stonington/deer isle or corea/prospect harbor (Ellsworth, Bar Harbor: movies, school)

[winterpeace]

Hi--we hope to vacation in Maine this fall and are torn between the areas of stonington/deer isle and prospect harbor/corea. We've never been to Maine, so are not familiar with these areas. Any opinions??
Thanks!

[Acadianlion]

There are many similarities and many differences. The biggest difference is that Stonington/Deer Isle is at the end of the Blue Hill Peninsula and as such has much more activity. From there you are in easy reach of Castine. You can also take the ferry across to Isle au Haut and enjoy the Acadia National Park that few know about.

Corea and Winter Harbor are delightful. This area is near to the section of Acadia National Park that is on the Schoodic Peninsula, but there is much less to do here generally...fewer restaurants within easy commute and depending how deep into the fall you plan to vacation, a lot of seasonal tourist places will have shut down for the winter.

Either location is more than an hour from Mt. Desert Island where Bar Harbor is located and where the main part of Acadia National Park is located.

I would be hard pressed to chose one area over the other because I love them both.

[deerislesmile]

Deer Isle? Why would you ever want to go there?

I'm not familiar with Corea and surrounding area- have been there a few times for boat-related business, but never to stay for long.

Deer Isle, however.... I've lived on the island my whole life, so feel qualified to respond here. If I were visiting, some possible activities (with drive time) might include (I would include links, but I think I am not supposed to...):

-Kayaking with Old Quarry Adventures in Stonington
-Viewing the lillies at Ames Pond in Stonington
-Swimming at the Lilly Pond in Deer Isle (because the ocean is so darn cold!)
-Mailboat from Stonington over to Isle au Haut for the day
-Eating breakfast with the local fishermen (early, though- 5 a.m.!) at the Harbor Cafe.
-Nature walks at many of the nature preserves and trails on Deer Isle
-Visit to Nervous Nellie's Jams and Jellies in Sunshine (an appendage of Deer Isle)
-Spending the day at Sand Beach in Stonington
-Attending any event at the Opera House. in Stonington- they offer frequent live presentations and current movies
-Tour of the Haystack School- and presentations are open to the public on certain nights
-Island Country Club for golf/tennis/shmoozing
-Visit to the Holbrook Island Sanctaury in Brooksville/Cape Rosier (30-40 minutes)
-Day schooner out of Harborside/Brooksville (30 minutes)
-Blue Hill (20-40 minutes) galleries, shopping, many concerts and activities. MERI (marine eduation) center. HIKING up Blue Hill Mountain- the view is wonderful!
-A day trip to Castine (1 hour drive time), which has Maine Maritime Academy (and sometimes the State Of Maine training vessel), the Wilson Musem, and many eateries, from dockside hot dogs to fine dining.
-Fort Knox in Prospect (1 hour away)- just a neat place!
-Ellsworth is about an hour away from Stonington, 45 mins from Deer Isle, and Bar Harbor/Acadia is usally another 45 minutes during summer.

If you have any specific questions, I'll answer whatever I can!

[mollysmiles]

DeerIsle, you left out Jeepin and geocaching lol....

If I had to choose, although it would be difficult, I would choose Deer Isle. I just loved it when we were there over Memorial Day, and didn't come close to seeing and doing all that we wanted. We're hoping to head back this fall, just hubby and I

[winterpeace]

Thanks so much! Both areas sound so wonderful I still can't decide. Since they are relatively close to one another, we will probably visit both areas, just have to decide which area to 'live' in. We have a profoundly disabled 12 year old son, so we like to find places that we can stay put for the most part, and just enjoy the local area and scenery. We like to find 'genuine' areas, not touristy type stuff. Sounds like we can't go wrong with either place! We will most likely be travelling in mid September, so hopefully everything will not be closed for the season by then.