 2015 on the downtown waterfront, Lubec Brewing is a welcoming place with big picture windows that frame Lubec Narrows and New Brunswick, Canada’s Campobello Island. Settle in on a comfy couch with a pint of Quoddy Head Red, the most popular brew and one of five classic German-style beers regularly on tap, among the many experimental beers White likes to make (some 23 different brews in 2017). Everything on the food menu is organic and locally grown as far as possible, which changes all of the time, but you can always count on the sourdough pizza, the pub’s specialty. Relax in the salty atmosphere, play a board game, and listen to talented area musicians most nights.

Resources

Hike: Downeast Coastal Conservancy
downeastcoastalconservancy.org   207-255-4500

Brew: Lubec Brewing Company
Lubec Brewing Company on Facebook 207-733-4555

— Text: Carey Kish of Mt. Desert Island. Carey is an avid beer drinker, editor of the AMC Maine Mountain Guide, and author of AMC’s Best Day Hikes Along the Maine Coast.